Every week, there are smaller and larger tournaments for Super Smash Bros. all over Germany, led by a man coordinating the events. We talked to him about his beginnings as a tournament organizer and the peculiarities of the German Smash community.
Making his beloved hobby a profession is a dream for many players. When one is truly passionate about something, they often want to spend as much time as possible on it. Super Smash Bros. fan David is one of the people who has managed to realize this.
David is a professional tournament organizer for Smash Bros., the colorful and fast-paced brawler from Nintendo. He has been organizing tournaments in Germany since his youth and is now working with an esports agency.
We spoke with David, asking him about his beginnings and the Smash community.
Initially just small meet-ups with friends for gaming
MeinMMO: Hello, could you please introduce yourself to our readers?
David: Hi, I’m David, known online as TaDavidID. I’ve been part of the Smash community for quite a while. I started as a TO, or tournament organizer, and have contributed to different areas for the community over the years.
I have worked on various website projects, in community programs aimed at improving or advancing the community, opening to new players, and also to the public so the community can grow.
MeinMMO: When did you discover your passion for Smash Bros? What were your first contact points with the community?
David: I played Smash Bros Brawl on the Wii as a child. At that time, it was just for fun with friends, and I really got into competitive play with Smash 4 on the 3DS.
During that time, I was also organizing meet-ups for Streetpass Germany. There were local groups across Germany that organized 3DS meet-ups. And of course, we always played the latest games together.
When Smash 4 was released, I organized a meeting to play together, a small tournament. It was so well received that I kept repeating it. When Smash 4 was released for the Wii, I also organized a tournament for that.
That was my first direct involvement with the community, as players came to my tournament and asked, “Hey, why is the rule set this way?”
I remember that I had banned Miis in my rule set at the time. But then a competitive player came and said, “Hey, I play Miis. There’s a nationwide rule set in Germany that says Miis are legal. Check it out.”
That’s how I got deeper into the community and realized, ah, there’s a system and infrastructure for the community. I quickly became immersed in it.
“More and more people showed up”
MeinMMO: So were your first tournaments basically ‘homemade’, organized with the knowledge you had at that time?
David: Exactly. The first tournaments operated under the motto, “Hey, I have my group of friends anyway. We meet once a month at a venue that is open to everyone. Since I announced it as a tournament, some people already in the community heard about it and came to my tournaments.
More and more people started showing up. I organized a tournament every month or every other month. More competitive players from the community came to my event, and it gradually turned into a real tournament.
So it was less about “friends meeting here,” but more about real events. We also had prizes and a bit of social media around it, where we announced it. At the time, there was also a German forum where tournaments were published.
And a lot of attention surrounded the tournaments, allowing players to learn about the organization happening.
MeinMMO: How old were you when you organized your first tournament?
David: Oh, good question. It was 2015? I must have been about 18 years old. However, I had already organized other events before that. So the Streetpass events, I organized those a bit earlier. I had also dealt with the Gruga League.
That is a Pokémon event where games are played offline in a large park. There were many cosplayers dressed as gym leaders spread throughout the park, and players could walk around in this big park with their 3DS, had to find the gyms, and defeat the gym leaders.
They would receive a trainer pass sticker as a medal. I also helped develop this entire system. That was my second passion next to Smash. It still exists, but I am no longer involved with the team.
“Everyone can gather their friends”, though there are some rules
MeinMMO: You’ve now accumulated many years of experience in tournament organization and now do it professionally. Can you explain how the organization works? What are the most important things to consider?
David: So, in overview: There are quite a few TOs and small organizations in Germany. I would say there are about 20 different tournament series, most of which are organized privately and simply for fun.
There is no overarching system, no league, no official licensing system where you have to apply if you want to organize a tournament. If you want, you can have a tournament from one moment to the next.
It doesn’t have to be of high quality or competitive. I think everyone can gather their friends, maybe distribute flyers in the village, and they can just do it.
Smash is also a relatively simple game. You need a few monitors and consoles. But participants can also bring those if necessary. You need a venue that has some tables and chairs, and ideally electricity. But otherwise, not much prior experience is necessary for a standard tournament. I also started with zero prior experience, and it worked out.
From a certain size, like 16 or 32 participants, there are already 2-3 things that you might want to consider. You must meet certain event guidelines and coordinate with others so that another tournament doesn’t take place on the same day in the neighboring town.
A livestream is also always appreciated so that people can watch from outside. But those are all additional options, the cherry on top. If someone is genuinely interested in organizing tournaments, it can be done quite easily.
We also have a Discord for Smash TOs in Germany. This means that if someone wants to get involved, has questions, or needs help, we are more than happy to assist.
MeinMMO: How is it decided which rules apply in a tournament? Smash has many different rule sets that exclude different arenas, characters, or items. How is an agreement reached on what is used?
David: The rule set always causes heated debates (laughs). We’ve had that repeatedly in the last few years. I would say, at this point, a rule set has been established that is actually used by all German tournaments.
There are 9 stages to choose from. All characters are allowed, all items are banned. It’s quite simple; anyone can understand that.
It originally came from the Netherlands, and it was so good and indisputable that it was quickly said, “We’ll just adopt that.” This has now evolved into a European rule set that is actually used by every tournament in Europe.
I’m very glad that it has evolved in this way. Now you don’t have to find out at each tournament which rule set applies. Can I even play my character? Do I have to change my plans?
MeinMMO: How are the prize pools at such smaller tournaments set up and regulated?
David: In most tournaments, the prize pool is regulated so that each participant pays a certain amount. This ranges from 3 to 10 euros per player. Smaller tournaments have fees of 3 to 5 euros, while the bigger ones charge 10 euros.
This means that every player pays the normal ticket price and additionally contributes to the prize pool. This is then added to the big pot and distributed among the winners.
Online contacts can be quite fleeting. You can quickly lose touch. But when you see the same people at offline tournaments every few weeks and form connections, that holds better.
MeinMMO: What were the best and most unforgettable moments for you during Smash tournaments?
David: There have been many moments (laughs). Okay, my favorite German tournament of all the ones I attended was Respawn No. 5. It took place in 2017, and what was special about it was that before the actual tournament, there was a boot camp at the same location. The tournament was held over the weekend, Friday to Sunday, and you could arrive for the boot camp as early as Monday.
This meant spending an entire week at the event, sleeping in a large hall on air mattresses, eating together, spending time together. It wasn’t just about Smash; we played all sorts of games and did various activities together. That was my favorite tournament experience to date.
Then, I have been to America twice for another Smash tournament. Those tournaments are, of course, much larger than here in Germany. That was very impressive and a super cool experience. When you see that massive stage with the best players in the world and you’re sitting in the front row watching—something you’ve only seen in live streams before.
I have also been there helping out. That means, I got to learn the insights of how TOs there manage everything. That’s a wonderful experience I recommend to any competitive player. So that you might venture far for a Smash tournament.
MeinMMO: Do you have any final words for our readers?
David: I believe the Smash community is truly a very special and valuable place. The community is super open to new players of all kinds. I can really only recommend to anyone who finds Smash cool and enjoys the game, or is a general Nintendo fan, to take a closer look at the community. You might attend 1-2 tournaments or check out the live stream online.
It’s truly a lovely community. Anyone interested is welcome to stop by. And the best connection points can be found on our website GermanySmash.de
We thank David and wish him much success in organizing his tournaments!
Do you have suggestions for further interviews for us? Send them to us via email at [email protected].
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Most often, it’s the top 8, top 5, or top 3 who receive a percentage of that. For example, 60%, 30%, 10%.
Taking off in Super Smash Bros. – Points of contact and pitfalls
MeinMMO: Let’s say I am a new Smash player, and I am not bad at all with Samus. How should I go about participating in tournaments?
David: Since we don’t have a league system, each tournament is independent. This means you can register for each tournament separately. You can choose which tournament you prefer, whether it might be nearby, if the date fits, and you can register directly.
As a new player… some say it’s easier to start with the smaller tournaments because they aren’t so overwhelming. You also have more time to interact and play with people.
And once you’ve participated in a few smaller events and feel comfortable in the community, it makes sense to attend some of the larger tournaments. There, you can learn more from the community, prove yourself in larger circles, and test your skills. But it’s up to everyone how they approach it.
I think it’s also perfectly fine to go straight to a big tournament if you want to have that experience.
MeinMMO: What are the biggest challenges or pitfalls in organizing tournaments?
David: The hardest challenges that a TO faces are usually finding a suitable venue or location. From a certain size, you have requirements for enough space and tables.
Good internet is needed, as well as electricity, and it must be easily accessible. Financial viability is also important. Many good venues cost a lot of money, making the tickets too expensive. Finding a good balance for a venue that is cool but not too costly is one of the biggest challenges.
I also find marketing challenging, managing the social media. The community is rather niche and closed off as a bubble. From the outside, you don’t get much information, except for the drama cases that might occasionally happen.
But breaking through this barrier as a TO, letting Nintendo fans, esports fans, and just gaming fans know that there is an event planned and they should check it out or sign up, is still quite difficult.
One can make social media posts, perhaps if lucky, also posters or flyers at the university. But it’s never easy, especially since most TOs are not experts and do it as a hobby.
It’s hard to manage everything equally. The actual organization, the livestream, community management. There are so many individual points that a proper event would require at least 5 separate staff members to manage.
At a Smash tournament, it’s one TO balancing everything. And usually, it’s the social media aspect that falls by the wayside.
Offline community in the digital age – “No other eSports community can claim this”
MeinMMO: What do you think sets the Smash community apart from others?
David: The biggest difference in the Smash community is that it is very, very offline-focused. A large part happens offline at events. There are of course Discord and Twitter, but a big factor in player interactions, how they meet, network, and form friendships, takes place at offline events.
No other esports community, as far as I can tell, can claim that. Of course, it helps that there are so many offline events. But you are also somewhat forced by the game to play it offline because the online mode… is not very good (laughs).
We really don’t have a choice. If you want to play the game competitively, you must attend offline tournaments, as it lacks a suitable online system for that. But that, in my opinion, makes the community special, and it’s something I truly value since offline interactions are much more personal.
Online contacts can be quite fleeting. You can quickly lose touch. But when you see the same people at offline tournaments every few weeks and form connections, that holds better.
MeinMMO: What were the best and most unforgettable moments for you during Smash tournaments?
David: There have been many moments (laughs). Okay, my favorite German tournament of all the ones I attended was Respawn No. 5. It took place in 2017, and what was special about it was that before the actual tournament, there was a boot camp at the same location. The tournament was held over the weekend, Friday to Sunday, and you could arrive for the boot camp as early as Monday.
This meant spending an entire week at the event, sleeping in a large hall on air mattresses, eating together, spending time together. It wasn’t just about Smash; we played all sorts of games and did various activities together. That was my favorite tournament experience to date.
Then, I have been to America twice for another Smash tournament. Those tournaments are, of course, much larger than here in Germany. That was very impressive and a super cool experience. When you see that massive stage with the best players in the world and you’re sitting in the front row watching—something you’ve only seen in live streams before.
I have also been there helping out. That means, I got to learn the insights of how TOs there manage everything. That’s a wonderful experience I recommend to any competitive player. So that you might venture far for a Smash tournament.
MeinMMO: Do you have any final words for our readers?
David: I believe the Smash community is truly a very special and valuable place. The community is super open to new players of all kinds. I can really only recommend to anyone who finds Smash cool and enjoys the game, or is a general Nintendo fan, to take a closer look at the community. You might attend 1-2 tournaments or check out the live stream online.
It’s truly a lovely community. Anyone interested is welcome to stop by. And the best connection points can be found on our website GermanySmash.de
We thank David and wish him much success in organizing his tournaments!
Do you have suggestions for further interviews for us? Send them to us via email at [email protected].
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