Thomas Jefferson once said, “Victory and defeat are each the same price.” Saturday, at the Peters Township Public Library, the price of both was a measly two dollars, for the hosted Super Smash Brothers Brawl Grand Tournament in the Teen Room.

Super Smash Brothers is a video game starring a few familiar faces; the mustached Mario and his equally hirsute brother Luigi (the little Italians have been rescuing princesses, racing go carts and getting in to all sorts of trouble since 1983), the bubble gum colored balloon, Kirby, the speedy blue hedgehog with an attitude, Sonic and assorted characters from across the virtual universe.

The brawling began at high noon, with an 11:30 check-in time and the competition lasted for hours.

According to Brooke Blackman, a part-time young adult librarian, “The competition is comprised of the first, second and third place winners from the previous competitions."

High school students from Peters, Upper St. Clair, Canon-McMillan and other area schools competed for a first, second and third prize. The first place winner, Zack Platto, received a $20 gift card from Game Stop. Second place winner, Sam Batchelder, won a $15 dollar gift card and third place champ Ryan Larson, the predicted frontrunner, won a $10 gift certificate to Best Buy.

Lauren Foster, the only female competitor, arrived with her brother Alec. She had come in second place in the last two tournaments and was hoping for a big win with Meta Knight, her character of choice. Unfortunately, the lovely young gamer didn’t place.

She loves the Peters Township Public Library though. She has spent many hours among the stacks, “The library is like my second home. I love it here. I’ve made a lot of friends here.”

Her fellow competitor Matt Hilzendeger chimed in, “I spend more time here than I do sleeping.” Matt also volunteers his time to work in the library.

Lots of the teens have established friendships at the library. Lauren “married” fellow library card holder Sam Batchelder (the aforementioned second place winner) during a “Mockingjay” release party held in the Teen Room (“Mockingjay” is the third book from the “Hunger Games” trilogy, a Young Audience Sci-Fi about a girl, Katniss Everdeen, who competes in a deadly competition in a post-apocalyptic world).

Maddie Seigel, the young adult librarian, facilitates the event. “These are good kids. Sometimes we have to tone it down a bit. They get really excited.”

The kids better limber up their fingers, next week, the Mario Kart Competition begins.  

For more information on the library's programs visit their website, and also stay tuned to our events page.