Odyssey Esports Elevates Esports Community In Northeastern Indiana

Written by Landon Frank - October 19th, 2023

Last weekend, 100 Smash Bros Esports competitors traveled to the Summit City to compete in FortLAN 2023, an event held in conjunction with a LAN party at the Grand Wayne Convention Center, courtesy of LAN Fest. The Smash Bros event was hosted by Odyssey Esports, a local Esports company in Fort Wayne. The top 8 players received medals alongside prize money and gaming prizes like keyboards from Cooler Master. The Smash Bros event raised over $1,000 for LAN Fest charity.

This marked the Odyssey’s 4th event of the year that brought out at least 100 players to the Summit City. In July, their previous tournament at Electric Works brought out a whopping 190 players across 8 different states. Previous tournaments have brought players ranked as high as 20th in the world to Fort Wayne, including the highest ranked players in the state of Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Illinois, and Missouri.

The next premiere event on the horizon from Odyssey is Lucid 2023. This event currently has 125 players signed up and is projected to host anywhere from 150-175 players before registration ends next Friday on October 27th. With a $1,500 prize pool, the event will feature top ranked players in Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, and Germany. It will be held at the Greenhaus in the North Anthony Blvd strip.

Beyond these large events that bring players from all over the Midwest and nation to Fort Wayne, Odyssey Esports also hosts local events every week at the Odyssey Game Lounge. These events occur five nights a week and encompass two nights of Smash Ultimate tournaments, a Smash Melee tournament, a Street Fighter 6 tournament, and a freeplay night where anyone can stop by the play for free and check it out. The game lounge is located at 3414 N Anthony Blvd in Fort Wayne. More information can be found on the Odyssey website and in the Odyssey Discord channel.

Odyssey’s efforts, both in large-scale and local events, have played a key role in rapidly improving the Northeast Indiana player level. Players rankings are determined at the statewide level through the Indiana state power rankings, released quarterly and decided based on set criteria. Rankings are decided based on set criteria alongside a state panel to determine the 15 best players in the state each quarter. The Quarter 3 2023 state rankings were revealed live at FortLAN last weekend and featured four players from Northeast Indiana on the rankings, with a Fort Wayne player being ranked as high as #2 on the state rankings.

Thanks to efforts from Odyssey Esports and the dedication of many community members to make these events possible, the Northeast Indiana & Indiana Smash community finds itself in the best place it has been in years. Odyssey Esports is currently seeking partners and sponsors to help expand efforts and make more events possible in the future. Partner and sponsor benefits are on the Odyssey website and include event booths, livestream advertising, and Odyssey lounge branding. If you are interested in supporting community events from Odyssey Esports and want a stake in the growing Esports market, reach out to landon@theodysseyesports.

For those looking to participate in local Odyssey events, more information can be found on the Odyssey website and in the Odyssey Discord channel. Registration for Lucid 2023 will end on October 27th at midnight.

Lucid signup page: Lucid 2023 ($1,... | Details (start.gg)


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