By Roy York

Gamers don’t do it for the fame. They don’t do it for the money. They do it for the respect of their peers and the thrill of conquering the competition. The more dedicated gamers practice as much as professional athletes and travel to compete in tournaments. Their reward, their prize, is being called the best.

The Cat’s Den is bringing the spirit of winning to campus by hosting the Ultimate Gamer Competition. The contest will run for the duration of the semester and is composed of a series of video game tournaments and leagues featuring games of all genres.

The top five finishers from each Cat’s Den video game event will accumulate points, and the student with the most points at the end of the semester will be given a grand prize. Three runner-up prizes will also be given at the end of the competition.

While Brandon Armendt, Cat’s Den’s event coordinator and a marketing and foreign language international economics senior, said he is not sure what the prize will be, the Cat’s Den has already displayed an impressive track record of rewarding student gamers this semester.

The kick off to the Ultimate Gamer Competition was an NCAA Basketball 2010 tournament that brought 64 players divided into two brackets and more than 100 cheering spectators into the Cat’s Den before plasma screen televisions and Xbox 360s.

Electronic Arts donated a copy of NCAA Basketball 2010 as a first-place prize and the Cat’s Den awarded gift cards to Max and Erma’s and Big Boy as runner up prizes.

Jesse Wingert, Cat’s Den’s event coordinator and a foreign language international economics and Spanish senior, said the tournament brought a record number of people into the Cat’s Den.

“We plan on breaking that record with every tournament,” Wingert said. “We want as many people as our fire code allows — 220.”

The Cat’s Den followed up on their NCAA tournament success with a Nintendo Super Smash Brothers Brawl Tournament on Tuesday night. Greg Chandler, Cat’s Den coordinator and economics senior, said the tournament was packed with 32 two-person teams vying for top honors in a double-elimination tournament.

Chandler said there was so much interest that a playoff between the top four teams was scheduled for next week because the Cat’s Den closed before the championship. The top two teams will split three gift cards and one T-shirt donated by the Cat’s Den, with winners having first pick on the prize.

For those students who are not thinking of going pro or for those who are just getting into gaming, Chandler says the tournaments offer something for both players and spectators.

“Spectators get to watch pro players,” Chandler said. “Like you would watch a sports game on ESPN, you can watch players who have practiced the game and do stuff that normal people can’t imagine.”

But the events don’t just cater to the pros. Chandler said the Cat’s Den will offer fun and prizes to those who have never entered a Cat’s Den video game tournament.

“Anybody can walk in and have a good time, but if you do, well then, you’ll certainly want to come back,” Chandler said.

Armendt said the tournaments are an excellent forum for gamers to show off their skills to an audience and get feedback from people other than roommates.

“It’s fun to watch and see the competition and listen to the trash talking,” Wingert said. “It’s about bragging rights.”

The Cat’s Den is striving to offer tournaments for every style of gamer. Halo 3, Gears of War 2 and Wii Bowling are all included in the September lineup.

“We are trying to get students to vary from their niche,” Chandler said.

It’s not all about the trash talking, the bragging, the winning or the prizes. All of the Cat’s Den coordinators who spoke with the Kernel expressed a desire to give gamers a place to socialize outside of dorm rooms.

“This is a wonderful opportunity to meet people with similar interests, and there is a great sense of community,” Chandler said. “We really want to make the tournaments casual and player friendly.”

Wingert said he hoped new couches and easier access to consoles and games will draw more students to the Cat’s Den. The Cat’s Den recently added Xbox Live to each Xbox 360 console which allows gamers to play with others from around the world.

“We want to make the Cat’s Den feel more like home for everyone,” Wingert said.