2026 SDHSAA/Fenworks
Esports State Tournament

The moment you've been waiting for is here! Get ready for the exciting best-of-Fenworks SD Esports competition, taking place on February 13-14, 2026, featuring schools from across the state. Explore this page for all the details about your state tournament!
Tournament Starts In:

Details

Date: February 13-14, 2026

Location: Aberdeen Central High School, 2200 S Roosevelt St., Aberdeen, SD 

Admissions Fees: TBA

Host Information

The State Tournament will be held in the main gymnasium at Central High School in Aberdeen, SD. Attendees will have free parking in the parking areas shown below. Please use the correct doors when entering the building. The registration table will be set up right outside the gymnasium.

Please remember that school will be in session on Friday. Please be respectful of the other people occupying the building. 

Central High School
2200 S. Roosevelt St.
Aberdeen, SD 57401
Teams will travel across the state of South Dakota to attend the tournament. Be sure to check how long your trip is expected to take to Aberdeen, South Dakota, so you can arrive with plenty of time to register and settle in.

Schools should plan to arrive at the tournament between 8:00 a.m. and 9:00 a.m. CT on Friday, February 13. Doors for the general public will open at 9:00 a.m. CT, and opening ceremonies will begin at 10:00 a.m. CT. We encourage all schools and teams to attend.

Hotel Blocks are pending. More information will be available soon.
Teams are responsible for their own accommodations and arrangements.
Here are a list of hotels in the area.

A concession stand will be available at the venue. Cash and cards will be accepted. It will be open the following hours:

Friday, February 13: 8:00 am - ~5:00 pm
Saturday, February 14: 8:00 am - ~4:00 pm

*End time is subject to change pending game times

More information will be available closer to the event.

Registration and Check In

School and Team registration will begin on Friday, February 13, at 8:00 am CT outside the main gymnasium at Central High School in Aberdeen, SD. We will have tables at the entrance of the gymnasium to register the students and teams. The opening ceremony will begin at 10:00 am CT.

Schools will need to pick up their team's passes and jerseys.

Tournament Information

All award ceremonies will happen following the final match on Saturday, February 14.

The schedule is subject to change. All times are in Central Time (CT).
The listed times are suggestions, as matches will start after the previous one is finished.
Please arrive at your match location at least one hour before your scheduled match time.


THE BELOW SCHEDULE IS THE DRAFT VERSION FOR THE 2025 - 2026 TOURNAMENT. THE FINAL SCHEDULE WILL BE RELEASED ONCE WINTER SEASON REGISTRATION IS COMPLETED. 
Link to Schedule

Brackets will be available once the season has finished. 

Thursday, February 22 | 3:00 pm - 4:00 pm | Memorial Union Social Stairs
This panel of collegiate esports experts will tell you how to succeed at the next level. Coach Ryan Kraus (UND) will be there in person, joined online by Alyssa Duran (Shenandoah University) and Mark Deppe (UC Irvine). These panelists will talk about the habits of successful athletes in their programs, common stumbling blocks to avoid, and how their players improve, among other topics. This is a Q and A panel in which you can ask your burning questions about the collegiate esports scene.

Below are all the changes to the rulesets for the tournament.
Anything not listed here will follow regular season rulesets. 
For the season rulesets, please click here. 

Chess

Tournament Type: Double Elimination Tournament

Teams: 32 players

Matches:

  • First to 2 points for all matches, including bracket reset, if needed.
  • Points will be awarded: loss 0 pt, draw 0.5 pt, win 1 pt.
  • If both players tie at 2 points, they will continue to play until a winner is decided.

Other Notes:

  • Unlike the season, teams will compete over a physical board.
  • If a person touches a piece, they must move it.
  • All other rules, including time control, will be the same as the regular season: 10 minutes with a 3-second interval bonus time.
  • The high seed gets white first.

League of Legends

Tournament Type: Single Elimination Tournament

Teams: 8 teams

Matches: Best of 3 all matches.

Other Notes: High seed gets choice of side/color.

Mario Kart 8 2v2s

Tournament Type: Pool Play/Group Stage into Single Elimination Tournament

Teams: 16 teams (4 groups of 4 teams); the top team of each group will advance to the tournament

Other Rules: 

  • All games will be played split-screen using one monitor per team.
  • If you wish to use headphones, please bring your own that have an AUX port. Auxiliary splitters will be provided for each switch. Bluetooth will not be allowed.
  • High seed makes the lobby.

Matches:

  • Best of 1 (4 races) for all pool play matches.
  • Best of 3 (8 – 12 races) for all tournament matches.

Tiebreaker: If multiple teams tie in pool play.

  • 2 Team Tie – Head to head (Between the two tied teams, whoever beat the other team will advance).
  • 3 Team Tie – Total score from all three matches, not including tiebreaker points.
  •  

SO Mario Kart 8

Tournament Type: TBD

Rules: SO Mario Kart 8 will follow the season rules. Season rules can be found here.

Teams: X teams

Matches: TBD

Marvel Rivals

Tournament Type: Single Elimination Tournament

Teams: 8 Teams 

Matches: Best of 3 for all matches

Minecraft 4v4s

Tournament Type: Pool Play/Group Stage into Single Elimination Tournament

Teams: 8 teams (2 groups of 4 teams); the top two teams of each group will advance to the tournament

Matches:

  • Best of 1 for all pool play matches.
  • Best of 3 for all tournament matches.

Tiebreaker: If multiple teams tie in pool play.

  • 2 Team Tie – Head to head (Between the two tied teams, whoever beat the other team will advance).
  • 3 Team Tie – Teams will move to an Arena 1v1 duel following normal season rules.
    • One representative from each team will be chosen to participate in the Arena 1v1. The same student can be chosen for all duel matches, or a different student can be used for each duel match.
    • The bottom two seeded teams will duel first. Then, the winner of that match will duel the high seed. The winner of that match will advance to the tournament.  

Rocket League 3v3s

Tournament Type: Pool Play/Group Stage into Single Elimination Tournament

Teams: 16 teams (4 groups of 4 teams); the top team of each group will advance to the tournament

Matches:

  • Best of 3 for all pool play matches.
  • Best of 5 for all tournament matches.

Tiebreaker: If multiple teams tie in pool play.

  • 2 Team Tie – Head to head (Between the two tied teams, whoever beat the other team will advance).
  • 3 Team Tie – Game Differential, then total goal differential.
    • Game Differential
      • +2 points: 2-0
      • +1 points: 2-1
      • -1 points: 1-2
      • -2 points: 0-2
    • Goal Differential:
      • Total goals scored vs. goals scored on team.

SSBU 1v1s

Tournament Type: Double Elimination Tournament

Teams: 32 players

Matches: Best of 5 for all matches, including bracket reset if needed

Other Notes: The high seed will be the home team and follow the stage selection process. The high seed also announces their character first for game 1. 

All game titles will be played in the main gymnasium except chess, which will be played in the library.

The livestreams will be on South Dakota Public Broadcasting's YouTube page https://www.youtube.com/@SDPBdotORG/streams  or on their website
https://www.sdpb.org/esports.
Setups:
The tournament venue will provide all PC setups, including a mouse, mousepad, keyboard, and headset.

What Should I Bring:
Peripherals: Mouse and Keyboard (headsets will be provided; personal headsets will not be allowed)
Controller: Players must bring their own controller(s), as Fenworks will not provide any controllers on-site. If a player brings a controller, ensure the controller's cord is also brought. Bluetooth connections are not permitted.

KNOW YOUR SETTINGS so that you can get prepared quickly before your match.
Students should be ready to set up all the equipment they bring promptly. They cannot download custom drivers/etc. All outside equipment will be inspected by Fenworks staff before use in tournament play.

Please make sure you label all equipment with contact information!

**Super Smash Bros. Ultimate and Mario Kart Competitors**
All competitors MUST bring their own switch with a docking station, power cord, and desired controllers. If you are participating in Mario Kart, the switch MUST have access to online play. One switch per team is needed.

There will not be any backup accounts available.
Students must have access to their accounts and use their own accounts during competition.

Players must have their account information ready to log in at match time.
 Fenworks suggests all students test their logins prior to coming to the tournament and bring their phone for any two-factor verification when logging in. For all titles, players should be prepared to alter any settings/key bindings they’ll need (in-game) if they are not carried over from their primary account. We suggest you take a picture of your settings page for reference.

Chess will not be held online at the State Tournament. Physical boards will be used. Fenworks will provide all chess boards and clocks. 

Players will need their Riot ID Login Information.

No login is needed; however, the students should know the controller scheme and be able to create it quickly.

Players will need their account login information from their platform. That might be Steam, Epic Games, Xbox, or PlayStation. Regardless of the platform a player uses, they will log into the Epic Games Launcher. Epic Games Launcher supports logins from Steam, Epic Games, Xbox, or PlayStation accounts. 

Players will need their Microsoft Account Login information that owns Minecraft Java.

Players will need their Epic Games Login Information.

Console players must make an Epic Games account and link it to their console account. Follow this guide to this: https://www.rocketleague.com/activate/

No login is needed; however, the students should know the controller scheme and be able to create it quickly.

This tournament is in no way sponsored, endorsed, or administered by, or otherwise associated with, Psyonix LLC. The information players provide in connection with this tournament is being provided to tournament organizer and not to Psyonix LLC. By participating in this tournament, to the extent permitted by applicable law, players agree to release and hold harmless Psyonix LLC, its parent company, licensors, its and their affiliates, and its and their employees, officers, directors, agents, contractors, and other representatives from all claims, demands, actions, losses, liabilities, and expenses related to the tournament.

 This competition is not affiliated with or sponsored by Riot Games, Inc., League of Legends Esports.

 This event is not sponsored, endorsed, or administered by Epic Games, Inc.

Nintendo is not a sponsor of or affiliated with this tournament. Terms for participating in and viewing Community Tournaments using Nintendo Games.