The Admirers of Illustrated Literature hosted a Mario Kart Tournament in the Game Room on the ground floor of the LaPenta Student Union on Nov. 7.

Students were able to compete in the tournament and socialize with one another while the competition slowly advanced. During the tournament, members of the AIL club and students alike were able to share and discuss their interest in video games.

The concept for the game tournament was envisioned by seniorGenesis Matias, president of AIL. Matias and other AIL club members recognized the need to host a program open to all students, even those not familiar with video games.

“In the past we have done other gaming tournaments but primarily fighting games,” Matias said. “For fighting games, it is harder for people who had never played to rank super well in the tournament. AIL thought Mario Kart would be a good game that can be inviting even to people who don’t play the game often.”

Towards the end of the event, there were at least two tie breakers that resulted in ties, causing those in the room to be filled with shock and anticipation. The students entered into a final round, ready to become a winner for this tournament. When they finished, many students jumped out of their seats at the result of their very close results before congratulating one another.

Junior Andres Cardeli won first place, followed by junior Miguel Lugo winning second place and freshman Joseph Ferrer winning third place. Each of these winners are members of the AIL club.

“Thankfully, with the help of Julia Romano, the club’s UPA, and our dedicated club members, I think we had a very successful event,” Matias said.

Matias explained how the AIL has run many successful gaming tournaments in the past, such as Ultimate Smash Bros. and Dragon Ball Fighter Z.

The club is looking forward to running an Ultimate Smash Bros. tournament later this month.