With a perfect season record of 18-0, Ringling College of Art and Design’s Varsity Super Smash Brothers Ultimate (SSBU) Esports team proved they could hang with some of the best college teams on the east coast, competing in the NACE Star League and winning them the title of Varsity Plus Fall 2022 East Coast Divisional Champs. 

On Saturday, Dec. 3, one final battle took place for the Ringling Rollers, the final game of the year against local rival team New College Crew, of New College of Florida. 

For the Crew battle, Ringling’s MVP was Ko (Alberto Vargas) and New College’s MVP was SaMu (Jack Ries). Ringling’s Smash team ran away with a victory of 11-0 for the final score.

“This is a huge win for the Ringling Rollers and the Smash team,” said E Ramey, Esports team advisor and Ringling College’s director of recreation and wellness. “This shows tremendous growth of our Varsity Esports program, and is an exciting indicator of where we intend to go with the sport and how we continue to excel.”

Players on the winning Smash Team: Chris “Fletch” Fletcher ’24 (Captain Falcon), Viktor “Tachio” Niksdorf ’25 (Falcon), Jaehee “AsianShack” Kim ’24 (Pacman), Hanz “RawSauce” Ago ’23 (Pokemon Trainer), and Sophie Leone ’26 (Wii-Fit Trainer).

The Winter Smash Ultimate Rollout Tournament featured a double elimination bracket with the top eight teams competing in the Larry R. Thompson Academic Center, as well as a 6v6 crew battle against New College.

Food and drinks were provided for players and spectators, and prizes were awarded for the top three placings. This was the largest Smash tournament to date with a total of 27 participants, making it the biggest tournament in Ringling College Esports history.