The West Virginia University Esports program is partnering with The Bridge Sports Complex to host the first Bridge Battle Royale, a youth Fortnite tournament open to all students in grades 6-12.
The tournament will take place at The Bridge in Bridgeport beginning at 9 a.m. Saturday, June 22.
Participants will have a chance to be crowned champions in solos, duos, and trios competition. Registration for the Bridge Battle Royal is $50. Register here.
“Partnering with The Bridge on this is fantastic because we get to meet the kids where they are,” Josh Steger, WVU Esports director and varsity head coach, said. “The Bridge is a perfect location because they have kids there all the time for other tournaments and camps, they have CityNet there with them, and we can just bring our stuff and set up and we’re ready to go to make this, hopefully, a yearly event.
“We talk about wanting to give our students hands-on experience and a chance to help build the next generation of esports players and this is that. Helping with check-ins and running production, prepping the venue and managing the structure — that’s stuff you don’t normally get to do all the time,” Steger added.
The Bridge currently hosts a variety of camps, as well as youth sports leagues and tournaments for students across North Central West Virginia, but this will be the first esports event hosted at the venue.
Jaycen Saab, sports manager for The Bridge Sports Complex, said the opportunity to get to bring students in the area to an event like this in partnership with WVU Esports was a great fit.
“With esports popularity exploding, the area is long overdue for such an event, and we’re always looking for new, exciting opportunities to offer recreational and competitive events,” Saab said.
In addition to the Fortnite tournament, there will also be space at The Bridge for students to come and play each other in EA Sports Madden NFL 24.
As part of the event, WVU Esports Madden player Noah “NoahUpNxt” Johnson will be in attendance to offer training sessions, helping kids learn football offensive and defensive concepts through Madden as they prepare to play EA Sports Madden NFL 25 and the new EA Sports College Football 25 games this year.
Johnson is a two-time Madden Championship Series belt winner and 2021 LevelNext Madden College National Champion who was once ranked as the No. 1 Madden player in the world.
“The kids in the Madden gaming community will be amped up to see, listen to and learn from someone of his caliber,” Saab said. “It’s not often we have that level of nationally ranked player in the area, much less the kids having access to them, so this will be a special time for sure.”