More Than a Tournament: Grassroots Play and Participation at Esports Events

This paper explores the grassroots esports of the Super Smash Bros. Melee (SSBM) (Nintendo, 2001) community in the United Kingdom. The research methods consist of ethnographic research, using field notes from observations and informal conversations with the players and organizers at the SSBM tournament ‘Heir to the Throne 5’ (Heir 5). Both researchers attended Heir 5 in Leicester, UK, between 17th-19th August 2018 as spectators, where over 800 SSMB players gathered to compete at the largest European SSBM tournament. The aim of this paper is to determine what the notion of ‘grassroots’ implies in an esports context through drawing on sources from game and cultural studies. Moreover, our critical aim is to question how far organized grassroots esports could represent an alternative to more mainstream and commercialized esports formats.