High school esports student-athletes and teams from across Minnesota are coming together at the Mall of America for the Minnesota Varsity League Fall State Final starting Friday afternoon.
Around 280 students are competing starting Friday and throughout the weekend in several different games including Super Smash Bros, Valorant, League of Legends, Minecraft, and Rocket League inside the Wisdom Gaming studios.
"This is what kids wait for all year long. This is when they actually get to see all the people they have met over the season," said MNVL director Jake Utities. "For us it's the one time that we get to actually see all the kids we watch all week, every week, for 10 weeks straight during the season."
The Fall State Finals come at a time of significant growth for the MNVL, which began in the winter of 2019. According to Utities, there were 56 schools competing and 947 active players.
There are over 1,600 MNVL members, which include active and inactive players, as well as coaches. Some players opt to not participate in during specific seasons.
"Last season we had 1,200 members and only 800 active players," he said. "Looking to spring we're going to see our largest increase between fall and spring season because that's when school's going on. We don't see a lot of increase during the summer. We're anticipating at least 70 schools and that could be a much higher number. We're definitely going to break 1,000 active players this spring."
The growth comes from schools supporting and recognizing the esports communities that already exist.
"All we need is the schools to start supporting it and all we require at MNVL is that the school pays their coach," Utities said. "We don't charge them to be part of our league. The sponsors pay registration fees for the kids. Everything is free on our end."
Utities adds that despite not being sanctioned by the Minnesota State High School League, students are responding to calls from schools to join teams.
"If a school offers esports, they will likely have 30, 40, or even 70 kids show up," he said. "We have schools of 400 kids like Annandale that had 70 kids show up to an info meeting. We've never had a school have a problem finding members."
Those competing in the Fall State Finals beginning Friday afternoon at Wisdom Gaming Studios will play on what Utities says are the best PCs available for gaming on the market today.
10 of the 32 PCs will be set up on a stage with screens that show competitions as they happen. The livestream will be put on by student producers and broadcasters. It's expected to draw between 1,500 and 2,000 viewers during the weekend.
For some, the hopes is to continue their esports journey after high school
"We're going to see the amount of scholarship offering colleges in Minnesota from this fall to next fall almost quintuple. We were at three and then two more were being developed for this fall. Next fall it's going to look close to 15. There are going to be quite a bit of scholarships available here and from some big name schools, that I can't announce yet."
A full schedule for the MNVL Fall State Finals is available here.