I had been to one tournament at the Mineola Game Table before and had a blast, so I had been planning a return venture for a while. It was raining most of the day and I rode my bike all the way from Adelphi University to the tournament, which took about 30 minutes. I came for Brawl singles mostly, which was set for 5 PM approximately, but Melee singles and doubles had already been going on previously downstairs and Brawl doubles were set to start at 8 PM.

The Mineola Game Table is located at 167 East Jericho Turnpike in Mineola, New York and is one location that is worth visiting, especially for a Smash tournament. This fine establishment has two floors, both of which are used for a variety of tournaments. The manager is Mr. Gumby, or Mr. G as many call him, and he’s one of the nicest guys around. He allows multiple tournaments at the Game Table, such as Melee and Brawl and sells a variety of games, cards and more! The store has several big screen televisions set up on a daily basis for different systems, a bathroom for anyone to use, two vending machines and computers to play games on in the back.

(Mr. G and Co-Host Eli)

(Knightmare and his manly Falcon pose!)

                        I arrived at around 3 PM and proceeded to sign up and pay the modest door fee and entry fee for singles. For the next two hours or so more people shuffled in and started to practice. Among those in attendance were Mintyflesh, Anti23D, Snakeee, Glick, and Jo-P to name only a few.

            I played a few practice matches, which went against grandra (T.Link) and Snakeee (Z.Suit). Both provided a challenge and had great sportsmanship. After some warm-up matches I enjoyed a slice of pizza that was sold in the store for a cheap two dollars. Around 5 PM the tournament was set to begin with 35 entrants and I soon found out who my first opponent was!

            My first opponent was Marioblaze, who sported a very good Mario in our first match. I started out of the gate a little slow and was soon down a stock, but soon picked up on my spacing with Marth and won the match. In our second match he threw out Falco and defeated my Marth, so I countered in the final match with King DeDeDe and he switched to Lucario. It was a close match that again came down to one stock, but I prevailed in the end. Marioblaze placed in the tourney 13^th out of 35, which was better than me in the end.

            In between matches there was always a TV open somewhere for friendlies, so I went downstairs and played some good ol Melee. We played on Classic Dream Land and had a blast. I used Pikachu and Zelda and continued to play until someone came down and called me for my next match.

            My second match of the tournament was against Fortunecookie723 or FC. In Round One I threw out Marth and he used Olimar. I had good spacing in the match and edge hogged him a couple of times for the win. In the second match he used Lucario and his counter was Rainbow Cruise. I was winning the whole way until I suicided off of a disappearing platform with 0% on me, so that match went to FC. In our third match we played on Battlefield. I used King DeDeDe and he flung Zero Suit into the mix. It was very close, but in the end I hit him with a recovery suicide spike off the edge of the stage for the win.

            I immediately then played my third match against Eli, who helped host the tournament. Needless to say he pwned my Marth with Wario and then my DeDeDe with Kirby. In both matches I took only one stock from him too! After my loss Eli went one to face Mintyflesh, who also mains Marth and bested Eli’s Wario and Kirby in three matches. Every match was incredibly close and Minty let out a large “YES!” upon winning the final match with a downsmash.

            My last match of the day was sadly against Chi. He sported a ROB and I again used Marth. I lost my first match pretty quick and in the second one used King DeDeDe. About thirty seconds into the second match I used D3’s Swallowcide to put us even at two stocks apiece. From there it was an incredibly close match, which sadly ended in defeat. After it was all over, although Chi told me I had him “sweating” in the second match. Now I only wish I had used D3 from the start, lol!

            As it would turn out the top three players decided to split the pot three ways in the end, so no one would be disappointed. That’s good sportsmanship if you ask me! They then decided to play for a rank just to see who would win. In the finals Anti23D beat out Snakeee for the win. Anti used King DeDeDe and Snakeee used Zero Suit. Every match seemed to be close, but Anti won 3 out of 4 matches for the top spot. Jman placed third in Brawl singles, but I’m sure he’s okay with that because he won Melee singles and doubles with his partner Reno.

            Yeah I didn’t win, but that’s not important at all. By going to these tournaments you really get to know the Smash community and you learn new techniques. Upon returning later that night to my dorm room I looked up and friended all the people I met that day. So even if you don’t win it’s still a ton of fun. Just make sure to be a respectable smasher and most importantly: DON”T JOHN!!!

            I’m sorry if I’m stealing some of your thunder, PeachyAenne, but the next tournament as of right now to be at the Mineola Game Table is scheduled for January 10^th and it’s going to be hosted by AllisBrawl's own Ch33s3! I unfortunately will be home for winter break and will not make it, but everyone that can should! Ch33s3 is a certified host, after all, and an AllisBrawl mod, lol! I had the opportunity of meeting him at the first tournament I went to at the Game Table.

            Special thanks to Mr. G and Knightmare for a great tourney! All the names in bold are names that can be found on AllisBrawl!