The best events and tournaments at Localhost in April

May 3, 2023

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-quality gaming PCs and consoles. Localhosts also are the site of LAN tournaments, private events, activations and content creation. 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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Philadelphia

Photo credit: Nerd Street

Localhost in Philadelphia was home to a range of events in April. Early in the month, the venue hosted launch parties for Matrioshka Games’ Expedition Agartha and Archangel Studios’ Bleak Faith: Forsaken. In mid-April, teams took the stage in Philly for the VALORANT Rendezvous LAN that featured several college teams. The final was between FIU and Alvernia, and FIU pulled out a 2-1 victory.

Democrats from the Pennsylvania House of Representatives were in the building for a roundtable discussion on the impact of esports on the economy. State Reps. Ryan Bizzarro and Danilo Burgos hosted the event. Bill Thomas of the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Esports Association (PIEA), who was in attendance, told Technical.ly that a lot of gamers such as League of Legends players go on to pursue STEM degrees in college.

Nerd Street Chief of Staff and VP of Investor Relations Pete Powell was in attendance too and highlighted the importance of university investments in esports.

“It’s a talent thing. Universities are investing money and resources into esports — not just competitive teams, but also club and rec teams,” he told Technical.ly.

One of those universities investing in esports is Temple University, whom Nerd Street partnered with in March to make Localhost in Philly the home for their esports teams. As part of that partnership, Temple hosted an event at Localhost in April alongside Alex's Lemonade Stand, a children’s cancer charity. The university hosted an NBA 2K tournament to raise money for Alex's Lemonade.

Rowan University

Photo credit: Nerd Street

Nerd Street’s newest Localhost opened in New Jersey at Rowan University last month. Not only is it Nerd Street’s newest venue, it’s also the company’s first on a college campus.

Nerd Street Chief Product Officer Joel Velarde and Rowan President Ali Houshmand gave remarks at a ceremonial ribbon cutting. Afterward members of Nerd Street, Rowan and the Glassboro community gathered inside to check out the new venue and take part in some gaming.

“We are excited to partner with Nerd Street and that Rowan University is its first collegiate center for their growing network of esports complexes,” President Houshmand said in a statement. “Suffice to say, college students love esports, but this investment is about much more than playing games. It’s about expanding infrastructure at Rowan University to train future industry professionals, particularly in broadcasting and other communication disciplines and computer science.”

The 7,100 square foot venue can hold up to 300 people and has 50 PCs on the main floor along with another 10 on a stage and 10 in a private room for Rowan’s esports teams, bootcamps and private events. A console lounge contains Xbox Series X, PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch stations. The venue also will eventually include a broadcast room and mixed-use studio.

Denver

Photo credit: Nerd Street

Localhost in Denver kicked off the month with Fool's Run, a Rocket League tournament run in conjunction with 5280 Esports. Eight teams competed in the double elimination bracket. Registrations are currently open for Fool’s Run 2, which is set to take place May 13.

Localhost also partnered with 5280 Esports to take part in Metropolitan State University’s Spring Fling event. Localhost was on campus to spread awareness for camps programming and upcoming events.

April was a busy month for local schools visiting the venue. The Jefferson County School District hosted their first esports championships at Localhost Denver. Four schools came out to crown district champs in Splatoon, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Mario Kart and Rocket League.

Later in the month, the Colorado High School Activities Association (CHSAA) hosted their esports spring finals at Localhost in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate and Mario Kart. Finally, Green Mountain High School held an awards ceremony at Localhost where 18 students lettered in esports.

North Brunswick

The Smash and fighting game communities have been thriving at North Brunswick lately. With a new tournament operator running things, North Brunswick’s Smash weekly has rebranded to “Center Stage” and the first edition of the rebranded series brought in 42 attendees. The FGC weeklies held at Localhost in North Brunswick feature Street Fighter, Tekken, Guilty Gear and King of Fighters during “PowerSurge” weeks, and on alternate weeks the series is known as “Road to Evo” and features players competing in Mortal Kombat, Dragon Ball FighterZ and Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3. North Brunswick closed out the month with a seven-team VALORANT tournament that included NYU’s team, the Violet Phantoms, attending.

Fullerton

The 15th edition of Fullerton Fights brought 62 competitors from the fighting game community together for Tekken 7, Guilty Gear Strive and Melty Blood last month. Fullerton Fights #15 included a new addition in Granblue Fantasy: Versus. Granblue also was the game of choice for Danger Time Ex, a Southern California meetup group for anime fighting games. The group brought in 40 attendees and will be meeting up again at Localhost in May. In the latter part of the month, Fullerton was the site of a Splatoon LAN tournament called Splasticity that brought in 40 competitors.

St. Louis

Localhost in St. Louis reached a milestone last month as it hosted the 100th edition of 0 Frame Delay, a weekly Super Smash Bros. Ultimate tournament. The weekly brought in 35 competitors and the milestone was celebrated with a pizza party.

Lead photo credit: Nerd Street