Finalists Announced for the Minecraft Education Battle of the Boroughs Esports Competition

Official Festival Sponsors and Media Partner Announced

Additional details for the previously-announced inaugural NYC Video Game Festival(NYCVGF), which includes the Minecraft Education Battle of the Boroughs Esports Competition in partnership with NYC Public Schools on Saturday, May 31 9:00am-6:00pm at Convene Brookfield Place was announced today. The festival officially kicks off ‘NYC Summer of Games’ a citywide celebration of New York City’s booming digital games community featuring marquee events, expos, tournaments, exhibits, workshops, and programs across the five boroughs this summer.

The NYCVGF and ‘NYC Summer of Games’ come as the City of NY announces that since inception, the Minecraft Education Battle of the Boroughs Esports competition has engaged more than 10,000 NYC Public School students, with steady growth in both participation and submissions – from 1,200 students in 2021 to 3,295 in 2025, and from 385 submissions in 2023 to 658 in 2025. Additionally, more than 2,000 students have taken part in live Minecraft esports events since 2023, and thousands more have participated through CS Ed Week Play-Alongs, Code-Alongs, and more.

Fifteen teams have won qualifying events to become finalists for the Minecraft Education Battle of the Boroughs Esports Competition. Three teams from each borough (one K-5 grade, 6-8, and 9-12 grade team) will compete in the finals for a chance at the Mayor’s Cup trophy. Teams are:

• Queens
  • Team Sigma from PS 24 Andrew Jackson
  • Team Neo NYC from J.H.S. 185 Edward Bleeker
  • Team Diamond Sword Bustamoney from World Journalism Preparatory: A College Board School
• Brooklyn
  • Team Hyper Pigmentation from Elementary P.S. 889
  • Team Blazing Bulldogs from Middle Magnet School for Multimedia Technology and Urban Planning
  • Team X-Men from the High School for Global Citizenship
• Bronx
  • Team Game Over from Elementary P.S. 100X (Returning Champions)
  • Team Amazing Sharks from Middle P.S. 175 The City Island School
  • Team Bronx Blocks from High School 223 The Laboratory School
• Staten Island
  • Team 45 Miners from Elementary P.S. 45 John Tyler
  • Team Powered by Redstone from Middle I.S. 027 Anning S. Prall
  • Team Stream Team 3.0 from Tottenville High School
• Manhattan
  • Team Peacocks from Castle Bridge Elementary School
  • Team Eagles from New Explorations into Science, Technology and Math Middle School (Nest+M)
  • Team Behemoth from Frank McCourt High School

The NYCVGF will also feature music from DJ Sophia Rocks, casual and classic arcade games, Robotics & VR showcase, and more including:

• Event Partners:
  • ASUS ROG, who is providing a free play area, as well as CDW, Lenovo/Intel, Samsung Education, Spectrum Industries, National Esports Association, and Teddy Moving and Storage are all sponsors of the NYCVGF.
  • Polygon is serving as the Official Media Partner.
  • Game U, Cartridge Gaming Company and Atlantic Games will also be on hand to enhance visitor experiences.
• Games Expo featuring NYC-based indie developers, game studios and gaming vendors:
  • 1TON Games, All Star Code, AniTOMO Convention, Bungo Studios, Computer Lunch Games, Cosplay Hollow, dank.game, Dusk Sharp, Edmentum, EGD Collective, Erik Andersen, ESRB, Galaxy Gaming Lab, Hamra Digital, Hot Chai Games, Immersive Gamebox, Jia Jie Chen, Latino Sports, Mokuni LLC, OS NYC, Pahdo Labs, Pixelapp, Planetary Games, PogiCiv, The Paley Museum, The*gamehers, UPTOWN GAMING, Urban Arts, VGNYsoft, Vivid Imagination Inc, Wirescribe Corp, Yuri Kissaten and Videogamesnewyork
• New York Statewide Collegiate Esports Competition:
  • For the first time, top Valorant and Fortnite players from SUNY, CUNY and private institutions from across the state will face off in a high-stakes battle for the 2025 Collegiate Championship.
  • Collegiate Valorant Competition CUNY Teams: College of Staten Island CSI Dolphins, Brooklyn College Maroon, Queens College Silver Knights, Hunter College EGD Valorant, CCNY PAPERSSrex, Baruch College Bearcats, and Hostos Valorant
  • Collegiate Fortnite Battle Royale Players from 15 participating schools including: NYU, Pace, RPI, St. Bonaventure, SUNY Binghamton, SUNY Canton, SUNY Farmingdale, Baruch, Hunter, John Jay, Lehman, Brooklyn College, Queens College, and more.
  • This landmark competition marks a major milestone for collegiate esports in New York and sets the stage for future statewide rivalries in the growing world of competitive gaming.
  • Also competing are The Quad Gods, the world’s first all-quadriplegic esports team, who are defying limits and redefining what’s possible in competitive gaming. Their incredible journey is captured in the feature documentary Quad Gods, now streaming on HBO Max.
• Game on Air – The Esports Broadcast Experience:
  • Presented by The Cxmmunity Foundation, an engaging, hands-on activation that introduces middle and high school students to exciting career opportunities in the esports industry. This 20 to 30-minute immersive experience simulates the fast-paced environment of a live esports broadcast through two interactive tracks:
    • Shoutcaster Experience, where students learn to deliver live commentary and take on the role of a professional esports commentator
    • Production Crew Experience, where students produce an esports segment using OBS Studio
• Education Lane:
  • Giving insight on application processes and degree programs will be representatives from New York City High School and New York State Colleges, including: School of Visual Arts, NYSCATE, Office of Student Pathways, SUNY Buffalo, SUNY Welcome Center, Harlem Gallery of Science, Office of Student Pathways Street Team (NYCPS), Pace University, Network of Academic and Scholastic Esports Federation (NASEF), City College of New York, Academy of Innovative Technology / NYCDOE
• Cosplay Showdown with Tokyo Bronx ACG:
  • Creatives and fans of cosplay will come together to celebrate the vibrant and lively community that meshes anime, comics, and games with a parade of characters and personas.
• Live Stream:
• Minecraft Artemis Launch Game: 
  • Making its official debut at NYCVGF, the Minecraft Artemis Launch Game is designed to ignite student curiosity in space exploration and STEM, and invites players to explore NASA’s Artemis Mission through interactive challenges and immersive gameplay.
  • This premiere marks a groundbreaking moment where education, gaming, and innovation come together to inspire the next generation of explorers. A trailer for the game is available here: https://youtu.be/V7qvaJdcNDY.
• Film Premiere:
  • NYCVGF will serve as the official premiere of Heroes and Villains, a short film crafted entirely by the students of the Arts ROC After-School Program in partnership with the National Esports Association.
  • Inspired by Lloyd Alexander’s The Book of Three and built using LEGOs, this cinematic adventure explores timeless themes of courage, choices, and discovering the hero within. A trailer for the film is available here: https://youtu.be/6UONVoD4nZc.

The NYCVGF serves as the official kick-off to the ‘NYC Summer of Games,’ a celebration of the digital gaming community and activity in New York City between the months of June – September. In partnership with various organizers, the Mayor’s Office of Media & Entertainment’s ‘NYC Summer of Games’ campaign promotes events across all five boroughs, including expos, tournaments, exhibits, workshops and programs. To find out more about ‘NYC Summer of Games,’ visit nyc.gov/digitalgames for more information about:

• NYC Video Game Festival, May 31
• Gaymer Pride, May 31
• Tribeca Games Gallery, June 11-15
• Power Up Festival, June 14 
• Waffle Games 8.0, June 14-15
• G4C Next Gen Festival, June 22
• Games for Change Festival, June 26-27
• PaleyGX Gaming & VR, July 15
• New York Videogame Critics Circle/Playing With Purpose Celebrity Stream, August 16
• Play NYC @ Anime NYC, August 21-24
• Game Devs of Color Expo, September 16-19

The introduction of the NYCVGF comes on the heels of new investments recently announced to help cement NYC’s role as a global hub for the digital games industry. The investments total over $1 million and include support for the ‘Made in NY’ Animation Training Program, the Game Design Future Lab within NYU Tandon Future Labs and CUNY’s first-ever Bachelor’s Degree in Digital Game Design at City College of New York (CCNY), which will admit its first cohort of students this fall.

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HUTCHINSON and WILLMAR, MN – Ridgewater College is introducing a new eSports activity on the Hutchinson campus.

Launching this fall, school officials say the eSports club will give students the opportunity to join competitive gaming teams, participate in tournaments, and develop skills in game strategy, teamwork, and digital media in a newly created gaming lounge.

eSports will run as a “club sport”, similar to Ridgewater’s Clay Target teams.

The only eligibility requirement is to be enrolled as a part- or full-time student at Ridgewater.

Last year, Heidi Olson, Ridgewater Dean of Students, proposed the program to expand student life opportunities for students on the Hutchinson campus. The Hutchinson campus does not have a gymnasium like the Willmar campus, and thus doesn’t host sports like volleyball, basketball and wrestling.

“This is an activity that has grown in recent years,” Olson said.  This school year, more than 100 Minnesota high schools and 2,000 Minnesota high school students participated in eSports clubs and teams.

Ridgewater Nondestructive Testing Technology instructor Sheldon Mackinnon has been hired to coach and launch the new program.

DAHLONEGA – University of North Georgia (UNG) baseball junior center fielder Andrews Opata was named a Division 2 Conference Commissioners Association (D2CCA) Third Team All-American.  Lander’s Grant Sherrod was named honorable mention.

Opata earned the first all-American honor of his career Wednesday. The superstar center fielder has now added all-american status to his Peach Belt Conference Player of the Year and First Team All-Conference honors along with thrice being named First Team All-Region by the D2CCA, National College Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) and the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA). 

Opata finished the regular season ranked fifth nationally in runs (87) and hits (96). Both marks rank as the third-most single season totals in program history in their respective categories. He also ended the year ranked ninth in NCAA Division II in stolen bases with 42 swipes on the year, which ranks as the second-most in a single season in program history. 

A hitting machine with a regular-season batting average of .380, Opata led the team with 31 multi-hit games this year. A menace for opposing pitchers, the Lawrenceville, Ga. native also ranked second on the team in on-base percentage (.450) and slugging (.574).

Opata had 15 multi-RBI games this season which also ranked second on the team. His 62 RBIs ranked among the top 65 hitters nationally. 

The center fielder smacked a career-high 11 home runs in 2025 as well.

Opata became the third D2CCA All-American in program history and the first since Crews Taylor in 2022 with Wednesday’s honor. 

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