UBC eSports Association hosts the “Battle of BC”

Super Smash Brothers Melee competition offers over $1,000 in prizes

More than 240 eSports competitors filled the UBC Student Union Building on May 14 to attend the largest and most prestigious competitive Super Smash Brothers Melee tournament in the province. On-screen, some of the most beloved and iconic characters from their childhoods clashed like gladiators.

In this context, Super Smash Brothers Melee is not the softcore party game you may have played at sleepovers and birthdays all throughout your childhood. Here the stakes mattered—more than $1,000 in prizes were on the line, more than 8,000 people had tuned in to a live stream on UBCEA’s Twitch account. The excitement had drawn several of the highest-ranked players from around the world, players so skilled at the game they’ve got their own sponsors.

But competitions like this don’t just spring up organically. They are the result of meticulous planning from a core group of gamers who want to show the heights that eSports competitions—even ones based off of Nintendo characters—can achieve.

“I put in a lot of work [to make] great tournaments,” says event organizer Kevin Dhir. “I micromanage a ton of the stuff beforehand so we don’t run into difficulties on the day. We run a tight ship and focus on providing a great experience for our players.”

In addition to being a UBC student, Dhir is the Director of Smash and Executive of League of Legends for the UBC eSports Association. He claims that organizations like his, in addition to providing great events for gamers, go a long way in legitimizing the efforts of serious eSports competitors.

“I don’t know where BC’s Smash scene would be if UBC eSports hadn’t been supporting it,” he says. “More and more companies are recognizing eSports and that it isn’t going away [They’re] more mainstream now for sure.”

Dhir believes that a major factor in the success of UBCEA’s tournaments has been the calibre of players they’ve been able to attract. The association has consistently been able to draw top-ranked Smash players to compete their events, but not without a bit of effort.

“My friend helped me house all of the top players, and I’ve been able to supply flight discounts for them. I’ve tried my best to provide the top players the best experiences. That meant things like flights and picking them up at the airport at night,” says Dhir.

One such top-ranked player, Sweden’s William “Leffen” Hjelte—who holds the honour of being the third best Smash player in the world—was ultimately the tournament’s champion. Leffen is sponsored by major competitive gaming corporation Team Solo Mid, as well as the energy drink company Red Bull.

Despite its age—the game was released more than 15 years ago—Smash has enjoyed a consistent level of popularity among casual and competitive gamers alike. An acclaimed

documentary series on YouTube entitled The Smash Brothers chronicles the birth of the game’s ever-popular competitive scene, and even ESPN’s website now features articles about the game and the competitions around it.

“People love it because they grew up playing it as a kid,” says Dhir. He believes that, because the game lacks an online feature like most modern video games, players are incentivized to meet in person and socialize while they game.

“We’ve developed [as a community] because we see each other on a regular basis,” he says. “At a Smash tournament you can bond with everyone because you all have the same passion. You’re at a tournament because you all love the same thing.”

One of KPU’s most prominent competitive Super Smash Brothers Melee players, Michael Yoon, was also in competition at the Battle of BC. Like Dhir, Yoon has a similar affection for the game.

“Melee is so great to me because it’s friendly to casuals, but there is also a high skill ceiling,” says Yoon. “It captured me at youth, and Smash in general is a beloved franchise.”

In competition with over 240 gamers, Yoon placed in the top 64 players at the tournament. A respectable showing, considering the level of talent at the event.

“The competition was really solid, I had to play my heart out,” says Yoon. “Top 64 is nothing to sneeze at.”