An estimated crowd of nearly 4,000 attended the GigaZone Gaming Championship & TechXpo on Saturday, April 20 at the Sanford Center. The event featured free gaming, numerous gaming tournaments, over 25 technology exhibitors, door prizes, and special guest Danielle Feinberg from Pixar Animation Studios.
This one-of-a-kind regional gaming event showcases Paul Bunyan Communications’ IT and web development team which custom built and integrated much of the online technology and leverages the speed of the GigaZone one of the largest rural all-fiber optic Gigabit networks in the country.
Team Mingle Master from Bemidji- Ayden Sander, Cameron Oakgrove, and Milo Collings won the seventh annual GigaZone Gaming Championship and the top team prize of $900. Team 50 Nations with Tyler Bos from Austin, David Bos from Brainerd, and Trevor Bos from Brainerd took home 2nd place and the $600 team prize. A total of 32 of northern Minnesota’s best Rocket League teams competed on the main stadium stage in the GigaZone Championship Arena.
In addition to the Rocket League Tournament, there was several other open tournaments including Fortnite, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, Madden 25, and Overwatch 2, Valorant, Super Smash Bros. plus high score competitions in Bemidji Drift, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Smugglers Revenge, Ms. Pac-Man, Galaga, and Donkey Kong. There were also two tournaments for juniors under 13 and Magic the Gathering Booster Drafts.
Official Results of the 2024 GigaZone Gaming Championship
“Again this year I’m blown away by the talent and energy on display and how people, technology, and fun come together at our event. Everyone, including the participants, exhibitors, and our Paul Bunyan Communications team we’re all-in, showcasing the tech talent and enthusiasm that exists in our region. I’m proud our broadband cooperative can produce and host such an exciting event!”, said Gary Johnson, Paul Bunyan Communications CEO.
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“Our cooperative continues to expand one of the largest rural fiber gigabit networks in the country and that brings many advantages to our members. The GigaZone provides extreme speed and low latency which are critical for the best online gaming experience and the GigaZone Gaming Championship & TechXpo showcases just that,” added Leo Anderson, Paul Bunyan Communications Technology Experience Manager.
“A huge shout out to our entire team for putting on one of the most unique events of this type in the country. Thank you to all of the exhibitors that were a part of the TechXpo and our local partners, we couldn’t do this without them. We’re already looking forward to next year!” added Brian Bissonette, Paul Bunyan Communications Marketing Supervisor.
This Paul Bunyan Communications event includes the talents of many local partners including NLFX, Accidently Cool Games, Northern Amusement, the Sanford Center as well support from several regional and national partners.
For more information on the GigaZone Gaming Championship visit www.gigazonegaming.com
For more information about the GigaZone TechXpo visit www.gigazonetechxpo.com
