On Saturday, January 11th and Sunday, January 12th, Odyssey Esports’ biggest event yet, Afterburner 2025, brought in over 500 attendees. These consisted of over 400 competitors and 100 spectators who traveled from near and far to the Kruse Plaza in Auburn, Indiana. This event became Indiana’s largest Smash event and marked one of the largest fighting game tournaments in the history of the Midwest.
Over the weekend, players gathered at the venue to play in brackets for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Super Smash Bros. Melee, Rivals of Aether II, and Street Fighter 6. The individual events had pot bonuses of up to $1,000 with a grand total of $2,500 in pot bonuses for the entire event.
Some attendees traveled over 1,000 miles for the event. Players, staff, and spectators flew in from California, Texas, New York, and the Dominican Republic. Furthermore, the main event, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate bracket, drew in multiple high-ranking players. Most notably, Sonix, LumiRank’s current 5th best player in the world, attended and won the event.
This event marked Odyssey Esports’ greatest and highest-ranking event yet, coming in at a LumiRank B-Tier, an official ranking system among the community for Super Smash Bros. Odyssey’s events have been growing in numbers and quality as more players have been discovering their tournaments every year.
This year, Afterburner amassed 30,000 unique viewers across online streaming. With an average viewership of 2,500 people, the tournament became the talk of the fighting game community. Throughout the two weeks surrounding the tournament, the company had nearly 600,000 impressions on X, previously known as Twitter. Additionally, the company’s social media pages grew in followers and subscribers.
Based in Fort Wayne, Indiana, the company began hosting tournaments in 2022. The previous Afterburner tournament, Afterburner 2024, had over 400 attendees, followed by The Works 2024 with 200 attendees. Odyssey’s main location in Fort Wayne is home to many weekly fighting game tournaments. Their newly renovated lounge includes multiple TVs, gaming consoles, a full livestream setup, new lighting, and a seating area. The company aims to become a hub for esports in the Midwest. Now, they are working toward the next upcoming tournament being held this summer.
Afterburner 2025 was amazing! I can’t wait for future odyssey events!