A special kind of competition was happening on Oct. 3, on Western Carolina University’s campus.
Catamount Clash 6, a tournament of the fighting game Super Smash Brothers: Ultimate, brought many games to from all over the region and neighboring states. “The Salty Spitoon,” WCU’s Super Smash Brothers: Ultimate gaming club, hosts the event annually in the fall.
Dylan “Anarchy” Dunn took home first place and the grand prize of $400, followed by Christian “Peabnut” Londono in second. Both of these players traveled from their home state of South Carolina to attend the event.
Londono is ranked as the ninth best Super Smash Brothers: Ultimate player in the world and has been playing Super Smash Brothers competitively since 2014.
The series’ competitive scene has existed since 2001, with the release of Super Smash Brothers: Melee, but Londono has no worries of the hype dying any time soon.
“[Super Smash Brothers: Ultimate] is the largest selling fighting game of all time,” said Londono. “I mean, we are in the middle of nowhere, North Carolina, and we have forty, fifty-ish people just in a room playing [the] video game. There are going to be communities peppered around the U.S. where people just want to play the game and are willing to go out and play.”
Catamount Clash is the club’s biggest event of the year, and the club hosts smaller, casual tournaments biweekly.
After being cancelled in 2024 due to Hurricane Helene, Catamount Clash made a comeback in 2025 and stayed strong into 2026. This tournament had cash prizes for the top 8 players and 49 players entered the tournament. Around 60 people attended the tournament.
“You can look forward to consistent events, a space where anybody can come in and hang out, regardless if you’re playing the game or not,” said club president Dillon Barbatsuly, who is also a competitive Super Smash Bros: Ultimate player under the alias “RandomStuff.”
Barbatsuly said that there will not be an event next week because of fall break, but that you should expect a regular schedule after for the rest of the semester.
