海角社区

Murad 鈥楩ruitSmasher鈥� Shaw had one thing on his mind heading into his first-ever National Junior College Athletic Association () esports 鈥淪uper Smash Bros. Ultimate鈥� semifinals.

鈥淚 just want to win,鈥� he said.

And win he did. In a 4-0 series sweep, Shaw, 18, from Montgomery County Community College, knocked out the number one seeded competitor from Mott Community College in Flint, Mich., and advanced to the national title series final.

Unfortunately though, this year鈥檚 finals were played immediately following the semifinals. Shaw put up a strong showing against the number three seeded competitor from Madison College, in Madison, Wis., but ultimately lost the series 4-0.

Despite the bittersweet ending, the 2020 Abington Senior High School graduate and Computer Science major, will be able to hold his head high among his fellow Mustangs eSports teammates and coaches.

鈥淲e are super proud of Murad,鈥� said Mustangs  Coordinator Ryan Plummer. 鈥淗e鈥檚 a really hard worker. It made my job a lot easier. We focused on his mental game this season. He struggled mentally early on. So to see him play complete in a match against both opponents was awesome. He鈥檚 an incredibly talented player. With the mental piece in place, he will be a strong competitor in the future. I鈥檓 happy for him.鈥�

Plummer noted that to see the kind of success Shaw had in just his first semester of competitive esports play and to play in a national championship is almost unheard of and an amazing accomplishment. 

鈥淲e are so proud of everything he鈥檚 done and been able to accomplish,鈥� said Plummer. 鈥淗e鈥檒l be back. This won鈥檛 be the last time he鈥檚 in the national championship game.鈥�

To get to the finals, Shaw squared off against 176 players in the regular season from junior colleges nationwide in the fighting game, which pits roster of characters against each other in a battle to the death. The top 32 players at the end of the season then advance to the playoffs. Fans across the country could stream the tournament鈥檚 semifinals and finals matches on the platform Twitch.  

Shaw, who is studying to become a game developer, has been an enormous fan of the 鈥淪uper Smash Bros.鈥� franchise for years and plays its 2018-released latest iteration between two and seven hours a day from home.

鈥淚 like the characters,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 like the platforming aspect, the combos, the edge guarding 鈥� that鈥檚 the reason I like 鈥楽mash鈥� over other fighting games.鈥�

For his unique gamer tag handle, Shaw said he wished it came with a cooler back story. He was part of a mini-community that would hack and rewrite the programming code of Nintendo games, called 鈥榤odding鈥�, and try to perfect them. Before he could get started though, he needed a name.

鈥淚 saw a bowl of fruit,鈥� he said, sheepishly. And thus, 鈥淔ruitSmasher鈥� was born. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not my proudest tag but I stick with it.鈥�

Shaw realized he had a talent for the game shortly after it was released, when he went to a local tournament hosted by the esports venue 鈥溾�� in Hatboro, and won three of his five games.

鈥淚 knew I had potential,鈥� he said.

Yet as the old saying goes, 鈥渉ungry dogs run faster,鈥� and Shaw has yet to win an official tournament, outside of two he played in high school.

鈥淚 haven鈥檛 won a real one,鈥� he said. 鈥淚鈥檓 going to be trying my best for the next step.鈥�

This fall after enrolling at 海角社区, a friend convinced him to join the school鈥檚 newly formed Mustangs eSports varsity team and play on the 鈥淪uper Smash Bros. Ultimate鈥� team. The experience has been great for him.

鈥淚t鈥檚 pretty good,鈥� said Shaw. 鈥淚 like the team and the coach (Plummer). I like that everyone鈥檚 pretty serious about it. I haven鈥檛 been able to play on campus yet because of the pandemic but it鈥檚 still well done for being online.鈥�

Shaw didn鈥檛 know anyone when he first joined the squad in the fall, but has since made friends with not only his immediate teammates, but also the student-athletes playing other games for the Mustangs, including 鈥�Rocket League,鈥� 鈥淥verwatch,鈥� and 鈥淟eague of Legends.鈥�

鈥淭hey鈥檙e all super nice,鈥� he said.

Shaw鈥檚 success this season is the perfect cap to a fantastic inaugural year for the Mustangs. In addition to Shaw鈥檚 playoff run, last semester, the Mustangs鈥� 鈥淩ocket League鈥� team also made the playoffs.

鈥淲e鈥檝e seen a lot of success,鈥� said Plummer. 鈥淲e鈥檝e tripled our roster size and added three new games, 鈥楽mash鈥� being one of them. And we played in our first-ever national championship match.鈥�

The team currently holds a roster of 36 players, along with coaches and student assistants, up from about 12 students when the program launched in the fall of 2019. Student-athletes must be enrolled in one of 海角社区鈥檚 academic programs, take a minimum of 12 credits per semester, maintain a grade point average of 2.0 or higher and pass a physical.

鈥淎 lot of first-year programs have about 11, 12 or 13 players. That was our first semester. We鈥檙e already hitting second year benchmarks,鈥� said Plummer. 鈥淭he average participation rates for esports, including four-year schools, for a second-year roster, are in the mid-30s. We鈥檝e already hit that our first-year. We鈥檙e excited to hit that and keep expanding on that.鈥�

The Mustangs team members compete against colleges nationally as part of The National Association of Collegiate Esports (), which is composed of over 170 member schools with over 5,000 student athletes.

Esports as an industry, meanwhile, continues to see tremendous growth year after year. Viewership growth is expected to climb at a 9 percent annual growth rate between 2019 and 2023, from 454 million in 2019 to 646 million in 2023, according to . , a leading esports analytics firm, projects the sport to make over $950 billion in 2020 globally and expects revenue to cross $1.5 billion by 2023.

Following a great first year, Plummer is looking to capitalize on early success by continuing to recruit and develop high level players and compete for national titles.  

鈥淲e鈥檒l have a decent amount of returning students this fall,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e expect to be just as competitive as we were this year and even more so next year. I expect the 鈥楻ocket League鈥� team to get to the playoffs again and one or two more teams to make the playoffs as well.鈥�

As for Shaw, he鈥檒l be spending the off-season training for another shot at the title. After all, for him, winning is what it鈥檚 all about.

鈥淚t鈥檚 as simple as that,鈥� he said.

To play with Shaw yourself, follow him on  at FruitSmasher1106.