Providence girl named ‘Minecraft Hunger Games’ World Champion

Updated 4:18 p.m. Thursday
PROVIDENCE – City gamer Catherine Brunzos is the “Minecraft Hunger Games” World Champion after taking part in a weekend International Games Day event at Providence Community Library.
Catherine, 13, was one of three young gamers representing the library – the only library in Rhode Island to participate in the tournament.
Catherine represented District 708 (also known as Providence Community Library) and was one of approximately 20 children who offered themselves as “tributes” for the tournament that pitted them against players from around the world.
In the end, three were selected: Catherine and Messiah LaFortune, 12, from the Rochambeau library branch, and Elijah Caldwell, 12, from the Washington Park library branch.
Catherine’s mother, Martha Brunzos, said her daughter, an eighth-grader at Nathan Bishop Middle School, has been playing the game for a couple of years and went into the tournament just to have fun.
“She’s being her own typical modest self,” Brunzos said about her daughter’s reaction to being the world champion.
She said Catherine is one of many students who play Minecraft at the library.
“She had her community at the library cheering her on,” Brunzos said. “She’s my own little Katniss,” Brunzos said, referring to the main character in the “Hunger Games” series. “She’s a really sweet girl.”
She said her daughter is considering a future career as a computer programmer.
Catherine, who said she felt “pretty confident” going in, said the tournament took almost three hours.
“It was fun. It was great participating in it,” Catherine said, adding that she got “bragging rights and a ribbon” for becoming world champion.
According to information from the library, the Providence Community Library hosts a Minecraft server that anyone with a Minecraft login can access to explore a virtual model of Knight Memorial Library.
Minecraft is considered one of the most popular video games of all time with more than 33 million registered users.
The library also held a “Pokemon” tournament, staged a life-sized “Candyland” board game and offered chess and other games on International Games Day. Ed Graves, Rochambeau’s regional librarian, said more than 100 people participated in the event.
“A library is not just an educational resource for kids, it’s also a place where they can have fun together,” Ed Graves, Rochambeau’s regional librarian, said in a statement. “We offer classes and clubs in computer gaming, traditional board games, music and movie shows, arts and crafts, not to mention all the stuff you can borrow with a library card that costs you nothing!”

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