Between three event stages, thousands of students, career panels, creator mixers, and some of the biggest scholastic esports organizations in North America all being under one roof, FORGE established itself as one of scholastic esports’ biggest weekends. The FORGE Scholastic Esports Championship returned to San Antonio earlier last month and, in only its second year, continued to solidify itself as one of the largest live scholastic esports events in the country.

Taking place on May 14-17 at the Boeing Center at Tech Port in San Antonio, Texas, FORGE brought together high school and collegiate competitors from organizations including the National Esports Collegiate Conference (NECC), Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC), Rally Cry, and the Electronic Gaming Federation (EGF) and SAMSAT’s R20 for high school. Pair that with the Army National Guard, and there was a combination of competition, education, and networking that was worth attending.

The event featured competition across VALORANT, Rocket League, Overwatch 2, League of Legends, Teamfight Tactics, Counter-Strike 2, Apex Legends, Rainbow Six Siege, Marvel Rivals, Halo Infinite, and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. In addition to hosting the NECC National LAN and the ECAC National: Founders Invitational, FORGE also served as the home of the CollegiateR6 Championship, the EGF High School Championship, and the R20 (High School) Grand Finals, creating one of the most concentrated weekends of scholastic esports.

Throughout the weekend, attendees had the opportunity to participate in education seminars, esports educator series, and Twitch University networking events as well as career development panels, and of course some hands-on activations brought by their sponsors centered around tech, broadcasting, and esports-adjacent pathways. The event also included console free play, arcade games, LAN stations, giveaways, and even drone soccer exhibitions.

The broader vision of the event is to position scholastic esports as competition and educational and professional development ecosystem. That emphasis was reinforced by Rally Cry Project Lead Evan Cameron, who reflected on the event exclusively to CEN:

“The FORGE Scholastic Esports Championship exceed[ed] above and beyond our expectations this year. We’re extremely proud of our team and our partners for working together to produce such an amazing experience for all the students, teachers, parents and support staff who attended.”

Rally Cry CEO Adam Rosen also emphasized the scale of the event’s growth and its broader mission beyond competition:

“Seeing FORGE grow to more than three times the size of last year has been incredible for our team,” Rosen said. “The level of player and fan interest this year completely exceeded our expectations, and the energy around the event all weekend was unreal. What’s most exciting, though, is seeing students connect with the bigger opportunities around esports, from college recruitment and job shadowing to broader industry exploration. FORGE is becoming a platform that helps connect scholastic esports from player to career.”

FORGE also introduced a new “Forge Trials” qualification system in 2026, creating structured pathways for collegiate teams from partner leagues to earn their place at the live championship event. For Rally Cry and its partners, the long-term goal appears clear: establish FORGE as a permanent annual destination for scholastic esports in North America, rivaling CECC. And after this year’s turnout, the event is quickly beginning to look less like a second-year LAN and more like one of collegiate esports’ defining championship weekends.

NECC Nationals Crown Champions Across Multiple Titles

As part of FORGE, the National Esports Collegiate Conference hosted its live NECC national championship events, bringing many of the top collegiate programs in North America to the stage in San Antonio. Several familiar powerhouses found themselves at the top of the standings, with Northwood University and Fisher Esports combining to win 8 of the 9 titles contested during the weekend. 

VALORANT

1. Northwood University
2. Fisher College
3. University of California San Diego
4. Baker College

League of Legends

1. Grand View University
2. Fisher College
3. Northwood University
4. Simon Fraser University

Marvel Rivals

1. Fisher College
2. University of North Georgia
3. University of Texas at Dallas
4. Fisher College

Overwatch 2

1. Northwood University
2. Fisher College
3. Arcadia University
4. Bryant and Stratton College

Rocket League

1. Northwood University
2. University of Akron
3. Oklahoma Christian University
4. Fisher College

Counter-Strike 2

1. Fisher College
2. Colorado State University
3. Texas Tech University

Halo Infinite

1. Fisher College
2. University of Utah
3. University of North Alabama
4. Utah Valley University

Super Smash Bros Ultimate

1. Fisher College
2. Northwood University
3. Fisher College White
4. Fisher College Navy

Rainbow Six Siege

1. Fisher College
2. University of Akron
3. PACE University

The results highlighted the continued dominance of several established varsity programs while also showing the growing depth across the collegiate esports ecosystem. Smaller titles like Counter-Strike 2, Halo Infinite, and Rainbow Six Siege reinforce the multi-title nature of collegiate competition with less teams from the more prominent university programs.

ECAC Founders Invitational Highlights Cross-Conference Competition

Alongside the NECC competitions, the Eastern College Athletic Conference hosted its National: Founders Invitational, featuring many of the top programs from across the ECAC ecosystem. Similarly to the NECC championships, the event showcased a lot of familiar contenders and concentrated top-level collegiate esports competition.

VALORANT

1. Northwood University
2. PACE University
3. Keiser University

League of Legends

1. Fisher College
2. Keiser University
3. Simon Fraser University

Overwatch 2

1. Northwood University
2. University of Delaware
3. Purdue University
4. Trine University

Rocket League

1. Oklahoma Christian University
2. University of Akron
3. Wichita State University
4. Long Island University

Super Smash Bros Ultimate

1. Fisher College
2. Fisher College White
3. Northwood University

The ECAC competitions added another layer to FORGE’s packed championship weekend and further demonstrated the growing overlap between the nation’s top collegiate esports programs over multiple leagues and ecosystems. Fisher College and Northwood University had a busy weekend!