Gamers Battling to the Death

As soon as I entered the room my ears filled with incessant clicking noises. It was as though I was in the middle of a swarm of locusts, except these sounds were coming from gamers in "The Pit". 

"The Pit" had turned into a place where gamers became savage warriors that battled to the death to the delight of delirious, bloodthirsty spectators. Popcorn flew past my head, and cheers from onlookers broke the monotonous clicking sounds. I made my way through the crowd to view what all the commotion was about—Starcraft II. 

Starcraft II is a military, science fiction, real-time, strategy game. In the game, there are three kinds of races for the gamer to select from. Each race has its own unique playing style, buildings, and units. The objective is to defeat the opponent with a military force that one must create by building infrastructures and technology. However, to do this one must first mine minerals to pay for the upgrades and for the units.

This year's tournament was held in the new and improved Brawner Pit classroom. Installed in the pit was a new projector and a wide screen for the gamers to view all of the matchups. About 16 gamers came to compete in the Stracraft II tournament. The players were divided into brackets and faced off in a one versus one style. The last two standing compete in the final round for the prize, a $20 gift card to GameStop.

"Starcraft II is always one of our best tournaments. It provides a lot of excitement and fun for everyone involved," explains Joey Swink, president of the Gaming Club. "This is the only tournament where people have the chance to watch and experience the game."

This was the third time the Gaming Club held this tournament. From past tournaments, gamers had already developed their gaming experience in Starcraft II. Despite this, only one person has won all three tournaments, Ian Li, a senior at Menlo College. 

For the final round, Ian Li was faced with newcomer Chris Tosello, a junior. Everyone immediately became curious of Li's opponent. The room was divided into each competitor's respective fan bases. The battle between the two was anyone's game. The opponents were well matched. The players burned with excitement, yet stayed focused.  Both players were fast, skillful and coordinated but in this game there is no room for mistakes. One simple mistake would cost a victory. 

"It was such an epic battle, it could have gone either way," challenger Tosello said.

By the end of the night, Li had yet another win under his belt. 

" The competition was pretty heated. I was pretty nervous because I didn't practice the matchup at all," says Li. "But, when I won I was really happy with my performance."

The Starcraft tournament was an exciting event for all gamers and for those who came to watch. The gaming club plans to host another gaming tournament on Oct. 14, which will include games such as Starcraft II, Fifa 12, and Call of Duty.