Every week, Saint Joe’s announces it’s Joey D’s Athlete of the Week.  This individual (or, occasionally, team) not only earns themselves a free meal from a beloved local establishment, they also get the chance to see their names emblazoned on the video board that illuminates the entrance of Saint Joseph High School and the eyes of every passerby on Plainfield Road.  This board has highlighted some of the great accomplishments of GMC Champions, State Champions, and NBA Champions, but this week it put a spotlight on perhaps Saint Joe’s brightest rising star in one of the country’s fastest growing sports: Neil Tutor ‘28, one of the elite Super Smash Brothers players in the GSE (Garden State ESports).

Neil’s Falcon squad has started the season 3-0 in the Smash Bros Crews Division, good enough for first place in Central Jersey Group 2, and they are one of just four undefeated teams across the state in their group.  The crew style of gameplay has three members of each varsity roster battle in one on one competitions.  Each player has three stocks, and even if one emerges victorious in a head to head, their remaining stock count carries over to the next one on one battle. 

Neil and his signature character, Mr. Game and Watch, have been dominant so far this season in his new role opening the matches.  In a recent match against Matawan, Neil eliminated Matawan’s opener with only 32% damage, lost just one stock through the entirety of the three battles of the first round, and defeated his last opponent in just over one minute.  If that doesn’t make sense to anyone new to competitive ESports, Neil effectively pitched three innings of a baseball game with someone only making any contact on a pitch once.  

In Round 2, Neil stepped in as the anchor of a tense 2-2 series, needing to defeat Matawan’s best player in a 3 stock vs 3 stock match, and Neil proceeded to again eliminate all three of his opponent’s lives while only gaining 32% in damage.  In a moment requiring leadership and resilience, Neil proved that he could execute at the absolute highest level no matter the circumstances, guiding his team to another victory.  

Nell’s next steps in the sport will involve chasing a team championship along with the individual accolades that always accompany a player of his caliber.  Because the GSE seeks to mirror the state athletics standards from other sports, Neil can seek to see his name right alongside other great Falcon Athletes.  

Neil also recently won his first tournament, dominating in the Finals 3-0, as he has grown accustomed to doing in many of his matches this season.  The stakes in this contest were even higher than what he normally faces, as he had to best competition from around the world.  He even took down a top level challenger from Venezuela, showing just how far ESports has come over the past few years.  

For the future, Neil will look to the possibility of earning a scholarship to college for his digital supremacy.  The GSE holds a combine each year with colleges from around the country flying in to see the best that New Jersey has to offer in games like Rocker League, Overwatch, and, of course, Super Smash Brothers.  Last year, two athletes earned full scholarships for their efforts and schools like Syracuse University and USC regularly offer $20k to $30k to high level players to build up their rosters.