From Friday, January 16, to Sunday, January 18, Odyssey Esports hosted its largest installment of Afterburner, a large fighting game tournament held in Auburn, Indiana. This year, the tournament brought in over 400 competitors, totaling over 500 overall attendees. Over the past three years, Odyssey Esports has continued to break its own records and bring more major-level tournaments to the Midwest.

Throughout the weekend, players had the opportunity to compete in numerous tournament brackets for games such as Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Super Smash Bros. Melee, 2XKO, Street Fighter 6, and Rivals of Aether II. Odyssey Esports also included an official “pre-local” tournament, a smaller tournament before the main event, and a “Collegiate Crew Battle” bracket. College esports teams from across the Midwest were in attendance, and Purdue University eventually took the champion title on Sunday morning.

Impressively, Afterburner hosted 25 players from the Top 150 players of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, including Miya (LumiRank Worldwide #4) and Carmelo (Worldwide #15), who traveled all the way from Japan to attend the Indiana-based tournament. Zomba (Worldwide #11) returned for his second year at Afterburner while players such as Light (Worldwide #16), Peabnut (Worldwide #22), and many more attended for the first time.

Afterburner was officially declared an A-tier event, or a “Major,” by UltRank, the Super Smash Bros. community’s official point-based ranking system. This means that the talent and number of players were significant to the community. This year’s tournament was Odyssey Esports’ highest-achieving event to date. 

The tournament’s online presence was also greater than that of 2025. Afterburner totaled around 50,000 unique viewers across channels, about 20,000 more viewers than the year prior. Following the viewership growth, an average of around 10,000 viewers tuned in for the Top 8 finals on Sunday evening.

As esports continues to grow, events like Afterburner demonstrate how competitive gaming has become a powerful way for businesses to reach younger, highly engaged audiences. Esports fans are comfortable online, brand-aware, and loyal, which makes tournaments an ideal platform for sponsorships, marketing, and community-based brand activation.

Esports is rapidly emerging as a powerful path for high school and college students, offering many of the same benefits as traditional sports. These include competition, teamwork, coaching, structured practice, travel, and scholarships, while appealing to students who may not be drawn to physical athletics. Through organized leagues and tournaments, students represent their schools, build lifelong connections, and compete at regional and national levels, often traveling to major in-person events. For many students, esports provides a sense of belonging and achievement, but in a space that aligns with their hobbies and strengths. These opportunities can also lead to career growth in technology and media-based professions.

The Indiana Esports Network (IEN) is playing a major role in endorsing esports as a viable high school extracurricular across the state. In 2025 alone, IEN’s state finals brought together more than 3,000 total student competitors, including 750 Super Smash Bros. Ultimate players representing over 130 teams in April—numbers that rival participation in many traditional high school sports tournaments. By providing structured leagues, statewide competition, and a clear path from high school to collegiate esports, IEN is helping students develop teamwork, discipline, and competitive skills in an inclusive environment that meets them where their interests are. Students, schools, and families interested in learning more or getting involved can explore programs and registration opportunities at https://www.indianaesportsnetwork.org/

Esports also creates direct college recruiting and scholarship opportunities. Universities have been increasingly scouting tournaments to identify talent, much like traditional athletic recruiting. At Afterburner 2026, Indiana Wesleyan University and Manchester University served as college sponsors, using the event to raise awareness for their esports programs and actively recruiting players to their teams. Both universities offer scholarships to students who compete. At the national level, some top universities now offer up to full-ride scholarships for esports athletes, making competitive gaming a legitimate and increasingly accessible way to achieve higher education for students whose talents shine behind a controller or keyboard rather than on a traditional playing field.

Odyssey Esports does not intend to stop its growth following Afterburner 2026. Fort Wayne, Indiana, was the birthplace of the Magnavox Odyssey, released in 1972, which was the very first commercial home video game console. Odyssey’s mission is to provide the same level of development for gaming in Indiana by creating a spotlight on esports in the Midwest. Already teasing Afterburner 2027, the company aims to continue its progression. They continue to run their local tournaments in Fort Wayne at their game lounge 3 nights per week, alongside an upcoming event at Indiana Tech on January 31. You can learn more about local and upcoming events from Odyssey Esports on the Odyssey Game Lounge website and in the Odyssey Esports Discord server.

If you are interested in sponsoring an Odyssey Esports event or learning more about the growth and development of esports in Indiana, reach out to landon@theodysseyesports.com.

For media and interview inquiries, please contact to@theodysseyesports.com