Convention tournaments are a very difficult task; it is more of a balancing act between keeping players engaged and working with the convention. From planning when the convention will be popular to making sure your tournaments do not interfere with major events is not easy. This is something I find myself falling in love in and today I will be sharing my experience with Saratoga Comic Con.
On a cold rainy Friday in Buffalo, NY I found myself and my Arcway Gaming crew getting ready for our adventure. We are the ones who rise days before a convention and prepare the Super Smash Bros. community something special. Before we took our first step out the door on Friday, Samuel Chase and myself have shared numerous Skype calls, figuring our prizes and the location for the tournament. After a couple months of planning, ordering trophies, setting up promotions on multiple social media outlets, and getting my team assembled the day arrived where we needed to depart from Buffalo, NY.
Once we left Buffalo, NY there was no turning back. It was a very long shot from Buffalo, NY to Amsterdam, NY. After the three hours of driving, we have finally arrived in Amsterdam, NY and then followed the path to Saratoga Springs, NY. After another hour and a half, we have finally reached our destination which was our hotel the Best Western in Saratoga Springs, NY. Luckily we left around 1 PM and made it to our hotel by 6 PM. Trust me if you ever want to enjoy a road trip leave early, you can then enjoy the rest of the day at your desired location.
Finally, we have arrived at our hotel, we immediately went over everything we had. This year we made sure that we had a thorough process of traveling with our gear since last time did not go so very well. After going through everything, we were all set for the next day. Which causes you to have the hardest time to sleep. The reason why is that you are not nervous, you are excited for the next day to come. Like being a little kid during Christmas, the day I have been looking forward to is just tomorrow.
Once Saturday hit I was immediately up at 6:30 AM, one of the earliest times I have been up in months. Today is the day I get to meet my old friends again and run two Super Smash Bros. tournaments. My Arcway Gaming crew got together for breakfast in the hotel lobby and discussed our plan for the day. Next, we gathered our equipment and drove to the city center of Saratoga Springs, NY. Since this was not my first time to this convention it was easy to find parking and how to enter. Once we parked we entered the main convention hall, where there were vendors constantly running about and getting setup.
We arrived at our corner of the con and unpacked everything. From our CRT TV to Virtual Reality we got everything unpacked within thirty minutes. We made big adjustments for the space and got everything set up after an hour. Our only issue that we hit was that we were missing a couple of cords for our virtual reality setup. Here again, we were lucky enough to be close to a Best Buy and picked up what we needed before the convention was in full swing. Trust me on this, you will never have everything you need for a convention.
At 9:30 AM the VIPs for Saratoga Comic Con were allowed in and within seconds we already had people wanting to sign up for the tournaments. Then at 10:30 AM our first tournament for the convention is about to begin, that tournament is for Super Smash Bros. Melee. Through the power of Challonge and my Samsung Galaxy S6 the tournament has begun. When you are tournament organizing, you get this great rush of excitement as you call matches. You become the heartbeat of the tournament because, if it was not for tournament organizers then tournaments would not function well. My “job” was a little bit more stressful than normal since I was also keeping my mind on taking photos, managing the front desk, and interacting with the convention guests.
Our first tournament for Saratoga Comic Con went without any issues and during the whole time we were taking entries for our next tournament. It is surprising how fast tournaments go when you are managing them. For me it is all a blur of emotion between players and smiles from everyone, then you just keep on going. At 1:00 PM we started the next tournament which was Super Smash Bros. 4 on the Nintendo Wii U. Again, with my phone in hand I kicked off the tournament and kept on running through the matches. Plus, we were raffling off prizes for everyone who has entered, a small little thing we wanted to add this year.
Then, in a blink of an eye, day one of Saratoga Comic Con was over. Guests left the main room and as they left my crew began to pack our more expensive equipment. Once we were done packing we left for dinner with a couple of friends from Saratoga Springs, NY including Samuel Chase (The Owner of Saratoga Comic Con). Finally, once we had dinner we went back to our hotel and crashed. My only issue was that for some reason I could not sleep right.
Since I was not able to sleep well Saturday night it caused my Sunday routine to be sluggish. Once I hit breakfast, checked out from the hotel, and arrived at the city center was when I began to pick up. My only issue was, and this always happens, is that I felt a sense of sadness creep over me. It was the fact that Sunday would be my last day at Saratoga Springs, NY and that I must come back to my “normal” life. Our day began the same as Saturday but with more people wanting to enter the tournaments. Again, our Super Smash Bros. Melee tournament went without a hitch. It was not until we began our Super Smash Bros. 4 tournament where we hit an issue.
Right when I started the tournament for Super Smash Bros. 4 and after the first match was played it was pointed out to me that I was missing two entries in our bracket. This is a tournament organizer's worst nightmare, that you forget the simplest of things. Entering in everyone who has registered for the tournament. Which I immediately jumped into action but, as my Arcway Gaming team loves to troll me, the worst happened. For I was detained by the Mandalorian Mercs and removed from my station. Yes, the bounty hunters from Star Wars captured and arrested me, but the man with the most money controls the bounty hunters. Once I was locked up in the stockades it was offered to me to buy out my punishment and capture the person who issued the bounty on my head.
Without even thinking, I immediately said “Yes!” and I was released. As I approached who issued my bounty I had the biggest grin on my face and stated: “Well, sir, the tables have turned, for now you are going to be the one who shall be captured.” Which then caused me to have my own evil laugh. After the Mercs took away the man who issued my bounty I was surprised that everything was fixed. Which then I just laughed about the whole event and continued the tournament. The best part about the whole experience is that my Arcway Gaming crew knew this was going to happen an hour before it did except, they did not know when the Mercs would come.
As our last tournament came to an end I raffled off the last few prizes and gave away some of our small prizes to kids. It warmed my heart to hear that the community was going to miss us and that they cannot wait for us to come back in six months. For that is why I do this, I do this to bring communities together and let friendships be born. Additionally, the ability to see people learn and compete at higher levels just adds to what I get out from hosting tournaments. Sadly, we then packed our cars and left Saratoga Springs, NY for our homes in Buffalo, NY.
Once I arrived home it was 10:30 PM, I walked through the door with everything I brought and placed it in my room. My father asked me if I wanted dinner, which I responded with “sure I could use some food.” But upon his return, I was fast asleep.
Conventions take a lot out from you both emotionally and physically but, they give you so much more in return. From now the numerous friends that I have made from this journey and the ability to expand into more conventions has me excited for the future. Maybe one day Arcway Gaming might just be at a convention near you.
