Applejack
03-09-2008, 08:40 AM
As you may or may not know, last night I went to the midnight release for Brawl. There was a tournament, which I signed up for. This is my tale.
The tournament was WILD. It was packed and I could barely see the screen. There were about 95 people signed up, I was number 59. It was seeded. No switching characters. All items on. Random stage. Some secret characters were already unlocked, like Snake.
My name was called. I knew no one there. I slowly pushed my way through the crowd, hearing jeers and taunts of drunken hecklers who had already lost. My opponent was a young girl, about fourteen. I was nervous. We were using the Wiimote and Nunchuck configuration, I had no idea how to use it. I was studying Classic/Gamecube setups. I was fucked.
The character choices overwhelmed me. Should I be Ike, like I thought? Link? Pokemon Trainer? My opponent picked Meta Knight. And I, in a moment of weakness, slid the coin over to Pit and pressed 'A'. The deed was done. I went against my instincts because I panicked. The stage was Yoshi's Island. One minute brawl. Go. The minute lasted what seemed like an hour. Meta Knight wanted me dead, and I just wanted to not lose. Suddenly, something amazing happened. I learned the controls. Fifteen seconds left. It was now or never. A smash orb came and the crowd got wild as we fought for it. 10 seconds. I snagged it and immediatly everyone yelled, "PRESS B! PRESS B!" 5 seconds. I pressed B. TIME.
Sudden Death. Meta Knight used the drill. I thought I was done for. It's over. I lost. But no! I managed to stay on the platform. Everyone was amazed. I stood and did Up + A, sending Meta Knight into the atmosphere. GAME. Winner: Pit. I was met with applause and pats on the back. I had made it to round two.
I stayed in the back, catching my breath. People were coming over to talk, to trade secrets. I don't remember what I said in reply, other than offering a polite thank you and whatnot. I needed time to reflect. Again my name was called after an agonizing half hour. Round two. My opponent this time was a guy older than me. He was Marth. I stood no chance. I was done for. This guy looked legit. In round two and up, all matches were on one stage. Final Destination.
Go. I started off with a dash attack, which Marth easily avoided. He didn't follow up, though, and I was able to deal the first blow. I stayed in control, knowing if Marth got a chance to go offensive that the game was over. It happened suddenly. A smash orb. The crowd went wild. They were cheering "PIT! PIT! PIT!" wanting me to use the orb this time. We fought hard, but in the end, Marth got it. "OHHHHHHh!" came the crowd. I had to do something. I jumped. Marth used his final smash. "OH SHIT, PIT!" I heard from somewhere. I was in the air. Suddenly I hear "OHHHHHHHHH!" As the final smash MISSED. I came crashing down, dealing the killer blow and winning the match.
Now I was feeling it. I knew I could do this. It wasn't so tough. And then round three happened. My opponent was Samus, played by a guy my age who looked as confused as I was when I first stepped up. Poker faced motherfucker. He was good. I mean, damn good. He was on me like white on rice. But he made one fatal mistake. He stayed by the edge. It was easy enough to knock him off. He tried to recover, but he misjudged and plummeted to his death. Winner: Pit. I advanced to the semi finals. Holy shit.
My match was the second in the semi finals, the second of two. This was for third place or a trip to the final match. My opponent was a funny guy who I got to know over the course of the night. He was using Ike. He was using Ike well. He was using Ike so well, that I lost. I went down fighting. I was close, but in the end I was defeated. I still got applause and high fives and whatnot. I finished in third. My prize? A free copy of the game and knowing that I managed to come into the tournament a nervous wreck and leave a Smash Champion. Somewhat.
Congratulate me of you like, or not. I rested easy last night knowing that I kicked some ass. And that's all that needs to be said.
The tournament was WILD. It was packed and I could barely see the screen. There were about 95 people signed up, I was number 59. It was seeded. No switching characters. All items on. Random stage. Some secret characters were already unlocked, like Snake.
My name was called. I knew no one there. I slowly pushed my way through the crowd, hearing jeers and taunts of drunken hecklers who had already lost. My opponent was a young girl, about fourteen. I was nervous. We were using the Wiimote and Nunchuck configuration, I had no idea how to use it. I was studying Classic/Gamecube setups. I was fucked.
The character choices overwhelmed me. Should I be Ike, like I thought? Link? Pokemon Trainer? My opponent picked Meta Knight. And I, in a moment of weakness, slid the coin over to Pit and pressed 'A'. The deed was done. I went against my instincts because I panicked. The stage was Yoshi's Island. One minute brawl. Go. The minute lasted what seemed like an hour. Meta Knight wanted me dead, and I just wanted to not lose. Suddenly, something amazing happened. I learned the controls. Fifteen seconds left. It was now or never. A smash orb came and the crowd got wild as we fought for it. 10 seconds. I snagged it and immediatly everyone yelled, "PRESS B! PRESS B!" 5 seconds. I pressed B. TIME.
Sudden Death. Meta Knight used the drill. I thought I was done for. It's over. I lost. But no! I managed to stay on the platform. Everyone was amazed. I stood and did Up + A, sending Meta Knight into the atmosphere. GAME. Winner: Pit. I was met with applause and pats on the back. I had made it to round two.
I stayed in the back, catching my breath. People were coming over to talk, to trade secrets. I don't remember what I said in reply, other than offering a polite thank you and whatnot. I needed time to reflect. Again my name was called after an agonizing half hour. Round two. My opponent this time was a guy older than me. He was Marth. I stood no chance. I was done for. This guy looked legit. In round two and up, all matches were on one stage. Final Destination.
Go. I started off with a dash attack, which Marth easily avoided. He didn't follow up, though, and I was able to deal the first blow. I stayed in control, knowing if Marth got a chance to go offensive that the game was over. It happened suddenly. A smash orb. The crowd went wild. They were cheering "PIT! PIT! PIT!" wanting me to use the orb this time. We fought hard, but in the end, Marth got it. "OHHHHHHh!" came the crowd. I had to do something. I jumped. Marth used his final smash. "OH SHIT, PIT!" I heard from somewhere. I was in the air. Suddenly I hear "OHHHHHHHHH!" As the final smash MISSED. I came crashing down, dealing the killer blow and winning the match.
Now I was feeling it. I knew I could do this. It wasn't so tough. And then round three happened. My opponent was Samus, played by a guy my age who looked as confused as I was when I first stepped up. Poker faced motherfucker. He was good. I mean, damn good. He was on me like white on rice. But he made one fatal mistake. He stayed by the edge. It was easy enough to knock him off. He tried to recover, but he misjudged and plummeted to his death. Winner: Pit. I advanced to the semi finals. Holy shit.
My match was the second in the semi finals, the second of two. This was for third place or a trip to the final match. My opponent was a funny guy who I got to know over the course of the night. He was using Ike. He was using Ike well. He was using Ike so well, that I lost. I went down fighting. I was close, but in the end I was defeated. I still got applause and high fives and whatnot. I finished in third. My prize? A free copy of the game and knowing that I managed to come into the tournament a nervous wreck and leave a Smash Champion. Somewhat.
Congratulate me of you like, or not. I rested easy last night knowing that I kicked some ass. And that's all that needs to be said.