Choose your character! Ready?! Fight!

    On Feb. 6, 2019, Archbishop Riordan hosted its traditional Super Smash Brothers Championship between the four houses. Ben Rome and Jonathan (JT) Torrea represented Bolts, with Johnny Caceres and Jamar Kittling as their opponents from Russi.

    In addition, William Morales and Alex Wavro from Pilar were challenged by Colin Sumala and Mateo Rocha from Cana.

    As the matches pressed on and the final round came, the houses of Cana and Bolts faced off in a 4 stock (lives), 4 minute duel to the riches.

        The Riordan student body was ecstatic as they watched their fellow Crusaders face off in the newly released Smash Brothers Ultimate on the Nintendo Switch, the first time Riordan had ever utilized the Nintendo Switch console for its video game tournaments.

         Ethan Lin ‘19 said, “I think it was exciting to watch, but the games needed to be shorter because they got boring. Also, most people in the back couldn’t see. The game needed items as well. Otherwise it got us hyped.”   

         All throughout the theater, students were cheering and yelling for their house representatives as they clashed against each other. Mario Romero ‘20 stated, “The atmosphere was intense and I loved every second.”

        The Lindland theater was filled with the competitive sounds of the Smash Brothers characters and the exhilarating music that the game had to offer.

        “It was cool that we got to do something new for mentor groups. It was nice to see that the faculty is taking interest into what kids like but maybe we should do something people will understand more” says Diego Mijares ‘20.

         The newly installed projector as well as the recently enhanced sound systems provided for a sporty and epic atmosphere and energy that reverberated through the theater.

        With the clock running down and the players fully focused on winning the title, the match ran down until the final seconds as Ben Rome and Colin Sumala, each having one stock left, summoned all their energy and skill into their combos and techniques. Ultimately, Ben successfully recovered from a large deficit and won the match for Bolts with a strong finish.

         Through all the battle and action, Bolts was victorious, earning 70 points for their house, while Cana claimed second place with 63 points. Russi was victorious in the Consolation game winning 56 points, whilst Pilar finished fourth with 49 points.

         “It was super fun. I liked it. I want to do more things like that for the house system. I liked that the whole school watched it, and we should do more house competitions like it in the future.” said Cana Provincial Mr. Fern.

This tournament is sure to become a Riordan tradition in the near future of the house system.