RIPON, Wis. -- The Ripon College Esports Super Smash Bros. Ultimate team delivered one of its strongest tournament performances to date at Phantasm #209, highlighted by Ethan "Cheeze1107" Arts' first-place finish in singles play. Arts went an impressive 8–1 in sets, defeating Riptide twice en route to the championship, while the Red Hawks placed three players inside the top ten overall.

Ripon entered six competitors into the 24-player field and quickly made its presence known. Arts, competing with his signature Steve, dominated early rounds, including playing teammate, Ruby "Project 7", before defeating Sandschloss and Riptide in consecutive sets to advance to Grand Finals. After dropping a narrow first set in the finals, Arts rebounded with composure, taking the reset and securing the tournament title with clean edgeguards and precise block setups.

Fellow Ripon standout Ruby "Project 7" Rosemary also made a deep run, finishing tied for 5th with a 6–3 record. Using Sonic, Rosemary raced through multiple rounds in the winners bracket before eventually falling to Riptide and UW-Green Bay's Skooks—both top finishers in the event. The aggressive, movement-heavy playstyle proved a constant challenge for opponents throughout the day.

Sam "YeLLow" Waring earned a top-10 finish as well, ending the event 4–4 while piloting Min Min. Waring secured a key victory over UWGB's Deryldude and forced several close final-stock situations in later rounds.

Connor "Sandwicheeze" Schmidt, Cooper "Goober" Ahrens, and Lyric "CoopDaDoop" Goelzer rounded out the Ripon lineup, gaining valuable bracket experience despite tough early draws. Each player showed flashes of strong play in their respective sets, contributing to Ripon's strong collective presence across the tournament standings.

RIPON LINE UP

Ethan Arts (Suamico, Wis., Bay Port HS) - Cheeze1107
Ruby Rosemary (Green Bay, Wis., Bay Port HS) - Project 7
Sam Waring (Franklin, Wis., Franklin HS) - YeLLow
Connor Schmidt (Milwaukee, Wis., Gold Meir HS) - Sandwicheeze
Cooper Ahrens (Fond Du Lac, Wis., Winnebago Lutheran HS) - CoopDaDoop
Lyric Goelzer (Baraboo, Wis., Baraboo HS) - Goober

For full match stats, click here.