Super Bit Wars 6 (SBW6) was hosted this past weekend on OU’s very own campus. Over three hundred competitors from around the country came out to compete in 10 console fighting games. In this day-long event, there was no lack of action.
The day began with competitors practicing their respected titles, setting the energy high for the rest of the day. Three main stages were set up to showcase and stream all titles. There was buzzing excitement from the spectators, who gathered around players on all sides of the room.
Competitors from storied franchises like Super Smash Bros., Tekken, and Street Fighter joined gamers from newer titles like Injustice and Dragonball Fighterz at the Oklahoma Memorial Union to test their skills. Competitor Daniel “Pyrex_chef” McHazlett, a local from our very own Norman, OK, has a long history competing in fighting games. “I’m an old guy… When I was younger, Tekken 2, Tekken 3, they were the games to play,” McHazlett said.
Super Bit Wars brought together generations, young and old, to the University of Oklahoma. Mothers and fathers came to watch their children compete. There were spectators as young as toddlers and competitors in their 40’s. “Getting together, it’s something that people love, so whenever you get that passion, that fun, everybody has a good time,” McHazlett said about the community.
The excitement of this tournament also brought competitors from all around the country. Smash 4 player Sergio “SRC Frost” Delgado from the Dallas/Fort Worth area was excited for the opportunity to come out and compete in Oklahoma. “I started out just doing this as a hobby, and it turned into this,” Delgado said about the competitive scene. “We like to go out for everything, it gets harder and harder as the school year goes on, but we try.” Texas was not the only state players are traveling from.
Big names came from as far as Long Beach, California, to compete at Super Bit Wars 6. Eli “EliTheCurry” Curry is a competitive fighting game player who competed in multiple titles at SBW6. He had only good to say about Super Bit Wars. “At least once a week I’m competing in a tournament… and I would compare what I’ve seen so far pretty favorably to [other] tournaments. It’s got a lot of things I really do like… Seeing the trophies and the way they try to just support every game that they’re hosting at the event is good. I’m happy to see that there is a tournament being run in a town like Norman, a college town,” Curry said.
Super Bit Wars was hosted by HXC Gaming Events, who hosts different esport events around the state of Oklahoma. They recognized the problem of lack of opportunities available to Oklahoma gamers. “A lot of times there will be good gamers right in Oklahoma, and they never get to shine. So, what we like to do is we like to put them on a high-level scale and promote them and hopefully give them the chance to be pro gamers,” Ricky McNeal, owner of HXC Gaming Events, said about the organization.
Super Bit Wars started and was originally hosted at the University of Oklahoma in correlation with student Forrest “Solidus” Sharp. Sharp, who was heavily involved in the esports scene and the community events surrounding Oklahoma gaming, tragically passed away in 2011.
Since then, the event had not returned to the University of Oklahoma. One of Ricky’s goals was to bring the event back to the University of Oklahoma. “One of the students that works with us told me about student life, and they introduced me to Mike who is the advisor for OU Esports. I told him what we do, and he explained his goal, and I told him that I have a community that would support what you’re doing, and we realized we needed a pipeline for students who are gamers to come to OU,” McNeal said. “We figured we could mesh together to become one thing.” This unity has translated to the competitors in force.
Connor “Bananas” Lamb, the winner of the Super Smash Bros. Melee championship, was a visitor here from Plano, TX, but he still felt the love. “I love the ‘Oklahomies’,” Lamb said. “I don’t know who made that term, but I heard it and I’ve never stopped using it because they are. I love them to death.”
Super Bit Wars was a success and it is exciting for the event to be back where it started. On behalf of HXC, we would like to thank Super BitCon and Game Over Entertainment for their sponsorship. To see recaps from the event and the breakdowns for winners in each title, check out the Super Bit Wars 6 official Website (https://smash.gg/tournament/super-bit-wars-6/details) and the Twitch streams from the events.
This article was written in collaboration with three of our content creators; David Kaucic, Alex Sigman, and Bailey Brown.
