The field of online gaming, or E-sports, is experiencing significant growth and has become a relevant part of the entertainment industry. In fact, it is a sector that generates a turnover of more than 2,010 million euros in Spain and constitutes the first option for audiovisual entertainment, as indicated in the 2022 Yearbook of the Spanish Video Game Association (AEVI).
The great growth that the world of online video games has experienced was especially evident during 2022, with the crisis generated by the Covid-19 pandemic, which gave a strong boost to this sector. According to the Unicef ??Spain report. The impact of technology on adolescence, prepared with the participation of more than 50,000 adolescents between 11 and 18 years old from 265 educational centers in Spain, 58.7% of these young people regularly play video games and 26.5% do so. does daily. Some for pleasure and others with the hope of becoming true professional players.
Although there is no training to become a good E-sports player, there is training to be a video game creator. However, to be a great player in this field, the most important thing is to train, like tennis, basketball or soccer professionals do. Although not all games have the same popularity or popularity.
In the current competitive video game scene, the best known are Valorant and LOL. In fact, they are the ones in which sponsors invest the most. However, in Spain there is an especially large community of followers of Super Smash Bros. It is a game created by Nintendo that arrived in Spain in 2008 and has been evolving as new consoles have been launched.
The most updated game is Super Smash Bros Ultimate, which brings together all the characters that have appeared in previous installments of the saga and allows you to face your friends playing online. The goal is to throw your opponents out of the fighting arena, and to do this, each character has a set of fighting combinations. Currently, the best player at the Spanish level is a Catalan player: Pau Caire, better known as Sisqui by his community.
His passion for video games, especially Smash, has led him to stardom, becoming the second best player in Europe and being in the top 25 lists internationally. His game is essentially defensive and he has become, as he claims, the best player in the history of his character: Samus.
How did you become a professional Smash player?
I have always been a person who has liked video games and I have played since I was little. There was a video game on the Wii called Smash Bros Brawl that became very popular and I started playing it from a very young age with friends. Eventually Smash Bros came out for the Wii U and I became very good at playing online until a team contacted me to start competing. Then the next game came out, Smash 4, and I continued to improve my gameplay until the pandemic hit and I could only play online.
I started to do much better, I stood out a lot online to the point of getting a sponsor who bought me a set up to stream and, when the quarantine passed, they paid for my travel to compete and from there I became very good at the European level. , above all, and very well known too. At that time, I was working in a bank, but in a temporary position, and I combined it until I started earning more playing Smash than where I worked. So I decided to dedicate myself professionally to Smash and stop working on something that I really didn’t like. And I have continued like this to this day.
How has your way of playing evolved throughout your career in the competitive scene?
When I started competing it was a different game so I played another character called Diddy Kong, who many will know from the Mario saga. I always liked Samus, but in the Smash 4 game, which is the previous WiiU edition, she was very bad. So, in this new Smash, I kept trying him because I liked him a lot, because he is the character I use right now, and in this game he is much better than in the previous one. I dedicated hours and mastered the character a lot to the point where I have become the world reference for the character. Let’s say that historically in Smash Bros Ultimate I have been the best Samus player in history.
What is your training routine to maintain your level of play?
At first I played a lot, almost every time I was at home. But currently I only train when I stream, when I’m at home and I have the afternoon free I usually stream approximately 4 hours and generate content on networks focused on that. I practice there and if not in the tournaments themselves. Because not only do I play the bracket (the competition), which is quite a few games, but between games I play with people, I practice… when I go to tournaments, let’s say I play about 8 hours a day.
Could you tell some of your strategies and techniques to master the game?
It is a game that everyone can play under the same conditions, but if you want to improve you have to play many hours and, after 1,000 hours, you are decent at the game. I recommend playing a lot and watching those who are better than you to learn what they do and thus optimize your way of playing.
In your opinion, who is the Spanish player who has shown exceptional dominance in the competitive Super Smash Bros. scene?
Currently, he is a player called AndrésFN. He and I are the undisputed number 1 and number 2, in fact, there was a season where Andrés almost surpassed me. The two of us have always been the rivalry in Spain and between the two of us we compete a lot. Whenever there is a big tournament where only players from Spain participate in the final, he and I are always there.
What characters and playstyle do you prefer in Super Smash Bros., and how has this influenced your success?
I use the character Samus, who has a movement that is the charge shot, which is basically a plasma ball that she charges and throws at you, which is great and she has always had it in all the games. In Smash 4 it is very good, but I have always liked the fact of always charging that attack and looking for the right moment to throw it at the opponent, when you have it fully charged. Since my game is based on throwing projectiles, you could say that my game is more defensive because it is my character’s meta. On the other hand, Andrés’s game, for example, due to the combos of his characters, is more aggressive.
What are the main strengths and weaknesses of Spanish players?
More than the strengths and weaknesses of the players, in this case it is the characters. When the game came out, no one had fully mastered their character because it had just come out. It’s a very deep game that requires many hours, so no one knew how to exploit their character. It depended more on the player. If he was great he won, even if he didn’t know how to fully use his character. This, with the passage of time, has changed. There are players who are not so good, but who know how to use their character and have exploited it to the fullest until they are the best. So, each person’s weaknesses and strengths depend on their character.
Have you decided to do a tournament or host yourself with a partner?
Yes, I have considered it, but normally those who make the tournament have to make the presentation, of course, have that type of protagonism and I am a competitor. Doing that while competing is not viable. If I did a very big tournament I wouldn’t be able to compete, which is in the end what I like and what I do best. But I have organized online tournaments, which are easier and I do them on my channel and it costs me less to do them.
What are your expectations and future challenges?
It is rumored that a new Nintendo console will be announced later this year. So, in about two years or maybe a little less, a new Smash will most likely come out. It’s not certain, but it’s probable. If a new game comes out the numbers are going to be immense because whenever a new Smash comes out there are many visits on social networks because it is a very famous game. So I am calm because I know that the game is not going to go anywhere, I am waiting for, if a new Smash arrives, to use my social networks to reach more people and do very great things with Nintendo and competing .
Are you considering changing your game?
It would be a risk that right now I don’t know if I’m interested in taking. If a new game came out that I liked I could try it, but it would also be a gamble. It would be dedicating fewer hours to Smash to dedicate time to a new game that I don’t know if I will be a professional in and if it will feed me like Smash is currently doing.
What advice and words of inspiration would you say to those who aspire to follow in your footsteps and become great Super Smash Bros players?
When I started playing Smash it was like anyone else, out of pure passion. I didn’t even consider that he could make a living from it. In fact, very few people know it, only if you are involved in the community. Enjoying the game is essential to play with passion and improve. Furthermore, the community is very united and is one of the best in the world because we all know each other.
