The Crimson Smash Club hosts its free Super Smash Bros. tournaments every Friday night. Players can competitively play the 20-year-old Melee version or the latest, Smash Ultimate. The winners of these tournaments may get bragging rights, but every player gains a sense of community. 

Animated avatars battle like old rivals, commanding the screen as players watch carefully. Fingers jab at buttons on controllers. This is the clamorous, competitive scene of Crimson Smash Club on Friday nights. 

The bond over both Super Smash Bros. games, Smash Ultimate and Melee, brings out a competitive community among players. Colin Kappel, a junior majoring in computer science, spends every Friday night gaming with the Crimson Smash Club.

“A lot of times, you only spend maybe a fourth of your time there actually playing the game, and that’s even for me who goes to the end,” Kappel said. “Most people there are just sitting there hanging out and talking with people and maybe playing casually on the side. So it’s way more a social gathering than it is a tournament. It’s just that we happen to play a tournament while talking with everyone.”

The Crimson Smash Club hosts weekly, free-to-enter Super Smash Bros. tournaments on Friday nights. Fellow gamers can take part in two different tournaments. Some players opt for modern fare, like Smash Ultimate, while others kick it old school by playing the 20-year-old game Melee. Players can enter both if they please. Doors open at 6:00 p.m., and the tournament begins around 6:30 p.m.

“It’s a good way for people to come together and find friends, have a common interest, and you develop a lot of friendships in the club,” Chanson Wallace, a junior majoring in accounting, said. “As time goes on, it becomes less about the game and more just about hanging out with these people every week.”

Being from West Virginia, Wallace didn’t know many people here at the University. While transitioning to being away from home, this club gave him a sense of community, Wallace said. He is now the president of the club.

“I had a friend group immediately because we were all interested in this, and that’s kind of what I’m trying to provide to everyone – a space where you can find friends and have that connection while you’re in the University,” Wallace said. 

Kappel has been playing the game competitively since he got to college. He has traveled around the state and country to compete, including major cities like Atlanta, Dallas, Baltimore, Detroit and Los Angeles. He is known as one of the best players in the Crimson Smash Club, as he has won every free Friday night tournament he has competed in so far this year. Regardless of his impressive skill level and drive to compete, Kappel looks forward to Friday nights with his friends.

“I get to see everyone and just play the game, and usually I’ll play a different character every week just to have fun and see what I can do with them,” Kappel said. “It’s honestly just a chance to unwind. It’s really nice.”

Johnathon Lenz, a sophomore majoring in computer science, played Super Smash Bros. with his brother and family while growing up and decided to take it up competitively when he got older. Lenz has competed in North Dakota, Florida and back at home in Mobile, Alabama. He found the Crimson Smash Club scene last semester and said he enjoyed the healthy community it provides.

“If you really enjoy the game and even just playing it for fun with other people, it’s just nice,” Lenz said. “I’ve made a lot of friends through this game.”

It is easy to make friends in this environment and even easier to bond over this game, Lenz said. He encourages others who may play the game on their own time to come out and join because it is more fun with others.

“Don’t be scared,” Lenz said. “It’s a really welcoming community. There’s nobody here that’s going to, you know, bully you or drag on you because you’re not great at the game. There’s going to be people here that are willing to help you learn.”

The atmosphere of the room fills with excitement when players find new combos and when they defeat their opponent. Each game lasts about 10-15 minutes, and whoever wins the best of two matches moves on. Players must lose twice to get eliminated and will then be put in the losers bracket. There are winners, losers and grand brackets.

Thomas Hill, a senior majoring in general music, is the secretary of the Crimson Smash Club. He has been involved in this club since his freshman year and has evolved since he first started. 

“It’s a weird feeling when you go from asking [for] tips to someone asking you for the tips and then you’re like, ‘Oh wow,’” Hill said. “Now here’s where the improvement really pays off.”

He said new players to the scene can always seek tips on how to get better from other players there.

“It’s very, I would say healthy competitively, because we might talk trash non-stop towards each other like, ‘Oh, you suck with this character’ or ‘I know I can beat you,’ but at the same time, we’re always trying to help each other get better,” Hill said. “That way, when we do eventually play each other again, then it’ll be an even better game than the last set you played.”

The executive board brings their setup, but it is encouraged for players to bring their own consoles as well.

The winners of the free weekly tournaments may only get bragging rights, but there are more opportunities for these gamers. During monthly tournaments that cost to enter, winners and runner-ups receive a percentage of the money as a prize. The cost is $5 to enter plus a $5 venue fee; however, that fee is waived if participants bring a setup. 

This month, the cash-prize tournament will be held Feb. 29 in the Ferguson Student Center Forum and Room 3108. Doors open at 11:00 a.m. Wallace said the monthly tournaments are more intense due to about 100 people showing up, with some being from out of state and around Alabama. Participants can sign up on the spot the day of.

Crimson Smash Club competes beyond the University, traveling to compete in tournaments in Auburn, Birmingham, Mobile, Huntsville and Troy. Wallace said there is something going on in the state every week.

“It is just a big giant friend group that gets together every week just to play a video game together, even when one that’s 20 years old,” Wallace said. “There’s still over 100 people who play that throughout the state and who like to travel together.”

To join, email [email protected].