East Texas high school students face off at Region 7 eSports tournament

Published 5:35 am Friday, December 13, 2024

KILGORE — Dozens of East Texas students faced off in digital battlegrounds this week at Kilgore’s Region 7 Education Service Center during the organization’s first eSports tournament.

Region 7’s 2024 Winter Cup Tournament invited over 50 high school and middle school students from the organization’s service area, which includes 95 school districts, 7 charter schools, and 13,305 square miles in 17 East Texas counties.

“This is a first for us and a first for them,” Region 7 Digital Learning Director Liz Walker said as she gestured towards the bustling conference room packed with about 60 students from 12 districts, as well as teachers and administrators.

The tournament, which pitted players against one another for rounds of platform fighting game Super Smash Bros., is a sign that the rapidly growing category of eSports is becoming better established in East Texas.

“There is a bit of a learning curve for us, because this is our first time doing this,” Walker said.

“But most of the opportunities for eSports for students are in the Metroplex. We wanted to create an opportunity here.”

She noted the gaming group was mostly made up of high schoolers but also included middle school students and students went head to head in 1v1 matchups in a traditional bracket-style elimination tournament.

In recent years, eSports teams have been developed at Kilgore College and Kilgore High School, allowing students to earn scholarships, develop video game coding skills and have fun in a safe and friendly environment.

Students’ fingers flew over joysticks and mashed buttons in a frenzy as digital avatars, selected by players from a roster including Nintendo franchise favorites Mario, Donkey Kong, Zelda and Pikachu, bashed, dodged and leapt across the game stage being projected onto the walls of the conference room.

Districts present at the event included Cayuga, Mineola, Gary, Hudson, Van, Central Heights, Karnack, Elkhart, Trinidad, Palestine and West Rusk.