Both FTC Super Smash Bros. Ultimate teams make playoffs
SSBU player Rebecca Evangelist gives an inside look at the ECAC playoffs. Team One plays the quarterfinal game tonight at 8 pm.
By Rebecca Evangelist, SSBU player
12.5 UPDATE: FTC lost in the semifinal to NEIT (New England Institute of Technology) Smash 3-1. The team will play for 3rd place against St. Peter’s University Smash on Monday, December 11th @ 8pm ET.
Both FTC Esports Super Smash Bros. Ultimate teams made the playoffs, a first for the program. FTC’s SSBU Team One (6-2) is ranked sixth and reached the quarterfinals, which will be played tonight at 8 pm. If Team One wins, the semifinals follow at 10:30 pm.
Click to see the full playoff bracket.
Anthony “Big Ant” Crivillaro, Tyree “T-sizzle” Edwards, and Justin “Gadget” Morris are the team’s captains and all returning players to the ECAC SSBU scene. Roxy “L1ithy” Ceasare and Rebecca “Rav3zy” Evangelist are the substitute players and are new to the team. According to Anthony “Big Ant” Crivillaro, “this is the farthest the SSBU team has gotten, and this is a major success for the Esports team.”
FTC SSBU Team Two (5-3) made the playoffs but is out of the running after being knocked out during the Round of 32 by the Stockton Talon. The team was made up of all new players who had never competed in collegiate Esports before. Winter “LBoi_DaKreator” Petracca and Jalen “Pinabuttah” Perkins captained the squad. Lucien “Firesonicluc” Tanner, Michelle “Mishka” Kantor, and Dylan “Vocoz” Lipitz were also part of the team. “It was a great experience for them, and we are very proud of all they have accomplished this semester,” said Esports Coach Evan Leider.
The Fall 2023 Super Smash Bros. Ultimate teams compete in the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference SSBU 3v3 Crew Battle at the intermediate level. FTC made the playoffs out of 85 teams of colleges on the East Coast from North to South. There is also a separate division for the West Coast. The competition takes place in the USA and is mainly online, although a LAN (local area network) Tournament is in the works for SSBU. Currently, the ECAC is experimenting with a Valorant LAN and a Rocket League LAN.
SSBU Esports has a big following, and there are local LANs (tournaments) in New York. Competing in college-level Esports as well as in local LANs is the path to going pro. There are also websites for online tournaments. According to Justin “Gadget” Morris, private “in-person events are more fun” because players do not have to rely on Nintendo Online, which costs $10 monthly.
The FTC Esports team now streams practices and matches on the Five Towns Esports Twitch Channel. Any FTC student can tune in and make a free account to cheer on the team. The playoff matches will also be streamed live on the Five Towns Esports Team’s Twitch channel. Gameplay can also be found on the ECAC Esports League Twitch channel.
Watch the FTC Esports Team on Twitch at twitch.tv/fivetowns_sound.
Follow FTC Esports on Instagram @ftcesports.
Head to FTC Athletics to stay current on all Five Towns sports.
