Photo caption: Ethan Smith (right), freshman, plays his winner’s round 2 match against Joey Lane (left), sophomore, during Mizzou Smash’s casual tournament. Smith is a transfer student from Illinois Institute Technology in Chicago. This tournament was held during the first week of the 2023 semester as a way for people new to the Mizzou Smash scene like Smith can get introduced to the community. (photo by: Shyam Punnachalil)

By: Shyam Punnachalil, Mizzou Esports Blog

When Ethan Busse, junior, was asked to take on the responsibility of being Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Club President, he was excited to take on the position.

“Mizzou tournaments were my first tournaments that I would compete in during my freshman year, and it’s very fun because we’re all close friends,” Busse said. “At one point, I was asked to run them, and I was excited to do so. It’s fun.”

Every Tuesday, Busse runs the Mizzou Smash Weeklies in Switzler Hall at 7:00 pm. Busse hopes to see the Mizzou Smash community continue to grow and strive as in previous years.

On Tuesday, Aug. 22, Busse hosted a casual Smash tournament during syllabus week to kick start the school year’s official tournaments and show off the community Mizzou Smash has. 

“A lot of CoMo people have grown pretty strong because of our tournaments,” Busse said. “You definitely get your practice, especially when ranked players from Kansas City and St. Louis come to our tournaments.”

Joey Lane, sophomore, is a member of the Premiere Mizzou Smash Esports Team, and actively attends Columbia Smash tournaments.

“I’ve grown close to people here in Columbia. It’s funny because I went to school with Busse in high school, but we became really close friends when we joined the Mizzou Smash scene,” Lane said. “It just goes to show that esports brought us together.”

Lane is excited for the semester’s tournaments to start up next week because he likes the competitive environment.

“I like how we have a power ranking because it gives me a goal to strive for and become the best player I can be,” Lane said. “The tournaments are great, and the environment is relaxed but competitive.”

 Ethan Smith, freshman, is new to Columbia. Transferring from Illinois Institute of Technology, Smith was excited to get started to involve himself in the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate community in Columbia.

“It can be hard in a big state school like this to find people to relate to,” Smith said. “Anytime I see anyone with some common ground, especially Smash, it feels good to get involved.”

Smith got into competitive Smash in Chicago after attending a few tournaments throughout the year. He was excited to hear about the sheer size of Mizzou’s Smash scene.

“It’ll be cool being a part of the Smash scene here because I’ve heard a lot of new faces here and people are curious about who’s going to be bringing the heat to the competition here, and I want to be a part of all that,” Smith said.

Students like Smith and Lane have found their place in Mizzou through Smash tournaments. More tournaments will be held every Tuesday at 7:00 pm at Switzler Hall.