New Zealander 1st ever ‘Galaga’ arcade game World Champion

WELLINGTON, New Zealand – Mastering a classic arcade game isn’t a lucrative hobby, so some of the world’s best players of “Galaga” were thrilled to get all-expenses-paid trips to New Mexico to compete in its first-ever world championship.

The Santa Fe art collective Meow Wolf showcased the game at its “Score Wars” tournament in April.

Online platforms like Twitch that livestream events have brought a surge of interest in watching others compete on video games. While modern games like “Fortnite” dominate the scene, there’s renewed interest in the retro games that started it all. Some 300,000 people tuned in to watch the livestream of the “Galaga” tournament.

Andrew Barrow of Wellington, New Zealand, took top prize, though he opted to share it with the runner-up, dark-horse contender Armando Gonzalez of Los Angeles.