NYC Mayor congratulates Elementary school winners of Minecraft esports tournament

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I was so excited to hear that Mayor Adams gave a shout-out to the elementary school team who won the 2026 Mayor’s Cup Minecraft Tournament! It’s awesome to see the city recognizing their skills in the Battle of the Boroughs competition.

New York City schools host a yearly esports competition for all grades (K-12) called Battle of the Boroughs. It’s a Minecraft building contest designed to get students excited about contributing to the city’s future.

Students from elementary, middle, and high schools compete in local tournaments within each borough. The winning teams then advance to the BotB Mayor’s Cup Final, where they’ll battle it out to become the overall champions.

The competition aims to make learning fun and show students how their studies can lead to careers, with NYC colleges offering potential pathways. This year’s winners will also receive a special recognition from Mayor Zohran Mamdani.

Zohran Mamdani praises winners of NYC Minecraft tournament

A team of five girls from PS 889 in Brooklyn, calling themselves ‘Hyper Pigmentation,’ won the 2026 Battle of the Boroughs Elementary championship. This is their second win – they were also champions in 2025. City Council Member Mamdani celebrated their achievement on X, noting the importance of diversity in the gaming industry, a major source of jobs in New York City.

While the gaming world is often seen as dominated by men, groups like Hyper Pigmentation demonstrate that this doesn’t have to be the case.

New York City continues to be a major hub for gaming jobs, and we’re committed to ensuring the people creating the next generation of games reflect the diversity of our city.

I’m incredibly proud to announce that PS 889’s Minecraft team, ‘Hyper Pigmentation,’ has won the City’s Annual Video Game Festival for the second time! It’s fantastic to see this team succeeding in the gaming world, which is often dominated by men, and proving that anyone can excel. As…

— Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani (@NYCMayor) May 12, 2026

Since 2021, BotB has reached more than 15,000 students in New York City public schools. The event recently hit a new high with 3,395 students participating from schools across all five boroughs of NYC.

Although the elementary school winners didn’t win any money, they’ve earned serious bragging rights and a chance to connect with professionals in the field.

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2026-05-12 23:18