The esports industry has grown exponentially over the past few years, with some of the highest-paid players earning up to six figures. While Asia, Europe and South America are home to some of the top esports players, South Africa’s gaming market is on an upward trajectory. Homegrown players are now competing internationally against some of the best players in the world.
South Africa has an active competitive gaming scene. The recent Comic Con Africa 2022 saw Telkom VS Gaming give away R615,000 in prizes across the VS Gaming league.
With the growing appeal that esports has in South Africa, there are some basic elements to guide you when entering the esports scene:
Choose your gaming title
One of the first steps when entering esports is finding out which games you want to play, watch and master. Ahead of looking into the biggest esports events of the year, decide what sort of games you want to watch and compete in. It is important to have a natural love for the games you select, as you will be playing and watching them a lot with the end goal of mastering them.
In esports, games are separated by genres, with some of the biggest ones being fighting, first-person shooter (FPS), multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA), and real-time strategy (RTS). From heart-stopping FSP, to exciting MOBA, thrilling fighting challenges, and nail-biting RTS, you can unlock a world of gaming.
Finding an esports team
Once you’ve found a game you’re passionate about, you will need to find a team to join. Forming a team and playing at esports tournaments is not as easy as signing up a random group of people who know how to play video games, and registering at events. The approach has to be very strategic.
If you’re serious about competing in gaming tournaments, signing with a well-recognised tournament organiser is key. Telkom VS Gaming is South Africa’s largest independent gaming brand and the leading platform for online gaming in Africa. It hosts regular tournaments and ladders across all major game titles and skill levels.
To find out more, visit vsgaming.co.za
Keep up to date with all the gaming action
Once you have selected the games you want to pursue, you’ll need to fully immerse yourself in the gaming action. Almost every event is streamed online, from big annual tournaments to qualifiers and local events happening in your city. Twitch is the biggest platform to stream events but there are other platforms, like YouTube. Telkom also recently launched its VS Gaming weekly, South Africa’s first free-to-air gaming show, which airs every Wednesday at 18:00 on SABC 3 and on TelkomONE.