The only way you can improve in fighting games is by learning from the past and letting your playstyle evolve as the scene around you changes. That same approach is how tournaments, especially smaller ones run entirely within local communities, continue to operate and give players a place to come and compete. It doesn’t matter where in the world you go; fighting games and fighting game players will adapt to their circumstances. So how does an Australian weekly adapt? They knew they had to age well, where they were smoked.

Well, in Adelaide, South Australia, the Cheese League hosts a series of weekly and monthly events that has become home to plenty of fighting game and Super Smash Bros. players over the years. But it had to evolve for almost a decade to reach where it is at now.

Starting in the Street Fighter IV era, Hannah “Pichy” Stockmann worked with other local tournament organizers to plan out events and try to find ways to bring other titles like Super Street Fighter II Turbo and Third Strike into the rotation. From 2010 to 2017, the Adelaide FGC began to meet up at an Internet café to host local events. The success of these locals and the growth of the community led to many more events, including the introduction of a major in 2013.

The Southern Cross Championship began in 2013 and grew alongside the local FGC in Adelaide, first being hosted out of a hotel ballroom before moving to the University of Adelaide for a number of years. This major would eventually become what is now known as The Big Cheese after things went “sour” at the local internet cafe and led to a change in administration among the tournament organizers in 2017.

After events at the Internet café ceased, the team behind what would become Cheese League recognized the gap left in their absence. They launched a new event, originally called Revival of South Australia, before that name got shredded by the community. The new name paid homage to one of their beloved tournament organizers, Jack “Flow Rats” Henderson.

“It had already been joked about the year before that we were going to run a bigger major under Flow Rats’ namesake because he was affectionately called Mr. Rats by one player,” Kai "Kaiza" Pisani said. “Henceforth, he became the Big Cheese, and we became the Big Cheese major. And that is sort of where we got the name for Cheese League too.”

After running the Revival of South Australia as a monthly event for Smash players, the teams decided it was better for everyone to host multiple games and become a more diverse event so that all communities had a place to go and play every month.

But that pivot to a new name came with several challenges, namely, rebuilding a reputation in the community and convincing players to come out to compete.

The last several Southern Cross events had seen some players reporting poor experiences, meaning the team had to win everyone back over with their new events. This led to the first Big Cheese being more laid back in hopes of creating a relaxed, positive, and enjoyable environment.

Photo via Cheese League by Karrtia Photography

And that is kind of how the team is approaching all of their events. Taking a “don’t worry about it approach” because, by Kaiza’s admission, Adelaide’s FGC scene is small enough that just getting people to show up and build community is hard enough.

“I'm not expecting every single person who's walked through the door to keep walking through that door forever. I think it's just like important just to like put it on for like the people that do want to show up anyway,” Kaiza said. “Have it so that, you know, it sticks in their mind that ‘oh, cool, I can go here. This is my place.’ I don't need everyone to always be part of it. It's just nice like, you never know who's going to walk through the door.”

The goal for Cheese League, or even the Big Cheese, isn’t to become the biggest event ever. The TOs are aware they can’t compete with the size and scale of tournaments running in places like Sydney or Melbourne. Instead, the goal is to create a culture that is competitive while still being open and kind.

For the team in Adelaide, that also means opening the doors to more people, more games, and more parts of the community.

Photo via Cheese League by Karrtia Photography

From bringing together the FGC and Smash communities under a single, recurring tournament to hosting an artist alley alongside the Big Cheese after moving into a YMCA in 2022, the cheese-themed events have become staples of not just the local gaming community but all of Adelaide. And, as the team puts more focus on things like the Adelaide Artcade, they hope to bring more local people with other interests in to see what is fun and exciting about fighting games—to the point where they might try to pick something up and learn.

“My biggest inspirations are Ultimate Fighting Game Tournament and Combo Breaker, events that people come to because they’re special, they’re unique, and where you are going to see and experience things you would not anywhere else,” Pichy said. “I’ve got to really put on something that’s special and exciting so it feels can’t miss. I want somewhere people can rock up and with a controller and find some good ass games to play and have a great time each week.”

Artists and the local community aren’t the only ones benefiting from this expanded approach either. It also lets older games or titles with smaller communities have a place where they can come and host events. At Big Cheese 5, the team ran brackets for 28 different games, including things like Splatoon, Beyblade X, Just Dance, and a Mystery Game tournament.

These opportunities keep those smaller communities alive, giving them a chance to show off what is new in games like Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike or Fate/unlimited codes, even if they are older and don’t have as many active players.

“It is great that we get to have a little celebration, a festival where we can say the rules haven’t changed but what else do you got? I love getting to have an event and just [telling players] show us something new. Every time we go to any fighting game event, we’re all just dying to see something we’ve never seen before. And I think that’s amazing.”

Love of the game is central to the grassroots endeavors of the FGC. Often those projects are run by volunteers using their time and resources to give something special to the communities they love; a love that shines brightly throughout the Australian FGC.

Photo via Cheese League by Karrtia Photography

Whether it be the cheese team in Adelaide or the wider Australian FGC as a whole, new players are welcomed with open arms and heckled during their sets just like one of the locals. You might have to put up with a little bit of extra gaslighting and no quiet spaces in a venue, but you’ll also be treated to unmatched hospitality and good vibes.

“I want to maintain communities and places where we don’t always have to be competitors. Where we always strive to improve and learn,” Pichy said. “I've always tried to run events where people are treated with kindness and respect and [that are] welcoming. And I think we really have, over the years, made an impact in the fighting game scene. I think it is a genuinely kinder and more accepting place because of some of the work we've done over the years.”