LITTLE FALLS (WJON News) — A Minnesota State Championship is taking place in St. Cloud this weekend, and a Central Minnesota School is sending a large contingent. Little Falls Community Schools has qualified seven teams in six games for the State Esports Finals. It is a record amount for the school and the largest number of teams from a single school.
Esports Head Coach Nate Selby says it’s a huge honor to get to go:
“It’s a big deal for any sport or activity when you get the whole state together and in our case we’re gonna for the first time get to be face to face with a bunch of these kids that we’ve been playing against, other high schools we’ve been playing against all year and it’s always a really fun opportunity to get this in person competition at the end of the year. It’s a big deal.”
He says during the season, most teams compete remotely from school or home, and being able to meet the friends they have made is special.
Nathan Selby, Little Falls High School
Nathan Selby, Little Falls High SchoolThe six games Little Falls is competing in are:
Chess
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
Minecraft
Marvel Rivals
Fortnite
MarioKart 8 Deluxe
Esports continues to grow in the state with 120 schools now fielding teams. Selby says it is a privilege for a school to have an esports team:
“It’s incredibly rewarding to see these kids grow over the course of the season and then over the course of their entire career with the team and at the high school. Some of these kids started with us in 8th grade. Some of these kids are only here for one year as a senior, which is actually pretty common. Kids as a senior will pop in looking for something to do.”
Selby says they couldn’t do it without all the great support from the school district and the Little Falls Community. The State Esports Championships run from 10:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on Friday and 8:30 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. on Saturday, and costs $15 if you would like to attend.
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