(Another) Mario Kart tournament

Friday was the last weekday of the kids' summer break so I was looking for something fun for them to do. Looking online for weekend activities/events, I came across the Play Nintendo Tour, which was making a stop at the Houston Galleria. It was an event that showcased multiple games with the opportunity of playing each one. But the main feature (and the main reason why we came) was the Mario Kart tournaments. Being that this is their favorite game, this was a must do.

The format of the tournament started with a preliminary round of 16 players. There was no age restriction so you had little man Tyson, who's barely three years old, competing against old folks like myself (completely unfair, I know). From there, the top 8 players would move on to the semi-finals. Sadly, Tyson didn't make it past the first round but Jacob, Andrew and I did. In the semis, Andrew got knocked out but that was probably because he got stuck in the same group as Jacob and me.

In the finals, we got to compete on center stage (the empty ice rink in the Galleria) with everyone watching, playing on the jumbo screen while the MC was blaring play-by-play. It was intense.

In the end, Jacob barely lost (by one point) to a college kid. Being that he was only eight years old and so close to winning, he also got a prize. Oh, and Tyson got a prize too... for being so dang small. During the awards presentation, the MC was walking backwards as Tyson was coming onto the stage and she essentially ran him over, knocking him back pretty hard. Boom!

He eventually recovered and we played more games, ate lunch, and played more. What was supposed to be only a couple hours there lasted almost the entire day. I was video gamed out.