Students ‘brawl’ in Cat’s Den league

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By Megan Hurt

For anyone who has a fantasy of beating Nintendo video game character Mario in head-to-head combat, the Cat’s Den has the competition for you.
Sign-ups for a semester-long Super Smash Bros. Brawl league will be held Tuesday night, followed by the first Super Smash Bros. Brawl tournament for the competition.
Once a month, a tournament will take place where teams of two will fight each other in a best out of three competition with three lives each. It will be a double elimination tournament and winners of each tournament will accumulate points.
“At the end of the semester we will rank teams like basketball teams are ranked in March Madness, with seeds, and we will do a final tournament, putting a  number one seed with a number eight seed,” said Jesse Wingert, Cat’s Den’s event coordinator and a foreign language international economics and Spanish senior.
Prizes will be awarded for the teams placing in 1st, 2nd and 3rd in each tournament, and one larger prize will be awarded to the teams winning the final tournament of the semester, Wingert said.
People are encouraged to come in groups of two to sign up for teams, but team assignments will be random for people who come by themselves, said Brandon Armendt, Cat’s Den’s event coordinator and Marketing and Foreign language international economics senior.
The Cat’s Den event coordinators want at least 64 teams for the league, but would love to see a larger crowd, Wingert said.
“We expect to pack out the Cat’s Den every game night,” he said.
The Cat’s Den chose Super Smash Bros. Brawl as a league game based on its popularity, on both a local and national level.
“We choose games based on what’s popular, not only here at UK, but what’s popular nationwide,” Winger said. “Super Smash Bros. Brawl is huge, with nation-wide tournaments.”
Even if students are not interested in participating in the tournament, Armendt encourages everyone to come watch the games.
“A lot of people talk a lot of trash and even if you’re not playing, it’s fun to watch,” he said. “There are people who do crazy combinations of moves that normal people wouldn’t think of. You will be entertained.”
To participate in the Super Smash Bros. Brawl league, show up at the Cat’s Den at 7 p.m. on Tuesday night for the first tournament of the semester. Team entourages and people who just want to watch are encouraged, Armendt said. The event is free and open to the public.