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It was destiny for the largest high school esports competition in New Jersey to occur at the largest, newest and most teched up spots in all of the garden state. That’s right, the Garden State Esports Fall Competition kicked off at Rutgers University. Here are where over 19 high schools from north to south Jersey met to go toe to toe with each other. They competed in various titles ranging from the best esports logo and fandom art all the way to the top competitor in Rocket League.
During a COVID era, I wasn’t sure what to expect when reporting to the Rutgers Esports Center in December for the Garden State Esports (GSE) Fall Competition. Once I entered the building, I was swept over with a charming community presence. There were all different types of high school students, teachers and parents supporting each other as they competed to be the Rocket League State Champion. When one of the 19 teams were eliminated, the members were able to stay and root for their new friends or go inside Rutgers newly renovated game room that features over 60 MSI gaming computers and chairs. There was even a meet and greet area with esports organizations, companies, and star gamers. I watched as shy and loud players exchanged their information with them to further their goals in achieving esports scholarships, sponsorships, and ideas on how to obtain prosperous jobs.
The most prosperous participants at the GSE Fall Competition were the ones who left with trophies. Hannah Cronen of Barnegat High School won the Garden State Esports Fandom Art contest, Carlos of Oakcrest High School won the Canva esports logo contest and the Harrington Park school district won the GSE Gwoop Academy grant.
The fate of the Rocket League State Championship went between the Princeton Tigers and the Barnegat Bengals. The Barnegat Bengals defeated the Tigers after coming back from an overtime loss in their third match, defeating the Tigers 3-1. The Bengals were the first school to make esports a varsity sport. This makes their athletes have to follow the same guidelines to play other varsity sports such as maintaining good grades, attendance and participating in a certain number of practices and matches. After Barnegat instilled this over 80 other school districts followed suite in NJ. Traci Sellers, Barnegat High School computer science teacher and esports coach said, “We are so proud of these young men for their phenomenal teamwork and dedication. They have worked hard for this honor, and it is well deserved. We hope to continue to grow our program and encourage students to get involved. Our esports family has some of the most amazing students. They are kind, dedicated and we are so lucky to have the opportunity to work with them throughout the year.”
The Garden State Esports Fall Competition was a huge success in 2021. It was able to maintain a healthy environment to allow schools to come together to compete in a supportive, fun atmosphere. It will be exciting to see who will walk away as the GSE Winter Competition State Champion.
Find out more information on Garden State Esports by visiting them at www.GSEsports.org | Watch the Full GSE Fall Competition Here
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