While most news sources focused on gamers such as Hank Chien, Billy Mitchell and Steve Wiebe as Saturday's Kong-Off event kicked off, it was a young upstart that hit the one and only kill screen of the event's first day.
Introduced by Arcade Game Examiner last summer, Cranston, RI gamer Eric Howard took the honors of the first full game of Donkey Kong in the ten player event by reaching the end in his first game of the day. It earned Howard a game of Donkey Kong Jenga and, more importantly, the first major lead score of the event.
"I feel on top of the world," Howard stated to Arcade Game Examiner.
Howard's kill screen game ended with one extra Mario on the screen. Despite the chance to burn off the extra life for more points, Howard sprinted toward the end with another purpose in mind.
"I just wanted to make it to the end," he said. ""The crowd only knew me as the guy sitting next to Steve Wiebe. Now they know me as the guy who got a kill screen while sitting beside Steve Wiebe."
At the very moment Howard ended his statement, current Donkey Kong champion Hank Chien passed his score, racking up a 981,500 point mark despite coming shy of the kill screen.
Howard ended the day in second place.
MAME Donkey Kong champion Dean Saglio wrapped up a third place finish on the first day, while Billy Mitchell just missed duplicating his kill screen practice run from before the event to land fourth.
Wiebe ended up with an eighth place finish to end day one.
The gamers will return to for round two of the two day event on Sunday, playing from 10am to 5pm Eastern.
To learn more about the event, visit www.TheKongOff.com.
A live stream of the event can be found on www.PatrickScottPatterson.com.
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