My Last Tournament

Lost Tech City 2022 was my last Smash Ultimate tournament. I wanted to send off that part of my life with a bang, and what a bang it was.

I arrived and picked up my badge, which I was surprised to have my tag and (very real) sponsor name on it.

The venue – Port San Antonio Arena – was pretty nice and spacious. Very modern – you can tell it was built recently.

My pool started at 12. My first opponent was a Yoshi. We agreed to start on Pokémon Stadium 2 and I quickly took the lead. It was a swift 2-0 win, which I was pretty happy about. My next match happened to be another Yoshi. This Yoshi played very differently – approaching with d-air and not letting me land. It’s tough trying to land as Young Link against a character with good airspeed. I got juggled into a 2-0 loss, but it was a good game.

Next was loser’s bracket. I didn’t expect to go too far, but I was happy with the outcome! My third opponent was an Inkling, who I beat 2-0, and my fourth and final opponent was a Chrom, he beat me 2-1 (the games were close!). Going 2-2 at my last event was more than I could’ve hoped for. A respectable result for someone who doesn’t play the game much anymore, at a major tournament no less.

I stuck around for a few hours after being eliminated to get some overpriced arena food and to watch some sets live. Some notable ones I saw were Hungrybox v BroKen, Bassmage v Hungrybox, and Zomba v Tenni.

… and, that’s it. I left after that, satisfied with the journey I had with this game. Ultimately (heh) I did not get to where I wanted to be, but given the circumstances (and my complex emotional relationship with competing) I put in a good effort that I can be proud of, and that’s what matters. I decided it’s best if I “officially” declare I will no longer be competing, so I can move on.