Relive Gaming & Esports Events

156 gaming & esports events the community showed up for — relive the night, then catch the next one.

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GameSync Monthly Open Tournament — May 2026

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GameSync Monthly Open Tournament — May 2026

May 30, 2026 $10 entry GameSync San Diego, 2860 Main St, …

GameSync San Diego, May 30th. $10 entry. The GameSync Monthly Open is the wildcard slot on the monthly calendar — not dedicated to a single title but open to the competitive games the community actually plays that month. The format is the point: show up, see what's running, and find your bracket. Monthly Opens at GameSync are where the competitive community across multiple titles shares one venue and one evening. The fighting game players, the card game community, the platform fighter bracket — everyone is in the building, which creates the specific energy of a game store tournament night where you can wander from setup to setup and catch someone's incredible run in a game you've been meaning to try. $10 entry. May 30th. gamesync.us for the full title list and bracket format. The Monthly Open is the game night that doesn't require planning — just show up, find out what's running, and get in. The San Diego competitive gaming scene is real and this is one of the nights where it's all in one room.

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Triton Gaming Expo 2026

May 30, 2026 Price Center, UCSD, 9500 Gilman Dr…

The Triton Gaming Expo at UCSD's Price Center exists because students wanted it to exist. That is the entire origin story — no corporate sponsor, no outside promoter, no venue deal negotiated through a regional events company. A gaming expo organized by people who go to school here, for an audience that actually plays. That is what makes it feel different from the moment you walk in. May 30, 2026 at Price Center, UCSD, La Jolla. Tabletop gaming rooms running open play from the time doors open. Video game setups from current-gen to deep retro. Tournaments with real brackets across multiple titles. The specific atmosphere that exists when a room is organized by people who genuinely care about what they are running — no sponsorship banners every twelve feet, no activation booths, just games and an audience that came to play. Price Center's open layout puts you steps from the coast in La Jolla in late May, which is as good as San Diego gets. If you are in the county and anywhere near the hobby, this is worth your Saturday. One of the best game rooms in San Diego, built for one day. Organized by Triton Gaming at UCSD.

Magic Meetup — Commander Night at Video Vortex DTLA

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Magic Meetup — Commander Night at Video Vortex DTLA

May 28, 2026 Video Vortex DTLA, Los Angeles, CA

Commander Night at Video Vortex DTLA is a recurring Magic: The Gathering Commander format meetup held at one of downtown Los Angeles's most unique venues — a retro video game bar packed wall-to-wall with playable arcade machines, vintage consoles, and gaming nostalgia. The combination of tabletop card gaming and a retro gaming environment makes this one of the more distinctive Commander nights in the city. Commander is Magic's most popular casual format, played with 100-card singleton decks and typically in four-player pods. The Video Vortex meetup is open to all Commander players regardless of experience level or deck power level. The focus is on fun, creativity, and the kind of game state that produces stories you retell for years. The venue's food and drink service runs throughout the evening — this is a proper bar and restaurant, not just a card shop backroom. Located in downtown LA, the venue is accessible by Metro and has street parking nearby. The May 28 session runs from 7pm. Check the Eventbrite listing for upcoming recurring dates throughout 2026.

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D&D Adventurers League — Game Empire SD

May 28, 2026 Free / $5 suggested 7052 Miramar Rd, San Diego, CA 921…

Dungeons and Dragons Adventurers League at Game Empire San Diego is organized play for the person who wants to run a character through a real campaign without needing to already know a Dungeon Master or a regular group. You walk in, pick up a pre-generated character sheet or bring your own AL-legal character, and join a table already in progress or at the start of a new adventure. DMs are provided. Dice are available. The only prerequisite is showing up. Adventurers League removes every barrier to tabletop RPG play that isn't already at the table. No group required. No campaign setup required. No years of lore to catch up on. The adventures are designed to run in a single session with a beginning and an end, which means you're never showing up to episode forty of something you missed the start of. You play a complete story. You come back next week if you want to keep going. Game Empire San Diego is at 7052 Miramar Rd, San Diego. gameempire.com for the weekly schedule and table availability. Character creation guidelines at dnd.wizards.com/adventurers-league. New players are not just tolerated here — this format was designed for them.

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FanimeCon 2026

May 22 – May 25, 2026 Paid - $75-$120 San Jose Convention Center, 150 W …

Unlike larger conventions, FanimeCon is entirely fan-run. No corporate booths dominating the floor. The panels, screenings, and programming are organized by volunteers who have been running this event for decades. That community ownership gives it an atmosphere that is hard to replicate. It feels less like a trade show and more like the largest anime club meetup in California. FanimeCon has run every Memorial Day weekend since 1994 at the San Jose Convention Center, drawing 25,000–30,000 attendees over four days. The West Coast flagship. Programming runs 24 hours across the weekend. The cosplay masquerade on Saturday is a full theatrical production. The gaming hall is one of the best at any convention — tournaments, free-play consoles, and retro arcades running through the night. The dealer room and artist alley are substantial, with indie creators outnumbering corporate licensors. Bay Area, Sacramento, and Central Valley attendees make up the core, but it draws from across the West Coast. Four-day badges sell out. Single-day passes may be available at the door. If you have been to Anime Expo but not FanimeCon, the culture is meaningfully different.

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Anime Conji 2026 — San Diego

May 22 – May 24, 2026 Handlery Hotel, 950 Hotel Cir N, S…

Anime Conji is San Diego's longest-running fan-organized anime convention, held annually at the Handlery Hotel in Mission Valley for a three-day weekend of anime, manga, gaming, cosplay, and the specific community that has kept this event running for over a decade as an independent, fan-operated alternative to the larger commercial conventions. The convention's fan-run character gives Anime Conji a distinct personality: the programming decisions are made by people who attend because they genuinely love the material, the guest selection reflects real community enthusiasm rather than marketing considerations, and the convention floor has the energy of a community gathering rather than a marketplace. Anime Conji features programming across multiple rooms covering series-specific panels, AMV (anime music video) competitions, voice actor guest Q&As and signings, a dealers room with merchandise from licensed and independent vendors, an artist alley with original work from regional creators, and a cosplay competition with detailed craftsmanship judging. The Handlery Hotel is at 950 Hotel Cir N in Mission Valley, accessible from the I-8 at Hotel Circle. The Mission Valley Trolley stop connects to downtown San Diego. Convention badge holders receive discounted hotel rates at the Handlery when booking through the Anime Conji room block. Weekend and single-day badges available through the Anime Conji website.

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Card Party 4 San Diego

May 22 – May 24, 2026 Gaylord Pacific Resort & Conventio…

Gaylord Pacific Resort & Convention Center, 1000 H St, Chula Vista. May 22nd, 2026. Card Party 4 is the trading card game pop-up market that treats the hobby the way it deserves — a real venue, a serious vendor selection, and the specific energy of a room full of people who know exactly what they're looking at. Card Party is not a casual flea market. The vendors who table here specialize — sealed product, singles, graded cards, vintage sets, and the newer releases that have been moving in the secondary market. Walking the floor is the experience of seeing the full spectrum of what collecting looks like at every level, from the person pulling a specific card for a deck they've been building to the collector sitting on long boxes of raw vintage stock. The Gaylord Pacific Resort gives the event the setting to match its ambitions — a convention-scale resort venue in Chula Vista, accessible from San Diego and across the South Bay. card.party for the full vendor list and ticket details. If you collect cards of any kind — Pokemon, Magic, sports, vintage — this is the show that covers the entire hobby under one roof. Come with a want list. Leave with more than you planned.

Dragon Ball Sparking Zero — Community Tournament SD

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Dragon Ball Sparking Zero — Community Tournament SD

May 23, 2026 $10 GameSync San Diego, 2860 Main St, …

GameSync San Diego, May 23rd. $10 to compete. The Dragon Ball Sparking Zero Community Tournament is the version of the game that the ranked queue can't replicate: a room, real people across from you, and the specific pressure of knowing that the person on the other side of the table has been in the training room longer than the character select screen suggests. Dragon Ball Sparking Zero at the tournament level is a different game than the one you've been playing online. The reads are faster, the character matchup knowledge runs deeper, and the crowd around a close set turns a fighting game into a performance. The GameSync setup — real monitors, proper controller support, tournament bracket management — creates the environment where the game gets played at its best. $10 entry. May 23rd. Register at gamesync.us or show up and enter at the door. If you've been playing since launch and haven't tested your game against anyone in person, this is the tournament where you find out where you actually stand. If you've watched competitive Dragon Ball but never entered a bracket, a local GameSync tournament is the right first step — small enough to be accessible, competitive enough to mean something.

Dragon Ball Sparking Zero Community Night — May

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Dragon Ball Sparking Zero Community Night — May

May 23, 2026 $10 GameSync San Diego, 2860 Main St, …

GameSync San Diego, 2860 Main St. May 23rd. $10. Dragon Ball Sparking Zero Community Night is the version of the game that ranked matches can't give you — a room, real people, and the specific energy of a fighting game played with an audience watching who has an opinion about every character select. GameSync runs the setup right: real monitors, proper controllers, a bracket that treats the evening like the event it is. Community nights at GameSync have the benefit of regulars — players who come monthly and have history with each other, which produces a level of play and a level of competitive conversation that you don't find at a random online lobby. The Dragon Ball community is vocal. A close match in this room has an audience. $10 at the door. May 23rd. If you've been playing since launch, show up and see where your game stands against the room. If you're new to Sparking Zero, community night is the right entry — you'll lose to players who can explain what you did wrong, which is how you get better. gamesync.us for the full event details and schedule.

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Retro Gaming Night — SD

May 22, 2026 $5 GameSync San Diego, 2860 Main St, …

GameSync San Diego, May 23rd. Five dollars at the door. Retro Gaming Night is the version of the evening where the game library opens and the default becomes: find something you haven't played since it mattered and play it in a room where someone else remembers it too. The collection runs from NES through the late console generations — cartridges, discs, controllers with the specific weight and resistance you forgot until you pick one up again. The muscle memory is still there. The level layout you thought you'd forgotten comes back by the second room. That recognition — the thing you didn't know your hands remembered — is the event. It happens faster than you expect and it tends to keep you at the machine longer than you planned. GameSync manages the library and the setup. You show up, pick your game, and find the person one station over who chose the same one. Conversations start over this that don't start other ways. $5. 2860 Main Street. May 23rd. The social geometry of a retro gaming night at a real venue is different from anything you can replicate with an emulator alone. Bring someone who grew up playing. Or show up alone and meet someone who did.

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D&D Adventurers League — Game Empire SD

May 21, 2026 Free / $5 suggested 7052 Miramar Rd, San Diego, CA 921…

Pokemon TCG City Championship — San Diego

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Pokemon TCG City Championship — San Diego

May 17, 2026 $20 7626 Miramar Rd Suite 3900, San Di…

TCS Rockets, 7626 Miramar Rd, San Diego. May 17th, 2026. $20 to enter. The City Championship is where the format gets tested by players who have been preparing since the last Regional — and where your deck either proves it was built correctly or you find out which matchup you forgot to account for. The local tournament circuit is where competitive Pokemon is actually played. Regionals get the coverage; Cities are where the work happens. The players at the top tables have logged the hours, tuned the lists, and know the format well enough to read the matchup before the first coin flip. That level of play is worth watching even if you're not competing — the gap between a list built for theory and a list built for the actual meta becomes visible in about four rounds. $20 entry. May 17th at TCS Rockets, a venue that runs Pokemon events with real tournament infrastructure. Side events run throughout the day. If you've been sitting on a deck you want to test at this level, this is the right room — competitive but accessible, with judges who know the rules and a bracket you can finish in a day. Registration at play.pokemon.com or at the venue.

Pokemon TCG Friday Night Draft — TCS Rockets

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Pokemon TCG Friday Night Draft — TCS Rockets

May 14, 2026 7626 Miramar Rd Suite 3900, San Di…

TCS Rockets, 7626 Miramar Rd, San Diego. May 15th. Friday Night Draft is the weekly Pokemon format where you open packs, pick cards, and build your deck from what comes out — the most social way to play competitively, and the format where knowing the set matters more than owning the collection. Draft rewards knowing what cards are worth taking, reading the signals from the cards passed to you, and building something functional from what the draft table produced. It's a different skill set from constructed — you can't over-prepare, you can't bring the answer to every matchup. You draft with what you get and you play what you built. That's why Friday Night Draft is the week's social event rather than the week's grind event: everyone is working the same problem, nobody showed up with the solved answer. TCS Rockets runs Pokemon events with real infrastructure. Check tcsrockets.com for pack format and entry fee for this draft. May 15th. Friday night at a game store that knows how to run these is one of the better ways to spend a Friday in San Diego. Show up knowing your set. The cards decide the rest.

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D&D Adventurers League — Game Empire SD

May 14, 2026 Free / $5 suggested 7052 Miramar Rd, San Diego, CA 921…

Game Empire San Diego, 7052 Miramar Rd. May 15th. Free / $5 suggested. D&D Adventurers League at Game Empire SD — the weekly organized play session that opens a seat at the table to anyone who arrives, whether you've been adventuring for years or are walking into your first session. Adventurers League is the format built to remove the hardest part of tabletop RPG: finding a group. You show up with a character — or build one with help at the table — and join the campaign already in progress. The stories accumulate across sessions, the characters grow, and the table at Game Empire becomes the place you return to week after week because something is always happening that wasn't there before. Free / $5 suggested. May 15th at Game Empire San Diego, 7052 Miramar Rd. gameempire.com for the session schedule and character creation guidance. Game Empire runs Adventurers League with real infrastructure — the modules, the organized tables, the experience to bring new players up to speed without slowing down the veterans. Show up. The dungeon has been waiting.

GameSync Monthly Tabletop Open — San Diego

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GameSync Monthly Tabletop Open — San Diego

May 10, 2026 GameSync Esports Center, 3519 El C…

GameSync runs a monthly tabletop open alongside their esports events. Bring your own game or borrow from the library of 500+ titles. Board game demos from local publishers. Speed chess side event. No registration required — show up and find a table.

The Real Escape Game — SD: Gaming Edition

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The Real Escape Game — SD: Gaming Edition

May 9, 2026 From $38 The Real Escape Game, 550 W B St, …

A gaming-themed escape room event in San Diego — puzzles designed around video game logic, pop culture references layered into every room, and the satisfaction of solving something that's actually hard. Groups of 2-6. Book your time slot in advance.

Pokemon TCG League Challenge — TCS Rockets

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Pokemon TCG League Challenge — TCS Rockets

May 2, 2026 $5 entry 7626 Miramar Rd Suite 3900, San Di…

Monthly Pokemon TCG League Challenge — the competitive stepping stone before Regional Championships. Earn Championship Points toward the World Championship invite. Masters, Seniors, and Juniors divisions. Bring your best 60-card deck and your game face. Registration opens at 10 AM, rounds begin at 11 AM.

Pokemon TCG League Challenge — Game Empire SD

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Pokemon TCG League Challenge — Game Empire SD

May 2, 2026 $5 entry 7052 Miramar Rd, San Diego, CA 921…

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