ALEXANDRIA — On Saturday, March 22, Alexandria Technical and Community College will be buzzing with activity.

That's because the school will be the site of the Battle in the North 2025, an electronic sports tournament in which competitors will play the Rocket League video game. It's open to all middle school and high school students across the state.

Space is limited to 32 three-member teams, on a first-come, first-served basis, so teams are encouraged to sign up fast.

Team members do not have to go to the same school.

"It's 96 students all at the same time," said Brandon Richards, Legends eSports assistant coach. "We're going to have 96 computers all in the same room to form one giant gaming pit. It'll be pretty awesome."

The day's events will begin at 9 a.m. with orientation, following which time the players will be assigned to their computers.

"They'll play seven games from that spot, and we anticipate that will take between five and six hours," Richards said. "From there they'll move on to the single elimination, which will be on the main stage."

The top eight teams will advance to the main stage single-elimination bracket. Semifinals and finals will be best-of-seven.

"Rocket League requires a ton of teamwork in probably a much higher pressure situation than the way they're used to (playing)," Richards said. "Some of these competitors have not had the experience of competing on a main stage in front of a bunch of people, so I think it's going to be a really cool experience to be on the stage. We have a really cool set-up with a bunch of lights. It's streamed. It's a big show."

The event will be livestreamed, and will also feature professional tournament casters, who will add play-by-play commentary.

The tournament boasts a substantial prize pool, with $3,000 for first place, plus a $1,000 ATCC scholarship per student on the winning team, $1,500 for second place and $500 in gaming gear for third place.

In addition, while the competitors play, other attendees can enjoy a variety of activities throughout the day, including arcade games, VR simulations, hands-on tech demos and more.

Teams will be coming from all over the state to compete, Richards said.

"They're going to meet other people from across that state that are also interested in eSports, and specifically Rocket League," Richards said. "So I'm hoping that they'll develop some friendships that they may not have developed otherwise."

Richards added that the tournament will be a unique experience for the competitors.

"I think a lot of the Rocket League tournaments or just tournaments in general typically involve a wider range of groups, and we're really excited to be able to have a tournament that targets this group," he said. "I think this is a super unique opportunity for the high school and middle school students to be able to come and compete against their peers."

Registration for the event is free, and can be done online at www.start.gg/tournament/battle-in-the-north-2025/details .

The event is sponsored by Gardonville Telephone Cooperative and the Minnesota State IT Center of Excellence.