Written by Glenn | 04 April 2011

Five years is a long time. Ask yourself what you did five years ago. Do you remember anything significant? You can probably think of something if you put your mind to it. In 2006 I ran Monterey Bay Thunder 7. It was an OK tournament; 48 players competed in Super Smash Bros. Melee, with Alex "DSF" Fuentes taking home the title.

Monterey Bay Thunder has always held a special place inside me. There's too many memories that have come from the seven tournaments. Whether it was a 53-second win in Melee, or the beginning of the Dave Goodman vs. Gimcy rivalry, or Alex Mohr winning a title on his third try in the series, there was something for everyone to remember.

Players wanted an eighth tournament in the series. I thought about it for a while before saying no; it wasn't in me anymore to run tournaments. I still had a drive to compete (and be terrible) in tournaments, but not run any. When I left for Southern California the next year to start Get Your Tournament, regret kicked in. Maybe I should have run another Monterey Bay Thunder.

It's now 2011, and plenty has changed in terms of the competitive scene, as well as my own life. Now that I'm back in Northern California, I want to bring back the Monterey Bay Thunder series. And that is exactly what is going to happen.

Monterey Bay Thunder 8 is scheduled for May 14. The games featured will be Super Smash Bros. Brawl and Super Street Fighter IV.

Brawl is the main event. Not only will the winner be getting some nice cash, but he or she will also earn free entry into Genesis 2, the major Smash event to take place in July. 

There will be plenty more announcements to come in the month leading up to the tournament. Get some practice in, because it's going to be a great tournament.

You can get more info about the history of the series as well as the upcoming info on the tournament website, or hit me up on Twitter.