I just won a five-man local bracket for I play a lot of Riichi Mahjong at the local club as well, but haven't been able to make it out to a proper tournament yet.
I also play Skullgirls and Them's Fightin' Herds online, and have been to a few tournaments in the past, but they don't have local scenes around here anymore. One trip a year traveling out to Combo Breaker is the extent of my offline play for those games.
To… participate or watch? Because these days I can’t say I’m competitive enough in any game to bother. Not that I’m all that interested in competing either, anymore. Ten years ago me and my then Dota-friends were toying with the idea of signing up for something for a period there when we were playing a lot and doing well
To watch, well… I’m not sure. I don’t really play any esports type games currently. It’s a cop-out, but it would depend on the organisers. After mainlining the Olympics for a month I think I could probably get into anything - provided the commentators are good.
The only competitive game that I’ve ever been particularly good at was Battlerite (Blossom main), and that was completely abandoned by the devs and community.
Titanfall is likely the only competitive game I’ll ever dabble in going forward. I’m not even particularly good, I just love the moment to moment gameplay, the meta, the artstyle, everything. If i saw a local tournament, I’d definitely show up just for fun
I already attend local tournaments for Skullgirls, Street Fighter 6, and Guilty Gear Strive. If you’re looking to improve in fighting games, you’ll never get better faster than by going to locals.
What’s your nearest major city? Work with the TOs of the most similar game’s local and make it a side bracket with a small pot bonus or something, and see who shows up. Otherwise, there are majors like Combo Breaker and, this year, East Coast Throwdown running the game as an official tournament.
The nearest local that runs Skullgirls is juicy in Orlando/Oviedo and it’s not every week. I’ve been talking to the people who run the closest local about it but there’s not much interest. Everyone just wants strive and Tekken
You could probably make that work with Strive. Just make sure you’re helping them out and pulling your own weight. I know CEOtaku runs Skullgirls, and I know there are some SG players in the state, but I can’t speak for how much of a hike they are from Orlando. I think there’s hope for you yet. Otherwise, you can approximate the experience with online tournaments, as there’s one almost every night of the week.
In person? None. I ain’t about to spend all that money on gas to drive to some place where I for sure am about to get my controller handed back to me in pieces. Definitely not when I would probably need a respirator due to attendees reputation for less than ideal hygiene.
Online? Name the game. Dead By Daylight? Pyramid Head main reporting for duty. Halo? Any of the Bungie games, any map. Smash? Melee or Brawl only, Final Destination no items. Forza? I can handle any of them but prefer Motorsport 7 with no assists enabled. Heck, I’m even down to do score competition in Silent Hill The Arcade via Teknoparrot.
Most of the time I play for fun. I don’t try to be good or win or whatever. But that doesn’t mean I don’t know how to, and if I get a challenge I ain’t declining out of fear of losing. I might decline if I can’t be online at the desired time or for long enough to complete the match though.
If there was going to be a game I’d show up for it’d be Forza Horizon, I’ve got the most hours in that and kinda do ok when I occasionally play online against randoms. Haven’t been playing much recently though, so the former statement probably still applies.
As a viewer or as a player? As a player, I’d be interested interested in joining for Dota, and maybe CS2. As a viewer, Dota, CS2, or maybe some of the classics that are easier to understand on a surface level like Age of Empires or Smash Melee. That said, it’d obviously depend on specifics; as much as I love any excuse to play more Dota, for example, I only have one consistent teammate and tend to rely on randoms for other lanes.