New York Super Smash Bros. for Wii U player Eric "Mr.E" Weber has signed with multigame esports organization Team RivaL as its second fighting game player, the organization announced Thursday.
NorCal Smash 4 player Matthew "Xzax" Liberatore and Mr.E currently comprise the Team RivaL Smash 4 roster.
"I wanted to join Team RivaL because they just were willing to comply with what I was asking for very quickly, and the process was very smooth and quick," Mr.E told ESPN.
Mr.E has been on a meteoric rise this past year. He wasn't ranked on the first Panda Global ranking from early 2016, but now he sits at 18th in the world.
"Following Genesis 4, we at Team RivaL knew we wanted to expand our Smash roster after being able to experience a major event like that with the amazing atmosphere the community provided," said Tyler "TDubbaya" West, co-owner of Team RivaL. It was Mr.E's jump to 18th out of nowhere that really caught Team RivaL's attention.
Because of Mr.E's strong global ranking, Team RivaL wasn't the first organization to reach out to him.
"I got a few other offers from different teams, but I felt like Team RivaL was the team that I could see myself being with the most," he said. "Not only did I love their logo when I saw it, but they also seem to be growing pretty rapidly as a team as well."
One of the major factors for Mr.E joining a professional esports organization is security, which Mr.E says allows him to focus on the game and get to the events that matter.
But the team isn't done with the fighting game community yet.
"We always are constantly looking for opportunities in other games, provided that the individual has the drive we are looking for in all of our players. Other fighting games are no exception," said TDubbaya.
Mr.E had some strong finishes in the past year. He came in seventh at MomoCon 2016, ninth at Apex 2016, 13th at Evo 2016 and fifth at UGC Smash Open. At Genesis 4 in January, he finished at 49th.
