We Speak Gaming
USA TODAY Sports and PlayVS Announce National High School Esports Championship
High school esports is getting a national championship with a familiar name behind it. USA TODAY Sports, in collaboration with PlayVS, North America’s leading scholastic and collegiate gaming platform, has announced the USA TODAY Sports National High School Esports Championship, which will crown the inaugural national champion from eight of the top programs in the country.
The round-robin tournament will feature the eight qualifying programs competing across three titles: EA Sports Madden NFL, Marvel Rivals and Rocket League. Schools earned their places through evaluation criteria that included game-winning percentages in the three games during the 2026 spring esports season, as well as the number of graduating seniors on their rosters.
The championship builds on groundwork laid two years ago, when USA TODAY Sports and PlayVS introduced the SUPER 25 Esports Rankings, borrowing the branding of the long-running SUPER 25 polls that rank the nation’s best traditional high school sports teams. At the conclusion of the tournament, the inaugural National High School Esports Champion and the ALL-USA Esports Team will be announced on the USA TODAY High School Sports National Hub.
“For decades, USA TODAY Sports has recognized the nation’s top high school athletes and teams through the Super 25 and ALL-USA franchises. Now, we’re bringing that same spotlight to esports,” said Alicia DelGallo, USA TODAY Network Sports Editorial Director. “These students compete at an elite level while representing their schools and communities. The National High School Esports Championship gives them a national stage and extends a trusted USA TODAY Sports tradition to a new generation of athletes and fans.”
PlayVS CEO Jonathan Boswell said the expanded relationship will bring national recognition to outstanding programs and student-athletes, showcasing their talent, dedication and school pride.
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The Straw Hat Crew is getting into the restaurant business. One Piece: Grand Gourmet, a restaurant-management simulation from developer Kairosoft and publisher Bandai Namco Entertainment, has launched worldwide for Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2, PC via Steam, iOS and Android.
Players take charge of Baratie Number Two, the Straw Hat Crew’s floating eatery, with Sanji, the crew’s famously devoted cook, installed as head chef. In classic Kairosoft fashion, the game blends approachable management systems with deep customization: more than 400 One Piece characters appear as staff and customers, and over 200 decoration items let players design a restaurant that matches their own taste, from the layout of the dining room to the menu it serves.
The simultaneous worldwide launch is unusual for a licensed anime title, which often staggers Japanese and Western releases by weeks or months. Bandai Namco instead released Grand Gourmet globally on a single day across five platforms, bringing the game to console, PC and mobile audiences at once. On PC, the game is priced at €19.99 on Bandai Namco’s European store, with US pricing reported at $19.99.
Kairosoft has spent decades perfecting the cozy management sim, building a catalogue of pixel-art business games covering everything from game studios to hot springs resorts, and Grand Gourmet applies that formula to one of the biggest entertainment franchises in the world. For One Piece fans, the appeal is in the details: hundreds of familiar faces walking through the door of a restaurant you built, with Sanji running the kitchen the way only Sanji would.
One Piece: Grand Gourmet is available now on Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2, Steam, the App Store and Google Play.
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