It’s not easy to stream on a frequent, consistent schedule while also hitting up tournaments every single week. Especially if you also work a full-time job. But that’s exactly what Patrick “G0nard” Sequeira has managed to do.
G0nard is a Twitch Affiliate and also the best Little Mac player in Canada for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. He’s been competing in and streaming video games for four years now.
“My first tournament was EGLX in April 2016, where I finished 33rd out of 200 entrants” G0nard told ggn00b in an interview. “I started streaming a couple months after that.”
He began by streaming Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, where he also used Little Mac. The character had a reputation for annoying many players, but any hate-filled gamers who tuned into his stream would immediately be swayed by his friendly, positive persona, as well as his skill with the character. G0nard believes his kind approach is what leads to people staying around in his streams.
“If you want for people to stay and be engaged [with your stream] you have to be skilled, but you also have to be kind and mannered.” G0nard explains in regards to his process. “Anyone can get viewers on their stream, it’s keeping them that’s the hardest part.”
“Remember; every game you play tells a story. Every win and every loss can tell a story about you as a streamer.”
G0nard’s friendly way about him has led to those viewers sticking around; whatever he streams, whether it’s Smash, Final Fantasy 14, Super Mario Maker 2 or anything else, the same viewers return and watch every stream.
Part of this is also due to his community being able to connect outside of his streams. G0nard set up a Discord that allows members to chat and play games with each. Through Discord, he’s able to keep up to date with stream info, share memes with community members and talk about competitive Smash.
“It always warms my heart to see people in the Discord talking with each other, especially when I’m not active or even streaming at the time.”
As G0nard explained, it’s a strong sell to viewership when you’re good at the game you’re playing; G0nard is considered the best Little Mac player in Canada, in large part due to him attending weekly tournaments hosted by the Angry Burly Bros (ABB), based in Burlington, Ontario. Being a Little Mac player is also a fairly rough endeavor; the character has an insanely strong ground game, but his recovery is awful and he has weak options in the air. In a dynamic game like Smash, this can be a nightmare scenario in many matchups.
Despite this, G0nard is optimistic about his character: whenever people make claims that Little Mac is the worst character in the game, he is respectful of their opinions even though he couldn’t disagree more. This can put him at odds with other players, but he’s willing to defend them with tournament results as well as his own knowledge of the game.
“[Being a streamer and competitor] is all about keeping your values.” G0nard says in regards to finding his way in these endeavors. This has resulted in him being a positive force in the community while also not backing down from his own opinions and views of the game.
G0nard would only attend a few major tournaments a year between EGLX and Canada Cup 2018, when one of his tournament opponents, MaGiK, invited him to an ABB weekly.
“After I beat MaGiK, he invited me to ABB and I’ve been going ever since.”
The constant tournament practice, as well as playing against strong Canadian talent such as Evy and Xyro, helped G0nard push his Little Mac to new heights: he became a ranked member on the ABB Power Rankings and consistently placed in the top of their doubles tournaments.
It all came together in September 2019, when G0nard played against tamim, formerly known as Mistake, one of the best Ultimate players in all of Canada. G0nard would defeat tamim 2-1 with the crowd going wild the whole time.
“My hands were visibly shaking. I couldn’t pull the controller out of the Switch.” G0nard says about the immediate aftermath of his huge victory. “All of my ABB friends immediately came up and started hugging me. It was probably one of the greatest feelings [ever for me.]”
Only time will tell what happens to G0nard’s competitive career as tournaments resume post-coronavirus, but for now he’s just enjoying streaming and competing in online tournaments. When asked what he would tell other aspiring streamers or esports competitors, his answer was simple:
“Do what you love. Be positive, and keep on smiling.”
Check out the full interview with G0nard here!