From thrilling victories to crushing defeats, gamers experienced the highs and lows of Longmont’s inaugural esports tournament on Saturday.
The LevelUp Longmont festival included a full day of virtual showdowns between the region’s best gamers. With rounds played inside downtown’s Longmont Public Media building, the free event was the city’s first festival focused on esports and gaming culture.
Throughout the day, players battled it out in the fighting game Brawlhalla. The participating gamers were selected through qualifiers held over the summer.
Between rounds, players reflected on their matches or geared up for their upcoming fights. Jaden Tinoco, 12, fell to a Brawlhalla opponent early in the day.
“He was a bit better than me,” Jaden admitted.
The young Firestone resident recalled experiencing a mix of emotions before playing in the LevelUp Longmont qualifiers.
“I was excited but, at the same time, nervous,” Jaden said.
Madeline Romano, 13, lives in Niwot and found out about the esports festival through frequent trips to the Longmont Public Library. Her big takeaway from the festival was to “not walk off cliffs” in Brawlhalla, she said.
“I did that in my first battle, and it was kind of catastrophic,” Madeline explained.
Tournament participants weren’t the only people playing games on Saturday. Inside the Longmont Public Library, festival guests could flex their own esports skills at stations running fighting games. At the nearby Civic Center, visitors could try on a virtual reality headset or play an arcade game.
Elliott Doyle, 15, practiced for the tournament by playing Brawlhalla every day. He said he’d like to see the LevelUp Longmont team choose a new game for each subsequent tournament.
Unlike some competitors who picked up Brawlhalla specifically for LevelUp Longmont , 13-year-old Milo MacFarland has been playing the game for about two years.
“It’s given me a bit of an edge, but not a huge one,” Milo said. “I really enjoy the game, and I’m looking forward to playing with other people.”