ProFreakz of Deer River Win GigaZone Gaming Championship!
The first stadium style eSports event in the region, the GigaZone Gaming Championship was held Saturday, November 12 at the Sanford Center George W. Neilson Convention Center.
26 of northern Minnesota’s best League of Legends teams competed online with the top eight teams making it to the Championship rounds in the GigaZone Championship Arena.
ProFreakz of Deer River Win GigaZone Gaming Championship
ProFreakz Summoners:
- Isaac Rasmusson (Isske)
- Joshua O’Shea (oO Salsa Oo)
- Iain Belgarde (Pfkz Belgardex)
- Cody Mattews (PineapplesX)
- Alyis Grauman (Tuckerz)
Team Synergy Takes Second Place
Team Synergy Summoners:
- Brad Kovacovich (Bard the Brad)
- Ben Francisco (Benny Fufoo)
- Matthan Althiser (Chinchiila King)
- Kyle Labernik (Dangerous Kyle)
- Taylor Otness (King Bear)
Iron Range Legends Take Third Place
Iron Range Legends Summoners:
- Prescott Weis (DenRaines)
- Sean Mull (DJMixture)
- Ben Monson (Is Trevor Strong)
- Brad Monson (Pullz for dayz)
- Kyle Maki (Saucy Spliffs)
GigaZone Gaming Championship League of Legends
The 8 teams that participated in the first Gigazone Gaming Championship LoL Finals on November 12th, 2016
were:
- ProFreakz from Deer River, GigaZone Gaming Champions, $2,500 Prize
- Team Synergy from Bemidji, Second Place, $1,250 Prize
- Iron Range Legends, Third Place, $750 Prize
- W8 This Isn’t Dota
- Team Roar
- Endeavor
- Lone Wolf (formerly Lone Wolf 4)
- Team BANTZ (formerly Lone Wolf 7)
2016 LoL Finals Bracket
Open Side Tournament Winners
- Street Fighter 5, Anthony Belgarve
- Mario Kart, Brad Monson
- Donkey Kong, Adam – 71,000 points
- Pac Man, Sabbastian – 38,000 points
Oculus Rift
Ben Francisco from Team Synergy won the grand prize drawing for an Oculus Rift – the incredibly immersive virtual reality (VR) headset.
Magic the Gathering Booster Tournaments
Both of the Magic the Gathering Booster Tournaments were full!
Many participated in open gaming of Move or Die, Street Fighter 5, Mario Kart 8, Donkey Kong, and Pac Man.
“There is a large gaming community in our area and GigaZone Gaming Championship not only showcased
some of the region’s best League of Legends teams but it gave everyone a chance to get in on the action! It
was great to see so many people of all ages gaming and have so much fun.” said Gary Johnson, Paul Bunyan
Communications CEO/General Manager.
“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 which the GigaZone Gaming Championship showcased,” added
Leo Anderson, Paul Bunyan Communications Digital Services Supervisor.
“It was a great chance for people to come together, have fun, and experience the growing eSports
phenomenon. We plan to do this again in 2017 and it will be even bigger and better!” added Brian Bissonette,
Paul Bunyan Communications Marketing Supervisor.
