Jake Maddox eSports

No one is more surprised by Thema Turner's new interest in a video game than the bookworm herself. The battle game Shrinking Island Showdown reminds Thema of one of her favorite book trilogies, and the novels' plots inspire how she plays the game. Her first tries are rough, and she struggles to last long in 100-player rounds, but she's determined to get better. With her younger twin brothers' help, she improves enough to compete in an esports SIS competition. Does Thema have what it takes to advance to the regional round?

After Ivette is gifted an old game console, she becomes interested in speedrunning an old game called The Shattered Blade. So interested, in fact, that she enters an amateur speedrunning contest. As Ivette travels to the competition, news breaks that online gamer Quick Silver has broken the speedrun record once again. Can Ivette discover the glitches and techniques to put her in competition with the best?

When Kendall receives a surprise email, he can hardly believe his luck. He's been invited to compete in an esports tournament for his favorite game, Ooze Escape! He loves battling his way to the top level in the game and trying to escape the deadly ooze that burns up everything-and everyone-in its path. There's just one problem-Kendall spends too much time battling enemies and looking for awesome loot. He always gets knocked out by the ooze before he can make his escape. Will he learn the strategies he needs to defeat his opponents and escape the ooze in time for the big tournament?

Jae Cho isn't very good at games. Whether it's board games, card games, or anything else, she usually doesn't have much luck. But when she watches her brother, Dal, playing Castle Crusaders 5, she's fascinated by the strategy of destroying the opponent's forces and taking out the enemy's castle. When Dal rushes off and leaves the game running on his computer, Jae can't resist the temptation to try playing for herself. Before long she's hooked on the game and secretly playing against others on her brother's computer whenever she can. However, she soon realizes that she's accidentally entered an online esports competition in her brother's name! Will Dal be angry that Jae has been using his computer and played as him in the qualifying round? Or will he help his little sister dominate the competition at the tournament?

Samuel is a longtime fan of the classic world-building game Buildtopia, playing it years after his friends have forgotten about it. So he's excited to learn that a big game update has reignited interest in the video game. Now with new in-game challenges, Buildtopia is getting an eSports competition. Will Samuel turn his love of the game into an opportunity to compete and connect with new friends?

Antonia is a great gamer. She's especially skilled at her favorite game called Mobius Bridge. She's a fierce fighter and can quickly knock enemies out of the game. Together with her esports teammates, they usually dominate other teams at the multiplayer online battle arena tournaments. When a new and inexperienced teammate joins them, Antonia volunteers to play a different role than she's used to. She quickly discovers that her new role is much more difficult than she expected. Will she learn how to play the game differently to avoid getting KO'd and help her team win at the next tournament?

Francis is spending the week at an esports camp, with the hopes of becoming even better at Red Card Racers, his best and favorite game. But it doesn't take long for Francis to realize that the camp competition is tough. Frustrated by his game performance, Francis struggles to make progress and even has to deal with a bad-mouthing competitor. Will Francis find a way move past his early losses to take advantage of all that camp has to offer?

As much as he would like to, Iako can't play football. Being in a wheelchair keeps him from hitting the real gridiron. However, Iako makes up for it by being a whiz at his favorite video game, Football Blitz: Turbo. When his friends tell him he should play at a local esports tournament, Iako is hesitant. He doesn't think he's that good, and he doesn't like crowds. But when Iako plays a pickup game and beats the current FB:T champion, he endures a lot of insults from the sore loser. With the support of his friends, Iako decides to enter the tournament to prove he can compete as well as anyone else. Will Iako's skills help him defeat the current champ again and claim the title?