There have been many stories of success through gaming of how people accomplished the impossible with eSports. Think big, think 10 million dollar prize pools and chaos dunks.

Now, think smaller. Think of what got you playing games in the first place. Think of the afternoons that you and your friends spent playing with each other at home or at the internet cafe, all the while slowly getting better along the way.

Not all positive stories in the eSports world have to end in the big leagues. For the 25 year old Myk “PBE | L1nk” Villaflor, the competitive aspect of Super Smash Bros. became essential to him growing up.

No, it didn’t make him rich and famous. Instead, it transformed him into a better person and gave him the things millions can’t buy — lifelong friendships.

Starting Out

Growing up in Southern Manila during the 90s, L1nk was exposed to gaming so much that it became one of his favorite past-times. A chance meeting when he was 6 years old had him discover that his neighbor, Mitch Santos, also shared a love for games. Having the same desire for video games, they became great friends.

Throughout the duration of their childhood, the two fought head-to-head in every game but when they discovered Super Smash Bros., everything changed. “We got addicted to the game. It was fresh, and different from every fighting game we played,” he told me. “I also found out that it was something I’m quite good at because it didn’t require many button inputs and winning relies heavily on environment control and taking advantage of it.” The same also applied to the sequel, Super Smash Bros. Melee, released in 2002.

“You think we’re the best at this game (Melee)?” was something Mitch would inevitably ask. After thinking it through, L1nk didn’t know. He did think there was some basis to that claim though: “However, based from my experience at that time, we never lost to anyone we played against, to any random friend we had or stranger.”

Having no concrete answer, L1nk started his own quest: to search for fellow Smashers.

Everywhere he’d go, L1NK would ask people if they knew anyone who played the game. And while did he have some results, they weren’t what he was hoping for. “Most of them (the people I asked) said no, and for the few that did play (or that they knew someone), they’d eventually eat their own words. You could tell by the way they talk about Smash, if they knew what they were doing, or not. At the end, I’d almost always end up disappointed.”

Come 2005, he played against a group of acquaintances who were actually good at the game; he still beat them. “They gave this look at each other and then they looked at me with the same stare.” Glaring at him further, they said something that might have set him down the road to where he is now. “You should fight our friend. You should fight David.”

David (Bulalolz, L) and Myk (L1nk, R) celebrating the latter’s birthday alongside Myk’s girlfriend (Far R).

The Fight Begins and Ends

It was only then that L1nk‘s thirst for competition was quenched. The stage was set for him to finally face his match. He had been confident in his abilities, especially in his main characters Link and Falco, but meeting David “Bulalolz” van Hoven made him think otherwise. What made things even tougher was that his opponent played a character he’d never played against before – Jiggypuff!

“It was a toe to toe battle. I had never fought an aggressive player like him before.” he reminisces. Despite Bulalolz‘s obvious skill in the game, L1nk took him down. “Everyone, including Dave was in awe. At the time, NO ONE had beaten Dave when he was serious. He even beat someone blindfolded!”

It didn’t take long for the word to spread. More and more challengers appeared to try to take L1nk down and from this set of people, the first iteration of the competitive community in Southern Manila blossomed.

One of these challengers though, was someone they never expected to even know about the game: George Schulze, a popular jock from L1nk‘s high school. “I was surprised that George played Smash! He really didn’t look like the type. I mean he’s a bodybuilder, he does theater stuff, singing,” he said. In fact, it was George who enforced a primitive version of the standard competitive rule-set. Being the best around, Mitch, Bulalolz and L1nk formed the original “South Trifecta” and were essentially untouchable by the other players. George himself had the self-proclaimed role of “The Guardian” who would take on anyone first before they were to fight Bulalolz.

Once upon a time, L1nk even traveled to the United States and beat one of Tennessee’s power ranked players.

“I mean sure he wasn’t as good as the better players in the US but you have to consider that we can beat other people outside our land,” he admits.

All things considered, the growing community formed by him and his friends was looking strong and things were looking great, for a time.

As they grew, so did the frequency of their meetups but eventually, the player-base stagnated. “I was the only one among my friends who was really interested in looking for others or at least, actively looking for other players.” What made matters worse was that all of a sudden, Mitch left. Not just the game, but in general. “After some time, Mitch just… disappeared. I haven’t been able to contact him in a while.”

AIMD (L) and L1nk (R) at New Year’s Cleave 2016. Photo by Jason “Rizal” De Ramos.

Time Skip

All good things must come to an end. Life got in the way for many of their group and out of the blue, it was over. “No one was interested in it anymore. No one really chased for a competitive scene. Eventually, they were contented with just Smash Fests (casual gatherings) at houses. It died out. Brawl came too, but its hype lasted as long as a Melee match.”

Fast forward to the year 2015 and Super Smash Bros. in the Philippines is well and alive again. L1nk is high up the food chain, placing highly at most Smash 4 tournaments and winning the Melee event at the national Electronic Sports and Gaming Summit tournament. And while the scene itself is “new”, players from the the old one have resurfaced and are top competitors themselves.

L1nk shouldn’t be considered an old dog in any sense of the word. Linking both the old and new blood of the community, he is an evergreen testament to the what gaming was meant to be in the first place — fun with friends. Although his Smash career  is beginning to wind down due to work, the memories he’s forged will never be lost.

“Looking back, Melee in the South was never to flourish, but rather its role was to bring together a group of Smashers that would soon play alongside each other with a newer and fresher Smash 4. I’m happy with the scene we have now and I would never have met Dave, George, JP, Kebo, and other Smashers if it weren’t for Melee.”

Credits to Jason “Rizal” De Ramos and Smash Bros Philippines for the banner photo as well as the second photo used. Credits to PlayBook Video Game Lounge and Bookshop for the gameplay video used and for being L1nk’s sponsor.

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