Drew Mathieu and Kyle Veidt COLUMBIA, Mo.
October 18, 2016
Over thirty television sets flashed with bright colors as the announcers yelled from the front of the gymnasium. Competitors sat forward in their seats, eyes darting across the small screens. The game being played: Super Smash Bros. Melee. On the line was a prize pool of $2000. The chatter of the spectators was speckled with the clacking of controllers.
The Epic EnCircle Tech Video Game Tournament was held on October 15, 2016 by EnCircle Technologies, a local nonprofit organization that trains adults with autism for jobs in technology fields. EnCircle Technologies has held the event for the past two years as a fundraiser for their organization. Sponsors even compete in their own sponsor bracket.
“The students are very often serious gamers and so it was natural to come up with something like this,” sponsor Scott Mackey said.
EnCircle Technologies hosts a number of classes to help their students increase their technical skills. Co-Founder Teri Walden started the organization with Becky Llorens after realizing that there was a shortage of post-secondary options for adults with autism, according to the EnCircle Technologies website.
“A four year college sometimes is really difficult to navigate for people on the spectrum,” Walden said. “Many of our students love to be on the computer. Many of them love anything to do with technology. And so we felt like we could help them navigate that interest into marketable skills for jobs.”
Walden also said that she welcomed the competitive gaming crowd drawn in by the prize money. She stated that the gamers make the tournament work.
The tournament attracted professional gamers from all over the Midwest. For some, this was their debut, but many had competed in a competitive Super Smash Bros. Melee tournament before. One gamer, Diego Atilano, came all the way from Kansas to test his skills.
“The main reason why I came is because I know in CoMo there’s a decent amount of good players,” said Atilano. “The competition is what brought me here.”
The Super Smash Bros. game series has enjoyed outrageous success across the country. Melee has drawn a large competitive crowd since its release in 2001. The game is known for the difficulty to master its fine mechanics.
“People started discovering new things like wavedashing, L-cancelling, moonwalking, shield dropping,” said Atilano. “We’re trying to push the boundaries of our technical skill.”
The tournament lasted from 9 a.m. till 9 p.m.