Smash The Record 2017 has come and gone and for the fourth year in a row, players from all over the country came together to play and have fun while also raising funds for the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. But what makes this event unique among a myriad of other Smash tournaments? Let’s take a look back to previous editions of STR to find out.
Smash The Record began in 2014, when smasher Jason “Gahtzu” Diehl tried to beat the record for Longest Video Games Marathon Playing a Fighting Game. Unfortunately, some video issues made the entire attempt illegitimate. Despite that, however, the event found a new place as a charity fundraiser. Now, hundreds of people get together to play games and raise money for the kids.
What makes it different from the rest of the tournaments is the atmosphere. Everything about Smash The Record, from the ruleset chosen to the side events, is designed to be fun. With that in mind, everyone that comes to the event can find a place where they can hang out and interact in a different way from a normal tournament.
The Smash scene is well-known for having very strict rulesets that always try to limit the randomness that items and certain stages add to the game. But all of that suddenly goes away when the goal of the tournament ceases to be finding who’s the best. What if you got a tournament where everything is the same, but everyone has to play with oven mitts on? That’s what Smash The Record is about.
Those types of colorful events are bound to create unique experiences that can only happen there. One of those examples is the famous Rock, Paper & Scissors tournament that has became a STR staple. While not inherently a spectator game, what made the RPS tournament engaging was the very same people that participated. Smashers really know how to spice up just about everything, and that was made very clear when the very first RPS tournament was quickly filled with lively crowd, loud cheers and of course, an immense amount of hype from everyone involved.
There’s also other fun and creative events too, introduced in the form of donation incentives. Ever wanted to see a top player like Westballz take on the entire venue, only to be eliminated by a freshly shaved GimR? Or how about watching an Iron Man match between Mew2king and Mango, with the latter getting absolutely destroyed by low tier characters? There are so many unique situations that can happen with those weird events that really show what the smash community is about. And that is, of course, to have fun.
Author's Note: How did everyone enjoy Smash the Record 2017? What were your favorite events? The most hype moments? Let us know in the comments below!
