The Michigan Tech Super Smash Bros. Ultimate team kicked off their season Friday with a matchup against Syracuse University in a best-of-three crew battle. Syracuse won Friday’s match 2-0, with Tech bringing them down to three stocks remaining in each round.
Leading up to Friday’s game, the excitement in the esports room at the SDC was palpable. “It’s the first game of the year, the energy is abound,” said Luke Krcmarik, graduate assistant TA and previous Captain of the team. “It’s going to be tough,” he explains. Among Syracuse’s players is one who goes by Syrup, ranked 11th globally by LumiRank for 2025. “This is not an oddity,” says Travis Isbell, Coach and Director of Esports at MTU. “In our bracket, we do end up playing a lot of people who are top 15 or higher in the world.”
It takes a lot more than a globally-ranked opponent to weaken this team’s morale, though. “We’re definitely an underdog here, but we’re going to give all we’ve got,” said Caleb DeVilbiss, also known as Clavual, the current Team Captain. He explained that every match the team plays is an opportunity to learn and grow, no matter the outcome. “Win or lose, we always review. We’re going to get better and we’re going to put on a show.” Kcmarik summed up the focus of Friday’s match as one on tenacity. “It’s much easier to complain than it is to learn.”
The team’s participation this weekend helps them work their way up to the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC), which Krcmarik says is the team’s main focus for the fall semester. Aside from attending the GLIAC, the team is working to earn a spot at other regional events such as the Kato Clash. This tournament will be held at Minnesota State University-Mankato in November, and it’s one that Coach Isbell and his players are bringing plenty of confidence to. “We need a top-two spot [in the league] to go,” said Krcmarik. “I think we’re poised to win it, for sure.”
Coverage of Michigan Tech Esports events can be watched at twitch.tv/mtuesports, and more information can be found at michigantechhuskies.com/sports/esports.
