Q: “When did you start playing eSports?” 

A: “I have been playing video games for most of my life, but I only really started competing in tournaments in December 2018.”  

Q: “Why did you start playing eSports?” 

A: “I started actually competing because video games has been my favorite hobby for a long time so the idea of competing and showing off skill doing what I love just got me really interested. I started as soon as Super Smash Bros. Ultimate for the Nintendo Switch released Dec. 7th, 2018. I played previous installments of the Smash Bros. Series, but as soon as this one come out, I was determined to actually try and perform well and compete.” 

Q: “What do you like most about eSports?” 

A: “I like playing so much because of it is the community that surrounds it. Everyone is very supportive and are really fun to be around. The community makes the game as enjoyable as it is, and I never have a bad time when going out to play with people, no matter how I play.  The community brings everyone closer and it’s an amazing thing to be a part of. I have made so many close friends through eSports both online and in real life. I’m so glad to be a part of it and it makes the game so much fun to play.” 

Q: “What was the competition about? What was the purpose?” 

A: “The competition was for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate and anyone in the county that wanted to participate could do so and it so probably one off the most popular casually played games in high school. It was a double elimination tournament and it was to determine who the most skilled player was.” 

Q: “How did you prepare for it?” 

A: “I prepared for it by practicing the day before and focusing on little things I could easily improve before the tournament started. After I got a good amount of playing the day before I was confident enough in my mentality. The day of the tournament, I got there about 30 minutes early so I could practice before it started and I went through my hand warming routine. I have ten or more exercises that I do before tournaments to make sure my hands are warmed and I don’t make any mistakes from just not being prepared.”  

Q: “How did it feel to find out you had won?” 

A: “The grand finals was a really close game and up until the very end, you couldn’t tell who was going to win. It was very stressful being up on the main stage in front of a lot of people but I just put my headphones in to hear the game audio and I immersed myself in the game. With the other person coming from Middleton and them having a much larger eSports program than Plant, I could hear the overwhelming majority of the crowd cheering for him. It was going back and forth until the final game  where I just steam rolled him. After I hit the final blow, we turned to each other and shook each other’s hands just like any other respectful competitor. I didn’t want to freak out because I know what he had to do to get there and it would just be disrespectful if I were to show boat in front of him. While it was very exciting to win and be the best, I couldn’t show my enthusiasm about it simply for the fact of that I was too mentally exhausted to do so. Playing for nine hours of intense gameplay requiring intense thinking, planning and calculating takes a toll on the brain after a while so I was happy I could go home after a long day.” 

Q: “What are eSports in your own definition?” 

A: “To me, eSports is just like any other sport but substitute the physical requirements for mental requirements. To be the best of the best, you have to train hard have a coach to assist you and play against other people in your skill level, just like any other sport. It is very demanding in terms of being smart enough to do well, and just like any other sport, not everyone can perform as well, and only certain people will thrive. The intensity at which it should be played at is why it should be regarded as a sport, as seen by the competitive nature that surrounds it.” 

Q: “Why do you like playing so much?” 

A: “I like playing it so much because of the continual improvement of the game. I can constantly be working on many aspects of my play style and learn to optimize how I play. There is always new stuff being figured out about the game. Whenever I play, I am always working to improve certain faults in my gameplay, so I am continually trying to get better, just like any other sport.