Bronx students combined gaming, coding and green city planning on Saturday at the Bronx High School for Law and Community Service during the Bronx semi-finals of the 2025 Minecraft Education “Battle of the Boroughs” Esports competition.
Teams from three Bronx Schools will advance to the final “Battle of the Boroughs” esports competition on May 31 to compete in elementary school, middle school and high school divisions for a chance to win the citywide championship cup.
The returning citywide elementary school champions, Team Game Over of PS 100X Isaac Classon in Soundview will advance to the finals again along with The Amazing Sharks from PS/MS 175 The City Island School and the Bronx Blocks from MS/HS 223 The Laboratory School in the South Bronx.
The competition is part of Mayor Eric Adams’ sustainability agenda and challenges teams of students to find creative and sustainable ideas for building public infrastructure by using the educational version of the popular block building and coding game, Minecraft. Adams invited teams of young gamers to join the fun in a video message about the citywide showdown.
“We want to see your ideas for how to reimagine our public spaces to make our neighborhoods greener and more resilient,” Adams said. “And we want you to have fun and explore your passion for digital games at the same time. It’s going to take all of us working together to create a future ready New York City.”
The competition has grown exponentially over the three years the Mayor’s office has been hosting it, with participation increasing 135% from 1,400 in 2023 to 3,295 students this year.
New York City School Chancellor Melissa Aviles-Ramos, who got her start teaching in the Bronx, was at Saturday’s competition to cheer on the borough’s most talented gamers.
“The annual Battle of the Boroughs competition allows our city’s kids to step up as advocates, creators, and leaders, shaping the future of New York in their own way,” said Chancellor Aviles-Ramos. “In learning valuable and in-demand skills like coding, as well as leadership, teamwork, and problem solving, our kids will be set up for rewarding careers and lifelong success.”
To qualify for the semi-finals, Bronx teams had to build and submit their visions within the Minecraft world on how to reinvent the areas around their school to improve food equity, space for nature and community connection.
Now, the winning teams will advance to the citywide finals at Convene Brookfield Place in Downtown Manhattan, where they will tackle new sustainability-focused prompts and collaborate to design and digitally build public spaces across New York City. Bronx students competing in the Battle of the Boroughs Championship will also have the chance to connect with gaming industry professionals and representatives from New York State colleges offering game development programs.
