The banner for the tournament.
Downtown Monterrey is a perpetual cluster of vehicles and people, all pushing in different directions, trying to go about their everyday routines. This area of the city is not only home to most of the major businesses and many social hotspots but also to the Technological University of Monterrey, which draws thousands every day for a variety of classes, conferences and events.
Today, however, the college is awfully quiet, and people gather for a completely different reason. Right across the street from the university, in a small, inconspicuous lot usually reserved for selling homemade foods, hundreds of people from all walks of life congregate to the sound of cheering, down-throws and f-airs.
The name of the game is "San ValenTEAMS," an aptly-named teams and crews tournament that took place on February 13th.
Pre-tournament friendly matches.
"It's a good place to come learn about the game, train and have some healthy competition," says Eddy, main founder of "E-sports Training Room Monterrey," the association organizing and hosting the tournament. A veteran competitive player since Melee, Eddy has since put down tech practice and taken up the role of organizer and promoter for the local scene.
"Training Room was mainly created with the purpose of organizing tournaments, giving players a gathering spot and boosting the competitive Smash community in México," he continues. "A year and a half ago, it was hard to find tournaments in Monterrey. Players had to haphazardly put things together, regulations were unclear and price pools non-existent. We wanted to bring some professionalism to the table, and make the community accessible to everyone."
At that much, they've succeeded. Since their inception back in 2014, TRM has gathered over 2,000 community members, and the tournament vividly displays it: participants range anywhere from local legends like Wonf, Chota and Jinx to people with no previous tournament experience whatsoever. One of such person is a Diddy Kong main simply going by "ONE," who has earned himself some attention due to his dominance in training matches.
"I've been following the competitive scene for about a year now, but this is my first tournament," he says during a round of friendlies. "I'm teaming with my cousin. We don't really expect to get far, but I figure we have to start somewhere."
Vander isn't here today to compete. She's come as a spectator, trying to seize the competition in hopes of entering future tournaments.
"I know Robin isn't a great character, but I don't care. I don't think competitive should be all about winning, it should also be about pushing the game to its limits. I'm going to keep training, and I'm hoping someday I'll at least be able to call myself the best Robin in the country."
The tournament starts, and contestants take their places as the TOs announce the matches. Spectators crowd around the TVs where top player matches are taking place. Although competition is tough from all angles, there's a clear distinction between those taking their first steps into the scene and the veterans, such as the members of renowned teams like "Crossover" and "The Kave".
Jinx, top-level Meta Knight player, here pictured comforting himself over being lonely on Valentine's day.
"México's general level of play is incredibly high. I do think we have some top level players here," says Jinx, a well-known Meta Knight main, member of Kave and currently 12th place in the Mexican Power Rankings. "Just here in Monterrey: Adie, Flama, Wonf, Chota - people who could easily go head to head with the best in the world."
Jinx isn't the only one who believes this. It seems most people agree México has the raw talent necessary to compete with any other country, but the competitive scene just isn't ready to support that talent just yet.
"We need more professionalism in the community," says Envy, one of The Kave's players. "Knowing how to play is one thing, but handling the logistics of tournaments, sponsorships and PR is completely different."
Flama has his own opinion on the issue: "What the scene needs is more opportunity, exposure. There's a lot of amazing players here that deserve to be recognized as the international powerhouses they can be."
Wonf's angle seems a lot simpler, however: "We just need more money," he says during a short break in between matches. "Gotta pay for venues, travel expenses, price pools - if we want the scene to grow, we can't keep making the community pay for everything."
The tournament wraps up fairly late at night. Wonf and Chota manage to win the doubles section by a fair margin, but their clan, Crossover, only manages to achieve 3rd place in the crews section, with two of The Kave's crews taking 1st and 2nd.
"It was a blast," says ONE, who surprisingly managed to make it through 4 rounds with his partner, ending up in a tie for 13th place. "We ended up placing a lot higher than I expected. Call it beginner's luck, but I'm sure as hell coming back next time to give it another shot."
The TO thanks the attendees, and while some people stick around to play friendly matches, most get ready to leave. Many of the Smashers present came from far away, some driving from cities over to get to the tournament. They understand the road back home will be tiresome and probably dangerous. For them, it was worth it.
"We have a great community here," says Eddy as the last people get ready to leave. "I really encourage anyone who's thought about it to jump in. It's fun, and the community is the most welcoming one I've had the pleasure of working with. We'll take anyone who wants to join with open arms."
I'd like to thank TRM and the San ValenTEAMS atendees for their cooperation and for making this article possible.
You can find the TRM facebook group here.
You can watch most San ValenTEAMS' matches here.
