ROCKFORD, Ill. (WIFR) – Rockford University hosted its second Super Smash Bros. Ultimate tournament at the Zelenka Family Esports Center in the Burpee Student Center.
The tournament, RU Ready 2, had 33 people compete for prizes on Saturday, Jan. 25. Its first tournament had 20 competitors.
Of the 33 attendees, only three walked away in the green.
- 1st Place – Shelter ($100 Amazon Gift Card + Champion’s Trophy)
- 2nd Place – DaisyBuena ($50 Amazon Gift Card)
- 3rd Place – Elcram ($25 Amazon Gift Card)
RU Ready 2 was single-elimination. If you lost your match, you were out of the tournament.
Shelter, whose start.gg page says he’s based in Sycamore, didn’t lose a single match until the grand finals where he lost one game in the best of seven match.
Shelter is no stranger to winning tournaments in northern Illinois. The Bayonetta player was ranked fourth on the Liquipedia Chicago Power Rankings for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate in the winter 2024 season. Shelter has been ranked within the top ten of the Chicago Power Rankings since fall 2022 except for Quarter 2 2023 when he didn’t make the list and fall 2023 when he was ranked eleventh. Throughout 2024, he was consistently ranked towards the top of the Chicago Power Rankings, but never cracked into the top three.
Up until the grand final, DaisyBuena, an aptly named Daisy player, dropped only one game in the best-of-five quarterfinal match-up against M0tivational. In the grand final match, she saw the only player in the tournament who could beat her.
Elcram’s matches were all won in dominant fashion until their semi-final match against Shelter where Shelter swept the series.
Rockford University Esports also teased RU Ready 3 which is expected for mid to late February.
RU Ready 3 will be double-elimination. If you lose a match, you can still come back in a lower bracket. If you lose a second match, you’re out.
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