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As part of the annual United Way fundraising campaign locally, Emerson employees have been competing in a Mario Kart tournament for the last few years, and this year came with a special twist — the winner got to play against MCC Esports national champion Amber Lawthers on Friday, Nov. 3.

“We want to drive engagement with and excitement for the united way and a competition to get people involved works well. We like Mario Kart 8 because it’s accessible, well known, and fun to watch,” said Jesse Serrano, a design engineer. “We also run different events to make it fun for everyone including a For Fun bracket that is more casual and less competitive while the For Glory bracket is the reverse.”

They also host a Mario Kart 64 side tournament for those who have nostalgic memories of Mario Kart on the Nintendo 64.

“This year we had around 25 players total who donated $10 a piece to participate with most people participating in the Mario Kart 8 For Glory bracket. The tournament is run over the lunch hour with an elimination bracket happening during the first four days of the week and finals happening on Friday in our Atrium using the big screen,” Serrano said.

The winners of each bracket received trophies along with donated gift certificates from Game Haven. This year, Caleb Gunsaulus won the MK64 tournament, Ryan Schirle won the MK8 For Fun tournament, and Kane Laws the MK8 For Glory tournament.

“We plan to continue the tournament in the future with different events to keep things fresh and would recommend other companies to give it a try!” Serrano said.