First state esports tournament was "a great experience" for The Triple Threat

On April 1-2, the first ever North Dakota esports championships were held at the Alerus Center in Grand Forks, and three students from New Rockford-Sheyenne competed at the event for The Triple Threat.

The Triple Threat had two teams qualify for state: one for Rocket League and the other for Apex. From NR-S, Jacob Louters, Taylor Anderson and Dominick Swinland took part.

Unfortunately, both teams bowed out in the first round, as they faced higher seeded teams from much larger schools.

Fenworks, the company that facilitates highschool esports in North Dakota, does not currently have separate divisions, meaning small schools and larger schools compete for the same title.

Red River High School, the team that knocked out The Triple Threat in round 1 of the Rocket League tournament, while Rugby took home the Apex championship.

Brady Eichelberger, one of The Triple Threat's three coaches, hopes to see more small schools like NR-S join the Fenworks esports program, so that separate divisions for smaller and larger schools can be created for more fair competition across the board.

Nonetheless, Eichelberger said the event was a great experience for both the coaches and students alike.

"Myself and the kids thought the event as a whole was a big success and a lot of fun," he said. "We may not have done as well as we wanted, but the players thoroughly enjoyed themselves, as did the coaches, and we will continue to improve each year."

Eichelberger added that playing video games wasn't all that was on tap in Grand Forks that weekend, as the kids also got to enjoy checking out VR (virtual reality) technology, a retro gaming station, drone cages and yard games.

Above all, however, The Triple Threat is looking forward to taking lessons learned from this experience and turning them into more success next season.

"We have used the momentum of going to state to set plans in motion for next year as we thrive to be a powerhouse esports team among small schools," said Eichelberger.

Editor's Note: The Transcript learned after press time that NR-S junior Haydon Meier competed as an alternate at the state esports tournament, after another student was unable to attend. Meier was not named in Eichelberger's correspondence with us before press time, and so his name was omitted from the print version of the story.