I may not be the Smash Bros illuminati elite, but I definitely notice the difference between the amount of tournaments in the Smash Bros community. The growth has been extraordinary. I remember back before Smash Bros went wild I begged for tournaments & the only ones that were going on were the ones I hosted. Granted this was early 2000s in Saudi Arabia in Aramco (an American community in Dhahran), it had that grassroots feel, well there wasn’t any grass…so more like sand box beginnings.
Anyways, fast forward past my move to the USA and after my hiatus from being involved in the Smash Bros community and more importantly the years since 2014. When I finally had time to breathe and look into the Smash Bros community again while at UNLV (University of Nevada Las Vegas), I got the Smash Bros bug to get back involved into the community. I had no idea I’d be where I am today and honestly appreciate & cherish each day as some people in the Smash 4 community look up to me, which I’m a short guy so I appreciate it.
More importantly to get to the point of this post, tournament burnout is apparent and I see people projecting their emotions through their performance at tournaments & their social media interactions. Most professional sports organizations have an off season & that’s how we grew up. NFL takes a few months off between playoffs & Spring, NBA takes the summer off, and MLB has winter to hibernate. Competitive Smash Bros does not have an off season. For professionals who are in it to win every big prize they can, currently there is almost 2 large tournaments a month and much more if you factor in games a player competes in, invitationals, EXPOs, conventions, and local tournaments.
Before I ramble on too much, I just wanted to say I’m truly happy to see so much activity in the competitive Smash Bros community, but also that it is perfectly fine to go at your own pace. Also your pace is not the same as someone else’s pace, do what you feel is right and remember to put your priorities first. If you believe that going to only one national a month is enough while you practice and attend locals to test your might, that’s completely fine and anyone giving you crap has no idea how you feel and forgot that person.
You are the most important person to worry about in your competitive endeavours, and it’s important to remember to find your own pace.
Thank you for taking your time to read this and I love you buddy. Don’t fret about making it to everything. Make it to what you feel would be best for you.
Lots of love & luck from Vegas,
Bear
🐻❤
Bassem [Bear] Dahdouh: Esports Event Manager & Tournament Director 