by On Saturday, April 5, Herkimer County Community College will host its second annual eSports Invitational in the Recreational Gym in the Physical Education Building. The tournament will be held from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and is open to high school students in Herkimer, Madison, Oneida, Otsego and Onondaga counties.
All participating schools will be required to bring a complete gameplay setup including the required cables, monitor, and a copy of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. Lunch will be provided, and trophies and prizes will be awarded to all participating high schools. The tournament will officially begin at 11 a.m., with check-in beginning at 10 a.m.
The esports tournament will follow standard Smash Crew Battle Rules. Between Tournament rounds, tours of the new state-of-the-art eSports Center will be available.
When interviewed, esports coach Joshua Lanza said he hopes participants will take away a strong impression of the college. “I hope they’re going to see that Herkimer College has a lot to offer in terms of your esports management degree, and your esports athletic program. We have a lot to offer here, a lot of great competition can happen here in the Mohawk Valley. As far as I know, this is the only tournament like this in the entirety of the Mohawk Valley.” Lanza also noted that there would be a lot of great food to be had there, including a Chinese Buffet brought to you by Main Moon Chinese in Ilion.
Steven Boucher, another event organizer, said that he expects this year’s tournament to be possibly twice as large as last year’s tournament. When asked what he hopes participants will take away from the experience, Boucher had this to say: “Our expectation for the students is to just have a really good time. It’s a Super Smash Brothers tournament, where they’re going to be battling it out for supremacy on Smash Brothers. And they just had a great time last year.” Boucher also went on to say that the number of schools participating in this year’s tournament has grown from last year’s. Last year, they had five schools competing across Central New York, which has risen to eight and counting. Attendance is expected to range from 150 to 200 students competing in the tournament.
As stated by Boucher, this is only their second annual and they’re planning to have a tournament the first Saturday of April every single year. Attendees can expect great food to be provided, a welcoming atmosphere, prizes, and plenty of fun to be had.
