eBLAZE, a local eSports club from the EMK Center, recently won top places at the Minecraft-based educational competition, the NASEF Farmcraft Tournament 2023. 

NASEF Farmcraft is an educational gaming challenge that addresses the most recent challenges regarding global food availability and food safety. This year's competition featured the online participation of 8,542 students from 59 countries. While playing the Minecraft game, the participants learnt about a number of issues that are encountered by agricultural producers and distributors globally, with special emphasis on food commerce and food security. 

In the Senior Division eBLAZE Fire, consisting of Farhan Labib (Shaheed Police Smrity College), Faiyaz Hossain (British Standard School), Mohtasim Billah (an O-Level private candidate) and Adnan Bin Mahmud (Adamjee Cantonment Public School), emerged as the winners. 

eBLAZE Air, consisting of Raian Mahmud Rafin (Phulpur Pilot Govt. Model School), Mahatab Hossain Leon and Imran Hossain Shawon (Ahsania Mission College), clinched the runner-up spot in the same category. 

Another team, eBLAZE Water, including Tayeba Azrin Nazifa and Muhammad Bin Mosleh Howlader from Shaheed Police Smriti College, MD Raiyan Islam (Rajuk Uttara Model College) and Safuan Hossain Rafin (Banophool Adibashi Green Heart College), won first place in the All-Ages Division. 

eBlaze aims to establish an ecosystem for young people to channel their love of video games, by connecting them to the North America Scholastic E-sports Federation (NASEF). It is also striving to build a secure environment where players can hone their abilities, play a variety of games, keep their minds healthy, and learn about blended learning.

The game challenge allowed the participants to experience the decisions that farmers face even before sowing their crops. The winners were announced after several weeks of intense competition. The category winners received a $500 gift card from Amazon, while the runners-up received gift cards worth $250 and $200 respectively. Furthermore, there was a raffle draw for the participants who managed to finish all of the challenges, and submitted their results to the leaderboard. The winners were chosen randomly from each region, and received a gift card worth $50.

During the game, several distinguished guests and industry professionals from the fields of agriculture and transportation joined the live streams to share their insights. These sessions were hosted by Claire LaBeaux, Chief Marketing Officer, NASEF, and also featured student guests from different countries.

eBLAZE has indeed established a new standard of excellence in the Farmcraft Tournament by emerging victorious in two years, consecutively. It is not only a proud moment for the nation's gaming community but also a stepping stone for many more achievements.