By Justin Liddle
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Esports are taking over college campuses nationwide. Kids grow up watching their favorite gaming personalities livestream everyday. These are people from all different backgrounds.
That’s no different here in Northwest Arkansas.
“It’s almost normal to see all sorts of people at Smash tournaments and Smash events, it’s never really been a weird thing,” said Noah Skalberg, a competitive Super Smash Bros. player for almost a year.
Skalberg has been playing the Super Smash Bros. series of games for nearly his whole life.
He said he got into the competitive scene here at the University because it reminded him of the high school sports he used to play.
In the Super Smash Bros. pro scene, Japanese players frequently dominate worldwide tournaments. This is special to Noah because of his Japanese ancestry.
“Getting to connect to my heritage that way, like through the scene,” he said, through something I love, that’s really cool.”
Allen Smith, another competitive Smash hopeful, said African American fighting game professionals give him inspiration to work hard and compete.
He said the Northwest Arkansas Smash scene is welcoming to people of all backgrounds.
“We’re all just here to Smash,” said Smith, “we’re all just here to play Smash and have a good time.”
Skalberg and Allen will be competing in a tournament March 7. It will be held in the Arkansas Union with a prize of over $150.
More weekly tournaments are held in the area Thursdays at AXIS gaming lounge on and Fridays in the J.B. Hunt building on campus.