The Mind of a Gamer EE Eseif (aka, Elliot Seifert ’15) has one thing on his mind when he sits down to play Super Smash Bros Melee: “What’s the best option at this specific moment? Should I be aggressive and try to land a blow before he hits me, or should I bait him into thinking he can hit me and then punish his mistake?” Ranked Evansville Esport’s second-best player, Seifert’s expert hitting, kicking and punching skills in fighting games earned him Esport’s sponsorship to the 2014 Evolution Championship Series (EVO) in Las Vegas, billed as the world’s longest-running international fighting tournament. “I’ve been to tournaments before, but EVO was really something special,” Seifert said. “Going into two very large ballrooms and seeing people of all kinds with the same passion for gaming as me was an amazing feeling.” Seifert loves to win (as do most game players), describing this drive as self-actualization: to be the best you can be. “Playing competitively and trying really hard to beat other people fulfills that need,” he said. His desire to be the best, something USI aspires to instill in all its students, will serve him well as he begins his career in marketing.
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