Spring Break
The Daily OrangeShow of hands | SU student earns $20,000 winning a rock, paper, scissor tournament
By Sarah Jane Capper
Posted: 4/15/09, 2:12 AM EST Section: Feature
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And he won.
"I woke up the next morning to … this huge check on the wall, and I'm like, that's mine?" Monaco said. "I was just in so much shock."
Monaco, a sophomore mechanical engineering major, was named the first USA Rock Paper Scissors League (USARPS) collegiate champion on an outdoor stage in Panama City Beach, Fla., in March. The event was sponsored by AMP energy drinks and was broadcast as part of MTVU's Spring Break coverage.
A desire to support education motivated the league to hold the tournament, said Dan Messinger, executive of League Affairs for the USARPS League, which was founded in 2005. Messinger said the event also helped generate interest in rock paper scissors.
"These athletes take it seriously, and they have a lot on the line," Messinger said. "As more people see that, more will take it as a serious sport, not just as a game to decide who gets shotgun."
Monaco first got a free Spring Break trip and the chance to compete in Florida after winning the tournament at Syracuse University, where he also threw paper to win. Preliminary rounds were held at 20 campuses across the country.
In Florida, paper secured him a spot in the finals after the first week of competitions. The next week, in front of a crowd that Monaco said was so dense he couldn't see the sand, he nabbed the grand prize with paper.
"In the beginning, I said 'You have to be kidding me,'" said Sabie Monaco, Jonathan's father. "You went out and played a game of rock paper scissors, and now you're going to Florida? That's unbelievable."
After Sabie Monaco studied the brackets and researched the game, he began to see the strategy behind it and view it as a sport.
"He started with nothing, and now he's $20,000 richer," said Sabie Monaco. "When you play basketball, you get paid. He got paid for playing a sport."
Monaco estimates that rock paper scissors is 50 percent luck and 50 percent skill. He observed matches to find patterns in how other players threw. Body language and the opponents' previous throws also helped him decide what sign to make. Players must collect and organize data about opponents, check their impulses and remember long sequences of throws, Messinger said.
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Rell
posted 4/15/09 @ 8:55 AM EST
Was this really worthy of a feature DO staff?
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