News

As the 2023 Playthrough Gaming Convention came to a close on Sunday, March 19th at 6 pm, over 200 consoles and PCs shut down and the last of 15 esports tournaments came to final rounds. Out of over 500 competitors, only a chosen few walked away with the title of first, second, or third place winner. Here is the complete list of this year's winners!

L to R: Maxwell Deese and Woodrow Tadlock 1st Place

Fortnite Duos No Builds

1. Maxwell Deese & Woodrow Tadlock
2. Ashton Pierce & Caleb Strickland
3. Johnathan Nails & Julian Roman

L to R: 1st Place Ashton Pierce, 2nd Place Marquis Hargrove, and 3rd Place Pranav Gadiraju

Fortnite Solos, No Build

1. Ashton Pierce
2. Marquis Hargrove
3. Pranav Gadiraju

L to R 2nd Place Larry Bernal-Calvo, 1st Place Andre Covington, and 3rd Place Connor Trinkle

Guilty Gear Strive

1. Andre Covington
2. Larry Bernal-Calvo
3. Connor Trinkle

L to R: 1st Place Marcus Taylor, 2nd Place Giovanni Bergollo, and 3rd Place Casey Frank

Gran Turismo 7

1. Marcus Taylor
2. Giovanni Bergollo
3. Casey Frank

L to R Luis Carmona and Christian Almeyda. Not Pictured: Nasser Avant and Colton Brothers

Halo Infinite 4v4

1. Team Vipers
   • Colton Brothers
   • Nasser Avant
   • Christian Almeyda
   • Luis Carmona
2. Team Distals Place
   • Manuel Jurado
   • Aidan Murphy
   • Jeffery Taylor
   • Nick Hogan

L to R 2nd Place Michael Poythress, 1st Place Andrew Baldwin, 3rd Place Manuel Jurado

Halo Infinite Free For All

1. Andrew Baldwin
2. Michael Poythress
3. Manuel Jurado

L to R 1st Place Izzy Kelly, 2nd Place Sarah Grace, and 3rd Place Elizabeth Talton-Roush

JS Joust

1. Izzy Kelly
2. Sarah Grace
3. Elizabeth Talton-Roush

L to R 1st Place Keon Davidson, 2nd Place Hailey Garcia, and 3rd Place Jordan McKenzie

Just Dance 2023

1. Keon Davidson
2. Hailey Garcia
3. Jordan McKenzie

L to R 1st Place Brent Taylor, 2nd Place Andre Covington, and 3rd Place Allen Perkins

King of Fighters XV

1. Brent Taylor
2. Andre Covington
3. Allen Perkins

Mario Kart 8 Delxue 1st Place Winner Stephen Kulin

Mario Kart 8 Deluxe

1. Stephen Kulin
2. Hunter Dubar
3. Troy Whetter

L to R Ethan Miles and Hunter Creel

Rocket League 2v2

1. Ethan Miles & Hunter Creel
2. Hernan Ruedas & Donald Leahy
3. Brandon Culver & Nicholas Kroll

Street Fighter V 1st Place Winner David Najara

Street Fighter V

1. David Najara
2. Andre Covington
3. Shaun Townsend

L to R Cameron Holmes and Daniel Bourbonnais

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Doubles

1. Cameron Holmes & Daniel Bourbonnais
2. Jonathan Skinner & Jackson Luciano
3. Rafael Emilio Baez Jr. & Ian Lawrence

L to R 3rd Place Shemar Alexander, 1st Place Andrew Richardson, 2nd Curtis White Jr.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Singles

1. Andrew Richardson
2. Curtis White Jr.
3. Shemar Alexander

Tekken 7 First Place Winner Jason Moreno

Tekken 7

1. Jason Moreno
2. Tevin Bridges
3. Andrew Hardwick

Congratulations to all our winners, we will keep an eye out for each of you as we look forward to many more great things from each esports athlete listed above.

We would like to thank our title sponsor, Barton College and Playthrough Gaming Convention, their support allowed this event to occur at the Raleigh Convention Center! Additional support was provided by our official Internet provider and prize sponsor for all Smash Tournaments: Spectrum Enterprise, our official computer manufacturer: ITSS, our official monitor manufacturer: BenQ, and our official accessories supplier: Corsair. Finally a special thanks goes out to Bad Machines, the first esports bar in North Carolina that’s located in the heart of Durham for providing all cash prizes for King of Fighters XV, Street Fighter V, and Tekken 7 tournaments.

About Barton College
Founded in 1902, Barton College is a four-year, private, liberal arts college located in Wilson, N.C. The Barton Experience focuses on academic excellence within a wide range of professional and liberal arts programs leading to baccalaureate and graduate degrees, including master’s degrees in Nursing, Kinesiology, Criminology and Criminal Justice Sciences, School Administration, and an MBA in Strategic Leadership. Barton celebrates innovation and bold thinking among faculty and staff as the College nurtures bold leadership development among students. Barton offers purposeful internships, practicums, and research/presentation in academic disciplines; engaging co-curricular cohorts; meaningful international travel and study; opportunities to give back through community service; an impressive array of cultural events; and diverse athletic competition among 24 collegiate teams. Additional information regarding Barton Esports can be found on the official website: www.bartonesports.com.

About Spectrum Enterprise
Spectrum Enterprise is a national provider of enterprise technology solutions serving some of the country’s biggest brands. Combining their fiber network with a broad set of capabilities including internet, WAN, managed network services and collaboration tools, Spectrum stands apart from other providers by tailoring their approach and comprehensive range of solutions to meet the unique needs of each client. Not only does Spectrum offer internet, voice, video and mobile but network services as well. You can be sure they will never try to sell you on a one-size-fits-all approach. Spectrum Enterprise is fiercely committed to delivering success on your terms — however you define success. Additional information can be found on the official web site: enterprise.spectrum.com.

About Bad Machines
Bad Machines is the first esports bar in North Carolina that’s located in the heart of Durham. The bar features craft beer from North Carolina, gamer influenced cocktails, console games, arcade games and mor! You can watch popular esporting events or play them for free while you drink with friends. Bad Machines also hosts regular tournaments, esporting shows and various gamer-related events for everyone. Additional information can be found on the official web site: www.mybadmachines.com.