BCX 2025: a shining spotlight on positive gaming events!

I had not played Brawlhalla since the Assassin’s Creed update, but before that, I had actually played quite a bit with a friend who had a gaming channel with this being a centerpiece. So when I was informed that BCX 2025 would be hosted in Atlanta just a 15 minute drive from my home, I was excited to jump at the invitation to attend the event. My time at BCX 2025 was nothing like I expected, so let’s discuss the Brawlhalla World Championships!

As I walked up to the Georgia International Convention Center (GICC) I was met with a big tent with the line for badge pickup. Security was quick and the line wasn’t difficult to go through as an observer, however, I heard the line for the Brawlers (people competing) also moved fairly quickly every morning. Making my way into the event space, I was greeted with a HUGE banner of all of the Legend characters in Brawlhalla. Straight ahead were two character banners and a peak into the arena. Walking forward, you see to the left a large banner with the timeline of the last 10 years of Brawlhalla as the game celebrates a momentous occasion in its journey. 

The big reveal as you enter the arena was spectacular. An entire arena space decorated with Legends on the pillars, banners of the past winners on the ceiling, and three stages with the main stage being a large area with lights that showed damage of the players and lit up with the color of the character when they took a stock or won a match. The energy was great and only built as the weekend went on. 

Competition was fierce from top to bottom as Brawlers duked it out in the backstage pit, the B-Stage (the smaller of the gaming stages), or the Main Stage. I’ve not seen gameplay of this game quite at this level before, and even newer competitors were doing their best and having fun. Talking to one competitor, they said, “I’m really just here to have fun and learn what it takes to really be good at this game at this level.” This tournament was open to everyone, but of course, those who have the experience have the advantage. 

Something I found interesting were all the different controllers used. Brawlers bring their own keyboards or controllers and there was something for everyone out there. I saw keyboards of all shapes and sizes, XBOX controllers, PS5 controllers, even a GameCube controller. BCX was ready for all of them. 

The commentators really did a great job as they worked on both the Main Stage and B-Stage giving the audience great insight as to what the players are doing, how a player might be falling behind, and the meta advantage/disadvantage of the matchups. Having these commentators made it easy for the audience to understand more about the game, but also keep track of who the “favorites” are.

Friday was the Doubles Tournament, Saturday was the Singles Tournament, and Sunday was the finale. Each morning, the commentators would take us through the expected plans for the day and the “favorites” of each category. People in the audience actively cheered for their favorite teams/individuals as the commentators would announce them. It was interesting seeing which teams have been around a while and which newcomers posed threats to the past champions. 

C-Stage was my personal favorite to just sit and watch. (I stationed myself between the Main Stage and C-Stage so I could keep track of the Main Stage competition. C-Stage, however, was the stage with the most variety going on. This is where the panels were held as well as a few different mini-gameplay sessions. 

The panels were a lot of fun discussing everything Brawlhalla. One panel was on how Legends are made and the full process the team goes through to test the Legends before the release. Another was the cosplay contest which was extra impressive as there were 20+ contestants all with awesome cosplays of the Brawlhalla Legends. My favorite panel though (surprise since I’m a huge comic book nerd) was the Nix Graphic Novel panel where RJ Jost (Illustrator and Co-Writer) and Matt Woomer (BMG Co-Founder and Co-Writer) talked with Josh Kenneth (International Brand Manager) about their full process of creating a full Graphic Novel in collaboration with Dark Horse Comics set inside the canon of Brawlhalla. The level of detail was amazing and I personally cannot wait to read the full Graphic Novel myself. 

Alongside the food you had a few extra fun activities including a Free-Play area, an arcade section, and then a section showing off the inclusive controller options for Brawlhalla. These ended up being great spots to take a break from the main action and just have some fun either along or with a friend. The DDR machine in the arcade area ended up being a very popular area, I never saw it empty. 

The biggest thing about BCX 2025 was the community. I was impressed by the level of politeness everyone was being shown. There were groups of people from all over the world coming together to cheer for one another. There were also several moments I had a chance to witness of players who have only known each other by their screen-names and Gamertags meeting in person for the first time. Hugs were being thrown around and tears were shed, but all in the name of excitement to be with friends made through Brawlhalla. I also had several contestants very willing to talk to me, a newbie, about their favorite characters and the meta they’ve observed so I have a better chance of finding characters I like faster. This level of kindness isn’t always the case in high-stakes situations like an eSports tournament, but BCX has created an atmosphere where people feel comfortable being themselves even in such a public setting. 

A question I asked every developer we interviewed was, “how can someone who sees this tournament and wants to compete get involved?” The short answer is – Play the game, pick a character you like, and just have fun. Speaking with both contestants and developers, there are characters who are top 8 that nobody else really uses. Yet, it was someone’s character they gelled with and it worked out. Don’t stress, have fun, and enjoy a very welcoming community! BCX will return in 2026, so get your keyboards or controllers ready!