Dain Walters of Grand Rapids Wins Madden 21 Tournament at GigaZone Gaming Championship 5

Adam Scott, Brainerd Finishes 2nd, Nick Miller, Brainerd 3rd, Drew Holden, Bemidji 4th

Apr 27, 20210

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Roselynn Jones, Cass Lake 1st Place and Tied for Popular Vote

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David Harper, Ponsford 2nd Place

(Bemidji, MN) April 17, 2021 – The second of three consecutive weekends of GigaZone Gaming Championship 5 was held Saturday, April 17 with the Madden 21 Tournament.

Dain Walters of Grand Rapids won 1st Place and $500.

Adam Scott of Brainerd got 2nd Place and $400. Adam had finished in 3rd place in 2017 Madden Tournament.

Nick Miller of Brainerd finished in 3rd place for $300. Nick won the 2019 Madden Tournament.

Drew Holden of Bemidji finished in 4th place for $200.

In addition to the Madden 21 Tournament, there were door prize drawings throughout the day and the CosPlay Contest accepting entries. Super Smash Bros is the featured tournament on the final day of GigaZone Gaming Championship 5 this Saturday, April 24. The tournament is free to play and open to anyone who lives within the 218 area code but registration is required at http://www.gigazonegaming.com Anyone interested should register now before they are full.

"What an incredible job our team has done in pivoting to a virtual event his year! I'm very proud of all the hard work and dedication put in to provide these three weekends of online gaming fun for the region. I hope everyone gets the chance to check it out over the course of the next two Saturdays," said Gary Johnson, Paul Bunyan Communications CEO/General Manager

This one-of-a-kind regional gaming event is free to play or watch and is being held virtually due to the pandemic. It showcases Paul Bunyan Communications' IT and web development team which custom built and integrated much of the online technology to make the virtual event possible. The event leverages the speed of the GigaZone one of the largest rural all-fiber optic Gigabit networks in the country and the entire event is run off a single residential GigaZone Internet connection.

"The GigaZone provides extreme speed and low latency which are critical for the best online gaming experience and the GigaZone Gaming Championship showcases just that," added Leo Anderson, Paul Bunyan Communications Technology Experience Manager.

This Paul Bunyan Communications event includes the talents of many local partners including NLFX, Accidently Cool Games, Northern Amusement, as well support from several regional and national partners.

For more information on the GigaZone Gaming Championship visit http://www.gigazonegaming.com

Paul Bunyan Communications has the region's largest and fastest all fiber optic network with over 5,500 square miles throughout most of Beltrami County and portions of Cass, Hubbard, Itasca, Koochiching, and St. Louis Counties. The Cooperative provides Broadband High Speed Internet Services including the GigaZone, digital and high definition television services, digital voice services, Residential and Business IT services, and is also northern Minnesota's certified Apple Service Center.

2021 GigaZone Gaming Championship 5 Official Results

Saturday, April 10

Overwatch 6v6 Community Tournament

1st Team YES $1,800 ($300 per player)

Kelly Whipple, Kylie Elliott, Tien Nguyen, Connor Broderick, and Coby LaCroix from Bemidji and Isaak R Smith from Deer River.

2nd The Clean Up Crew $1,200 ($200 per player)

Thomas Berge of Bemidji, Ethan Hunt and Ewan Newbold of Pine River, Tristan Jourdain from Red Lake, Jacob Peterson from Red Lake Falls, and Kohl Belgrade-Gotchie from Akeley.

3rd ISSA Team $600 ($100 per player)

All from Bemidji including Tristan Lawrence, Naziah Matt, Devon Rainey, James Jones, Matoskah Veaux, and Dakota Veaux

Saturday, April 17

Madden 21 Tournament

1st Dain Walters, Grand Rapids $500

2nd Adam Scott, Brainerd $400

3rd Nick Miller, Brainerd $300

4th Drew Holden, Bemidji $200

Saturday, April 24

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

1st Hunter Branson, Lakeville* $500

2nd Ronnie Nguyen, Bemidji $400