The best gaming events and tournaments at Localhost in October
by Brian Bencomo
Nerd Street’s owned and operated gaming venues, known as Localhosts, are not only places where you can stop by to play your favorite games on high-speed gaming PCs and consoles. Localhosts also are the site of LAN tournaments, private events, camps, activations and watch parties. Every month, we’ll be spotlighting some of the best events that have happened at Localhosts around the country, from Philadelphia to Fullerton and everywhere in between. Here’s a look back at some of the fun things that happened at Localhost over the past month.
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Nerd Street Youth League kicks off
The inaugural season of the Nerd Street Youth League (NSYL) kicked off at our Philly and Rowan locations. Kids aged 9 to 13 have gotten a chance to compete in Fortnite and Roblox and learn team-based skills and communication in an organized setting. Players of all skill levels are welcome to compete in customized matches to earn points for their team.
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This fall there are four teams participating in the league: Philadelphia, Rowan, Vaux Big Picture High School and Philadelphia Engineering & Technology Charter High School. NSYL continues weekly at both Philly and Rowan through December. New players are welcome to join as registration is ongoing.
Party time in Philly
Philly hosted a night of casual gaming in October featuring Mario Party. Some attendees came to the BYOB event dressed up as Mario characters, and the event featured a comfy couch setup in front of the Localhost stage.
School’s in session in Philly
Localhost in Philadelphia welcomed several schools and student groups last month. Students from the Launchpad program visited Localhost to learn about gaming and esports. Launchpad is a workforce development program for high school juniors and seniors that prepares students from traditionally underrepresented groups for well-paying careers in tech.
Read more: Why esports and gaming is leading more students toward STEM education and careers
Localhost in Philly also hosted some students who were part of a foreign exchange program with St. Joseph’s. These high schoolers from Chile and Spain got a tour of the venue and relaxed with some games on Localhost’s PCs.
In a completely new initiative for Localhost, students from Science Leadership Academy began their internship program shadowing Localhost staff to get a crash course and practical experience in day-to-day operations, event planning and logistics, management and IT/technical operations.
Check out upcoming events at your nearest Localhost!
Fights and frights in Fullerton
SoCallie returned to Fullerton for the third edition of this Splatoon LAN tournament. This was the biggest SoCallie yet with nearly 100 attendees including over 20 teams filling up a venue that was closed to the public so that it could be used exclusively for this event. With Halloween right around the corner, October’s tournament was known as SoulCallie and featured goodie bags and a costume contest in addition to a fun-filled competition!
Fullerton Fights 20 once again included competitions for Tekken 7, Street Fighter 6 and Guilty Gear Strive. Over 80 competitors showed up for the monthly FGC tournament. October’s meetup took place a couple days before Halloween, so some of the competitors showed up in their costumes.
The latest Smash Ultimate monthly in Fullerton saw the polarizing Steve banned. Nearly 20 competitors showed up to October’s monthly.
Grand opening at Rowan
Localhost at Rowan had a soft opening this spring and has been operating since then, but the venue’s official grand opening took place in October. The all-day event planned in conjunction with Rowan’s centennial celebration included live music and a DJ, and food and drinks provided by local vendors Axe & Arrow Brewing Company, Mariachi Grill and the Pierogi Place. People who stopped by Localhost that day got to enjoy free gameplay, enter a raffle for giveaways and compete in Aimlabs challenges for prizes.
Lead photo credit: Nerd Street