John Goldberg is your 2015 Nintendo World Championships winner

Last night saw the crowning of John Goldberg from Queens, New York as the winner of the Nintendo World Championship, after a remarkably entertaining back and forth between John and runner-up Cosmo Wright, during the final round of the championship which featured the upcoming release of Mario Maker (now apparently dubbed Super Mario Maker).

The competition was actually a lot of fun to watch, as I managed to tune in for most of it in-between the Game of Thrones finale and Money in the Bank. There’s a was decent mix of modern (Splatoon, Mario Kart 8), and classic (Super Metroid, Balloon Fight) games involved in the competition.

A new IP from Nintendo was also unveiled for 3DS during the competition, dubbed Blast Ball, a six-player sci-fi spin on soccer, where you use guns instead of feet to knock a ball into the opposing teams goal. Also, and this came as a huge surprise, we got a pre-show announcement for Earthbound: Beginnings, which launched on the Wii U Virtual Console last night. For those unfamiliar with the franchise, Earthbound: Beginnings is the original Mother for NES, making it’s North American debut.

For more info on participants, games, and general Nintendo details, check out the full press release below.

Nintendo News: Nintendo World Championships 2015 Crowns John Goldberg from Queens, New York, as Winner

Returning after a 25-year hiatus, the Nintendo World Championships 2015 concluded tonight in Los Angeles with a new world champion: John ?John Numbers? Goldberg of Queens, New York. Goldberg defeated Cosmo Wright in a tense final round playing the upcoming Super Mario Maker game for the Wii U console. The new champion emerged victorious after a multi-round competition in games from Nintendo?s past, present and future, including The Legend of Zelda for the Nintendo Entertainment System, Super Metroid for the Super NES, as well as Splatoon, Super Smash Bros. for Wii U and Mario Kart 8 for Wii U, in front of a live crowd of thousands and even more fans watching around the world online.

In this photo provided by Nintendo of America, host Kevin Pereira welcomes the enthusiastic crowd at L.A. LIVE and fans watching online to the Nintendo World Championships 2015 on June 14, 2015. The Nintendo World Championships, which were last seen in 1990, is a video game competition featuring games from the past, present and future of Nintendo, and kicks off the E3 video game trade show in Los Angeles. (Photo: Nintendo)

The intense competition consisted of 16 Nintendo fans, eight pre-selected by Nintendo and eight advancing from qualifying rounds held across the nation on May 30. After winning the final round, Goldberg was presented his trophy by Nintendo developer Shigeru Miyamoto, creator of theSuper Mario Bros., The Legend of Zelda and Donkey Kong series, among others.

In addition to playing classic Nintendo games they were familiar with, competitors had to quickly think on their feet when presented with Blast Ball, a new six-player sci-fi sports experience, which made its Nintendo 3DS debut during the tournament. Another game announcement came in the form of EarthBound Beginnings, a localized version of the original Mothergame for the Famicom (the Japanese version of the Nintendo Entertainment System), during a pre-tournament Nintendo Treehouse: Live segment. Revealed by the game?s creator, Shigesato Itoi, the fan-favorite role-playing game went on sale immediately after the tournament exclusively in the Nintendo eShop on Wii U for $6.99, marking its debut in the U.S. after launching in Japan nearly 26 years ago.

The Nintendo World Championships 2015 kicked off Nintendo?s activities for E3 2015, which continues with its Nintendo Digital Event on Tuesday, June 16, at 9 a.m. PT, Nintendo Treehouse: Live @ E3, featuring live game demos and special guests from the show floor June 16-18 and Nintendo Access: Super Mario Maker at Best Buy, a chance for fans that are not at E3 to play upcoming Wii U game Super Mario Maker at select Best Buy stores in the U.S. and Canada on June 17 and June 20.

To view a video-on-demand version of the Nintendo World Championships 2015, and for more information about Nintendo?s presence at E3, visit http://e3.nintendo.com/.