On the grind and in the knockout rounds: Gaming tournaments in the upstate
Photo by David Monroe
David Monroe, Contributing Writer
In the back of a meadery somewhere in Greenville, South Carolina, people pay for a chance to win money knocking each other out.
Grind Haus is a fighting game tournament series in Greenville that takes place once a month and allows people to compete in tournaments for various video games, mostly fighting games. Tournament organizers set up stations with computers and game consoles that are used for the tournaments. Organizers collect entry fees from the people who wish to compete, creating a “pot” that becomes the tournament’s prize for winning. When these stations aren’t being used, anyone who has paid a small venue fee is free to use them. The result is an environment that is not only competitive, but allows people to connect and fellowship over their shared interest in fighting games.
Video games today are often associated with anti-social behaviors where people play games to avoid interacting with real people. However, this wasn’t always the case. Before better home consoles and more powerful computers, arcades were the only place to play the best new games available.
Released in arcades in 1991, Capcom’s “Street Fighter II” allowed played to compete against each other in a versus mode where the winner was allowed to continue playing without spending more quarters. The result was an environment where people would gather around the machines, competing and strategizing to make their quarters go as far as possible.
At larger arcades in urban areas these gatherings could grow to be very large, creating local groups that would gather and play regularly. As the popularity of these competitive arcade games grew, people began making tournaments to gather local groups and compete to see who the best would be. These early arcade tournaments were the beginning of what is called the fighting game community or FGC.
While online features in modern games have made it possible to compete online, tournament organizers still make a point to create offline events where their respective communities can gather, thus preserving in part the same arcade atmosphere of the 90s. Tournaments can range in size from large “super majors” in convention centers with over 10,000 competitors to “locals” at smaller venue like bars and game stores.
Grind Haus in Greenville is one such “local” that has been held at different venues but most recently in the Wandering Bard Meadery. Alexander Jones, also known as “TopHatOtter,” is the tournament organizer for Grind Haus and Electric City Showdown in Anderson. Jones started organizing tournaments in 2022 but has been attending tournaments since 2016.
When creating tournaments Jones takes on much of the work and extra responsibilities. Whether it’s choosing what games will be played, finding a venue, collecting the games and consols, creating brackets and spreading the word through social media and community discords for Georgia and the Carolinas these are all things Jones takes on himself. He pays for everything out of pocket: the consoles, computers, monitors, games, add-ons for the games and venue costs. Any money collected from the tournament is set aside to help cover expenses.
With high costs in both time and money it might seem hard to justify. Afterall advancements in technology and gaming make it possible to play and compete with people from across the country from the comfort of your own home. When asked why he takes on the extra work to make his events in person instead of the easier, and free, online Jones said, “Because I want to, that’s why.” Jones enjoys running events for his friends.
“It’s something to do on a Saturday.” It allows him to meet new people and make connections. “It’s something special,” Jones said.
Social media and websites like Start.gg allow people to find events like the ones Jones runs. Anyone interested can find events and tournaments near them.
