Northside hosts Arkansas esports finals; 3 schools earn state titles

• Fort Smith hosted the esports semifinals and state finals at Northside High School Arena.
• Valley View won the Mario Kart state championship, and Bentonville Black won the Rocket League title.
• Trumann’s Lawson Parker won the 2025 Madden state title.
• The event featured games like Mario Kart and Rocket League, with teams competing from various classifications.

Fort Smith hosted another round of semifinals and state finals in esports on May 1, this time at Northside High School Arena. 

Valley View won the Mario Kart state championship, with Bentonville Black taking home the Rocket League title. Trumann’s Lawson Parker picked up the 2025 Madden state title.

The Valley View Bashing Blue Shells comprise Carter Mathes, Eli McClain, Christ Coffman, Fisher Blankenship and Jake Williams. Class 5A Valley View has previously won Mario Kart and Rocket League state titles. 

Class 7A Bentonville had two teams reach the semifinals and was paired against each other in the opening round.

All classifications compete against each other for the state titles. Trumann is Class 4A. Other schools reaching the finals were Northside (Class 7A, Mario Kart), Bryant (Class 7A, Rocket League), Searcy (Class 5A, Rocket League and Mario Kart), Mena (Class 4A, Madden), Newport (4A, Madden) and Buffalo Island (2A, Mario Kart).

More: Hardscrabble, Southside Arena to host GAC’s best in spring showdowns

Rocket League is a popular game that features a 3 vs. 3 matchup as players pilot individual cars and try to knock a giant ball into a net (soccer with cars). Mario Kart is played through the Nintendo Switch. Each team plays individually, but the accrued points are counted toward a total to determine the winning team.

Southside hosted last year’s spring semifinals and finals.

“I think for us to host this opportunity for these kids and make a big deal out of it is really special,” said Michael Beaumont, Fort Smith School District Director of Athletics and Activities. “Traditionally, it may not seem like typical athletic games, but these kids are athletes. They’re competing, and being a part of a team or group helps them. It’s a lot of teamwork and communication.”

Between both Fort Smith high schools, about 45 student-athletes compete in esports, and Beaumont said “many, many more competing for one of those spots on the team.”

Vance Gregory, head of the Fort Smith School District’s IT Department, and his crew had 26 stations ready to go for the three events, including streaming capability, Oversized monitors for spectators to watch, and headsets synchronized for spectators to listen to the teams chat with each other during the matches.

Beaumont said that Gregory is himself a gamer. 

“Vance is going to make sure these players have the right chairs and monitors, and they have everything they need,” Beaumont said. 

“This is a really big deal for these kids,” Gregory said. “They get excited when they walk in and see the setup, because they worked really hard to get here, and we want them to feel special. This is like any other sport. They compete as hard as any other athlete. We recognize that and want to make this a fun event for them.”

Esports first arrived in Arkansas five years ago, and it’s been a learning curve to pick which games (no first-person shooters) and how to get competition implemented across the state. PlayVS has been a partner every step of the way.

PlayVS (pronounced “Play Versus”) is a platform that partners with game publishers and state athletic associations to help high schools establish and manage esports programs. It provides the infrastructure for organizing official competitive leagues, tracking stats, scheduling matches and ensuring fair play. By working directly with schools and integrating into existing school sports frameworks, PlayVS allows students to compete in sanctioned esports tournaments for titles and scholarships, similar to traditional athletics.

“We really want to make this a positive experience for the players,” said PlayVS representative Isaac Jimenez. “This allows them to learn teamwork and build their social skills, usually things that aren’t associated with gaming. This outlet allows these guys a good space to compete against another school. They may know that person or put a face to a name, making it more involved for them and less of a toxic environment.”

Esports has two rounds of state title games each semester. Teams compete for League of Legends, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate and NBA2K state championships in the fall.