A Brawl Stars video game tournament sponsored by StuCo brought lunchtime competition earlier this month.

Beginning April 7, 24 competitors participated in a single-elimination bracket-style tournament.

“It’s a good way to meet some upperclassmen,” freshman Jasper Kim said. “Brawl Stars is fun because I can play it with my friends.”

Set in a cursed theme park, Brawl Stars is a free-to-play mobile shooter game in which players select characters to compete against each other. In the tournament, competitors play a one-on-one match of Brawl Ball, a soccer-like game mode in which the objective is to dribble the ball into the opponent’s goal. Players can attack each other, and eliminated players spawn after a short delay. The winner is the first to score two goals.

Brawl Stars achieved immediate success after its launch in 2018. Following a gradual decline in popularity the game experienced renewed growth from 2023 to 2024. With new characters released frequently, the game remains highly popular with approximately 49.8 million monthly active players in March.

The Sage Hill community underscored the game’s popularity by selecting it as the first gaming tournament in a Student Council poll.

However, some students raised concerns that these rules disadvantage those who are unlucky, even if they played honestly.

“I’m a little worried about the disconnect rules,” said freshman Andy Yuan, who finished in the top four. “My phone’s connection isn’t always the best, so I hope I don’t get eliminated because of it.”

Results must also be submitted within 10 minutes of the match ending to further ensure integrity.

Organizers established safeguards against cheating because match results are self-reported. For example, students cannot disconnect their devices when they are about to lose, since players are disqualified if they disconnect more than once.