HOT SPRINGS NATIONAL PARK, Arkansas — A competitive video game tournament with cash prizes has been added to the schedule for Spa-Con V, the comics and pop culture convention scheduled for the Hot Springs Convention Center and Bank OZK Arena September 24 – 26.
Spa-Con Showdown 2021 will be a competitive Super Smash Bros. Ultimate video game tournament on Saturday, September 25, at the arena, according to Visit Hot Springs Marketing Director Bill Solleder, who also is one of the founders of Spa-Con.
“The tournament will feature talent from across the state and beyond,” Solleder said. “This is sure to be the most impressive video game event in Arkansas in over a year and a half.”
Spa-Con V originally was to have been held in September 2020 but was postponed because of the pandemic.
Solleder said registration for the tournament must be completed via a link hosted at smash.gg/tournament/spa-con-showdown-2021/register.
The cost for each entry is $35 (plus tax), which includes a full $25 weekend pass to Spa-Con V as well as a $10 bracket expense, Solleder said. One hundred percent of the bracket expense will go to prize payout.
He said there will also be a $1,000 pot bonus added to the prize payout in addition to $10 from every competitor. The top eight players in this double
elimination tournament will receive prize money. The tournament will feature an internet stream with commentary.
The tournament is limited to 96 players, and the deadline to register is noon on Thursday, September 23.
Spa-Con Showdown is presented by the Garland County Library and Visit Hot Springs. For more information contact Paul Kagebein pkagebein@gclibrary.com
Previously announced features of Spa-Con V include an appearance by Rodger Bumpass, the voice of Squidward on Spongebob Squarepants, and celebrity guest Lori Petty, known to comics fans for her portrayal of Tank Girl in the movie of the same name and for her starring role more recently in the hit TV show, Orange Is The New Black. Also on hand will be 12 internationally known comics artists who will give talks and greet fans during the convention.
Solleder said VIP passes, at $100, and weekend passes, at $35, are available on Spa-Con’s website: www.spa-con.org.
“Our celebration of pop culture and comics brings together a diverse audience that loves everything from Batman to ‘Stranger Things,’ Pac-Man to Mario Smash Bros, Dungeons and Dragons to Pokemon and everything in between,” he said, adding, “Spa-Con provides possibly the best people-watching fun in the state. It has hosted celebrities from ‘Star Trek,’ ‘Twin Peaks,’ ‘Battlestar Galactica,’ and ‘Stranger Things,’ not to mention, NASA scientists and 12-foot-tall robots.”
For more information call Bill Solleder at 501-321-2027.