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Syracuse’s esports club held its second WiFi Warriors Smash Bros event of the semester on Saturday in an effort to revitalize the university’s gaming culture.

The virtual event, which 25 Syracuse University and SUNY-ESF students attended, united competitive and casual enthusiasts to try and gain more members for the club. Syracuse’s Smash Bros community has about 50 members playing on a given day.

The club held its first WiFi Warriors event virtually in July, and its success and popularity convinced the club to continue hosting similar events. For Zach Simpson, a player on SU’s competitive Smash Bros team who participated in Saturday’s event, WiFi Warriors has gone much better than he expected.

Simpson wasn’t sure what to expect from the events initially, and he didn’t know if playing matches without the typical in-person environment would work as well. But the first two events have eased his concerns. Participants took important lessons from the first and applied them the second, he said.

“We learned that timeliness is very important,” Simpson said. “Last event, a lot of people showed up late and making matches took a while, so we are now trying to get people to show up a little early in order to ensure everything starts smoothly on time.”

A number of players at Syracuse have decided not to play competitively this semester, partially because of the virtual environments, team captain Jared Dowling said. A worldwide boycott of the game due to multiple sexual misconduct allegations against professional Smash players has also reduced the number of competitors, he said.

“Seeing who those people truly were definitely came as a bit of a blow to all of us,” Dowling said. “For me, I know I unfollowed almost everyone Smash-related on social media and really tried to just cleanse for a bit and tried not to think about how bad some of these community figures truly were.”

The Syracuse Smash community has shunned those professional players, said Zachary Stringer, the event coordinator for the esports club. The separation from the professional players, combined with COVID-19, has also slowed the club’s growth. With the WiFi Warriors events, the club hopes to rejuvenate a game the community loves.

Both competitive and casual players have made Smash one of the most popular esports games at Syracuse, Stringer said. Nintendo never intended for Smash Bros to be a competitive game, and at times tried to shut down events and tournaments, Dowling said.

The popularity of the game and its role as the focal point of large events is surprising, Stringer said.

“It’s things like that (which) only bring the community closer,” Stringer said. “Having a game with everyone’s favorite characters just brawling with each other, creates a positive and lighthearted environment for everyone.”

That sense of community is present at Syracuse because of the way players bond and enjoy playing the game together, he said. The team exemplifies how esports can be an avenue for people who typically struggle to express themselves socially, Simpson said.

Smash players are happy to be playing the game and making new friends, Dowling said.

As a freshman captain, Dowling worried how other players would treat him. He expected some battles, but was surprised there hasn’t been any. Dowling, who met one of his best friends at SU through Smash, considers that support to be representative of that within the worldwide Smash community.

Events such as WiFi Warriors aim to encapsulate that positivity and can be especially helpful in building community during the pandemic, Simpson said.

“Most people you will find in the Smash community are really passionate about the game, which makes it really easy for friendships and bonds to form,” Simpson said.”We have such a large common interest.”

Published on September 21, 2020 at 10:56 pm

gfpagano@syr.edu