It was a victorious win for Winthrop’s Competitive Gaming Club. Five members from the club competed as an esports team playing “Super Smash Brothers.” The tournament is called the Collegiate Starleague, an esports competition for college students.
The event was held on Oct. 20 at the University of North Carolina Charlotte where Winthrop’s CGC received the title of the top four esports teams in North Carolina and South Carolina.
“We were there along with 16 different colleges teams and only the top four made it out and we made it out. It was a single elimination bracket,” said Matthew Hoshauer, a sophomore computer science major and team member.
The competition was set up where a team of five players fight with another team of five players.
“We did this thing called crew battle where one team of five people enter and they have 15 lives in the game as a team and they battle with another team of five people,” said Brooke Bordner, a sophomore criminology major and treasurer for CGC.
“What you are trying to do is kill the other person. Each game has three lives and if you take the other persons three lives and you still have 15 remaining another person comes in and they battle with 12 lives and you battle with 15,” Bordner said.
During the competition, CGC’s team had to put their trust into each other and face hardships that led them to their win.
“I think a lot of it was trusting each other that even though one of us may have a short coming here and there [we couldn’t] blame each other for those shortcomings,” Hoshauer said. “Winning was cool… I was happier that we as a unit could have an experience like that. I hope this serves as an example that if you work at something… you can do whatever you want to do.”
Winthrop’s CGC team will now move onto the CSL regional competition which then could lead them to compete nationally.
“We have stellar players it’s just a matter of confronting our nerves going into [the upcoming] battles. As far as skills go [we got it],” said Matthew Howard, a junior music major and secretary of the club.
CGC was formed five years ago and they have weekly tournaments every Friday from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m. in the DiGorgio Campus Center Room 220. It’s free to be there there is a $5 entry fee to compete. The game changes each week depending on what is asked to play.
They also have a monthly tournament where all types of fighting games are played and are typically the last Sunday of every month from 12 p.m. to 11 p.m. in Richardson Ballroom.
The club encourages anyone who is interested in joining to come to their weekly tournaments.
“We are welcoming to everyone. We are not all about hosting a tournament… that’s not our focal point,” Hoshauer said. “No matter what game you play, who you are, what you are… just come in have a really good time. At the end of the day the main goal is to create a welcoming environment and have fun.”
For more information about Winthrop’s Competitive Gaming Club, message their Facebook at Winthrop Competitive Gaming Club or email them at smashbros@winthrop.edu.
Photo courtesy of Matthew Howard
