The new Esports Lounge hosted a Street Fighter 6 competition following its grand opening in the USU on Friday, Sept. 22. The competition was one of many that are planned for the fall semester. The competitions, organized by CSULB’s Esports Club, will feature a variety of competitive games in addition to Street Fighter 6, like Counter Strike 2 and Valorant.
Street Fighter 6 enthusiasts of various skill levels gathered to duke it out in this iconic fighting game. The competition featured 14 players that went for the best of three games in a one-on-one battle against their competitor. From there, a winner’s bracket was constructed, which resulted in first-year biology major Diego Rios winning it all.
“I’m glad to know that there are people of like-minded ideas that want that kind of fierce competition here at Long Beach. So, I’m very grateful for the whole Esports Association for putting this on,” said Rios.
Due to a sponsorship from ASI, first place was awarded a $40 Amazon gift card, second place received a $20 Amazon gift card and third place won a $10 gift card. There was also a raffle that had various prizes, such as a PS4 controller for lucky participants.
Third-year art major, Matthew Delmar, is the FGC (fighting game community) General Manager, and he is excited for the future of the gaming community at CSULB.
“Fighting games are a niche … But I am very happy that people still showed up and that we even have a small, dedicated group of players that are willing to come and compete against each other,” said Delmar.
After the competitive fighting scene died out post COVID-19, Delmar pushed to bring the community back.
“I think the future of the esports lounge is really bright. Seeing the amount of people that are coming in and having a good time with their friends it’s really cool to see just video games in general have a place on campus and to have it be celebrated instead of it just being tossed aside.”
With the new arena in place, Esports Club members hope to attract new members and foster their growing community. You can join the Esports discord here for information regarding upcoming events.