Drink Something, Play Some Games, and Win Some Money
His name is Dominick Barnes, but He’d Prefer if You Called Him “Xerocool.”
The bar was warm with electricity radiating off of a row of monitors and gaming consoles, the energy of athletes preparing themselves to compete sent a buzz through the air. Hands nervously typing and clicking, mouths anxiously sipping Kava in hopes of calming their nerves, there is $1,000 on the line tonight and that thought hasn’t slipped the mind of a single soul in the room.
A cartoonish young man drags a barstool to the center of the room, an orange sweatband lined the top of his forehead where a thick dark afro burst from his scalp.
“Hey everyone, thanks for coming out to Bula Bros again, you’re all helping the community grow! Don’t forget to get something at the bar and take care of Sarah since she’s nice enough to host us every week,” said 21-year-old founder of Bula Bros tournaments, Dominick Barnes, from atop the wobbling bar stool.
Growing up in Loxahatchee, Barnes had two options: become a camo-clad country boy, or stay inside to avoid that inevitable future. Hiding from the mud buggies led him to what would soon become his passion, eSports. Electronic Sports are a form of competition via video games across nearly every electronic platform, from gaming consoles to cell phones.
eSports have quickly evolved from a concept that confused traditional sports fans, to something viewed in households across the world. Lucky for Barnes, his parents were supportive of this lifestyle. In fact, they competed with him on his Nintendo 64 before they were even aware of competitive gaming at all.
“Video games made him happy, and that is all you can ask for as a parent. Now he’s creating an entire business out of it and we could not be more proud of him,” said Cecilio Barnes, Dominick’s father.
Barnes happened to fall into the perfect time to begin holding tournaments. Social platforms such as Twitch, a live streaming website for viewers to watch their favorite gamers play their favorite games, are hitting an all-time high in popularity. Even the idea of gamers as athletes is becoming less odd and more accepted. Athletic trainers have begun learning techniques to keep eSports athletes in peak condition. Keeping hands and arms loose and limber is important for the present and future athletes, as many professional gamers develop arthritis from not taking care of their bodies.
“It’s as much of a sport as football or soccer, people just have a hard time understanding the physical aspect of it,” said Barnes, massaging his right palm with his left thumb.
In his beginning stages of developing a league, finding a location to host the tournaments was the most important part. Kava bars were immediately receptive and accepting of the idea, specifically Native Kava in Boynton Beach and Hideout Kava in West Palm Beach.
Kava is a drink made from the kava root found primarily in Polynesia, and it has relaxing and sedative qualities when consumed. The legal age to drink Kava is 18 and all ages can enter a Kava bar with an adult, which is important for the younger gaming community who wants to be able to compete.
When creating the name of his league he took to heart the fact that the Kava community is a big reason he could grow his own community, which made Bula Bros easy. “Bula” is the word said when having kava together, almost like cheers to Polynesian drinkers.
“The Bula Bros have done wonders to create an in-person meetup culture in a time where the norm is to stay home and browse the internet,” said amateur gamer Steve Wright, 26.
The Bula Bros gaming league is particularly entertaining thanks to the fast-paced 2D platform fighting games they play. This means there isn’t much to the game, the players nor the surroundings are three-dimensional, just two characters on screen fighting until only one remains standing. While the Bula Bros do play games like Street Fighter 5 and Tekken 7, the only game they are currently competing with is Super Smash Bros Ultimate.
To practice for tournaments, playing as much of the game as possible is a must. Just like anything else, the more you do something, the better you get at it.
Talking about the game is just as important, becoming totally educated with each move will help you and your teammates improve.
On days of tournaments, Barnes focuses on playing as much Super Smash Bros Ultimate as he can, specifically with players located in hubs that are known to be more skilled and advanced, this way when he plays local he’s prepared for gamers twice his skill level. There is also a training mode that allows Barnes to view specific aspects of his own play and fix them before competing.
Arriving early is key. He created this community, which means it is up to him to host a tournament worth coming to. Setting up monitors and consoles in rows that are as aesthetically pleasing for the players as it is for the spectators. The consoles currently being used are Nintendo Switch’s a portable gaming console that can be played handheld or on a screen, which is perfect for a traveling tournament.
Players and spectators pay $5.00 a head to enter and view the tournament, this money is used to create a prize pool for the top three players. The more people who come the larger the prize pool becomes, creating an incentive to get as many people to the tournament as possible.
Barnes always makes a note to greet every person that walks into the tournament.
Climbing from atop the wobbling bar stool, Barnes slides on a black jacket with the letters ‘XeroCool” stitched across his shoulder blades. It’s his gamer tag, the name he goes by when competing locally and nationally, it’s a badge of honor.
Tonight’s tournament is specifically intense, a prize pool of $1,000 is on the line for the first place winner. The nerves of the players are nearly tangible as the competition starts, 20 brackets mean about two to three hours of gameplay.
The crowd cheers after each match, the defeated player shakes hands with the victor and sits to the side with the spectators. A change in Barnes’ face is noticeable, it is his turn to compete against the man who has taken out his other four opponents.
Anxiously removing his headband, Barnes’ sits down in front of the monitor, everything he has been preparing for has been leading up to this moment.
After a countdown animation plays on the screen, the match begins. The audience looks just as nervous as the competitors, this is Dominick Barnes after all, the guy who started this whole thing.
Dominick skinned out a victory in the first round and lost the second round. Onto the final round.
Each click, a punch, each punch, a block. Dom’s tongue just barely peaking from between his lips, eyebrows pushed together in concentration. Jab. Punch. Jab. Punch, until finally, a character falls.
Cheers erupt from the entire bar, surprisingly enough this is Dominick’s first win, which in turn is a win for the entire community.
“If I win the money it’s put right back into these tournaments, tonight it finally happened. The head bro is officially [buying] a bigger and better monitor,” gushed Dominick.
A fellow teammate handed us both a large cup of Kava, they raised their cups in unison.
“Bula!” they shouted, and “Bula!” the room shouted back.
