Kids & Family
Somerville Couple Hunts 'Big Buck' in World Championship
Somerville residents Michael Costello and Alessia Brugnara are traveling to Chicago for the Big Buck Hunter World Championship, and they could come home with up to $20,000 in prizes.
Michael Costello and Alessia Brugnara, who live near Davis Square, are the best Big Buck hunters in Massachusetts, and the second best in all of New England.
In Somerville, their favorite place to hunt is at Sligo Pub in Davis Square, though they sometimes hunt at On The Hill Tavern in Magoun Square. For big-time Big Buck hunting, however, they head over to Brighton Beer Garden.
Costello is best at bagging wildebeest, and he's pretty good at shooting whitetail deer and kudu, a type of antelope. Overall he's ranked 42 in the country. Brugnara is ranked 16 in the country for women.
The couple is so good at hunting, in fact, that they're traveling to Chicago on Nov. 8 for the Big Buck Hunter World Championship.
"I'm really psyched," said Costello about the opportunity. As top-ranked hunters, he and Brugnara will get chauffeured from the airport and hotel to the championship venue, in trendy Wicker Park, and "[we] get to eat and drink for free all night," he said.
The buck they hunt, of course, are of the video game variety.
Big Buck Hunter is an arcade game, often found in bars, where players shoot game using plastic video-game rifles. With Big Buck Hunter Pro, players from different bars across the country can compete against each other, and players can earn scores, leading to the national rankings.
Big Buck, Big Money
Qualifying for the world championship is no small matter. Costello had to supply 50 scores on five different animals, with the top 52 players in the nation—men and women—going to Chicago. The Australian national champion is also flown to Chicago for the event, and some wildcard players are also thrown into the mix. The championship has taken place since 2008.
Costello said, "I'm playing to win." Winning is also no small matter. There's a grand prize of $15,000 for the world champion.
Costello said he'd be happy to finish in the top 10, but "my girlfriend could actually win the whole thing."
He's talking about the separate ladies-only tournament, with a prize of $5,000, though Brugnara also said, "I'd be happy if I placed in the top ten."
The Buck Hunting Community
The sport is popular with bartenders, according to Costello, who until recently worked at Five Horses Tavern. Brugnara also tends bar.
Brugnara's theory is "it's all military or bartenders" who excel at Big Buck Hunter, Costello said. People in those professions fill the top ranks of the game—folks who are professional shooters, and folks who spend lots of time near barroom games.
Costello first got into Big Buck Hunter in 2006, he said. Soon, he and other aficionados would gather at Tommy Doyles in Harvard Square to play. "We made friends with a bunch of people around Harvard Square" who are into the game, he said.
With Big Buck Hunter Pro, players from different bars can play against each other, wagering a dollar on games, a transaction handled though the video game system.
"There are some good players who probably cash out a couple thousand dollars a year," Costello said.
Brugnara didn't start playing until she met Costello. "He put me through Buck Hunter boot camp," she said. "It's just a lot of fun."
The Big Buck Hunter World Championship begins Friday with an opening party and the ladies tournament, and the main tournament takes place Saturday.
If you can't make it to 1st Ward at The Chop Shop, you should be able to see live video of the tournament at bigbuckhd.com.
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