In a booming South African video gaming market, local competitive gaming is on an upward trajectory, with homegrown players now travelling overseas to compete against the best in the world. And if you’re an avid gamer yourself, you’re either wondering how you stack up against the competition or thinking you could easily take them on and claim that plane ticket instead.
Most online competitive games on PC, console and mobile offer options to pit yourself against the competition with weekly and monthly challenges as well as ranked mode. But how do you enter an esports tournament and begin competing for prizes?
South Africa does have an active competitive gaming scene with options to compete available almost every week, but you might not know where to look. Here’s how you go about entering your first esports tournament.
Find competitions online
The pandemic has forced almost all esports activity online, which means you need a good internet connection to enter and compete. The good news is that two of South Africa’s best known tournament organisers host weekly online competitions. The tournaments have administration staff to ensure a fair and fun competitive environment for everyone and some offer cash and other great prizes.
Mettlestate hosts weekly events for a variety of titles, including FIFA, Fortnite, Apex Legends, Rainbow Six Siege, PUBG Mobile, Tekken and much more. Almost all its competitions have cash prizes. All you need to do is register on the website.
ACGL has been the home of competitive online gaming for years, with a host of competitions and friendly leagues almost always running. It offers a fun online environment where you can register, design an avatar and earn points for prizes by participating in various competitions. Register on the website to see what tournaments are currently under way.
Search social media
Once you’ve signed up to Mettlestate and ACGL you’ll be spoilt by the choice of competitions to enter, but if you still want more, a host of smaller tournament organisers regularly run competitions you and your friends can enter. There are various Facebook groups dedicated to individual game titles that also share community cups and events. Xbox Players South Africa has 10 000 members and regularly shares Xbox tournaments and community events:
If you’re a PlayStation player, then you need to join the ZA Playstation Association. You’ll be joining more than 8 000 members who’ll also keep you in the loop regarding competitions.
Why not run your own?
If you’re a bit nervous about entering the competitive gaming space and want to get some practice in, most games do offer you the chance to set up your own competitive matches. Why not get together some friends online and run a small community event with some friendly competition? Whether you set up a King of the Hill style Street Fighter competition or a Knockout FIFA Cup, your own competitive style events are a great way to get a feel of an esports event while surrounded by friends. It’s also a great way to prepare for competitions and test your skills.
High-speed gaming with Vodacom fibre
Here’s a handy article on getting started with fibre that will give you guidelines on how fast your connection should be. When choosing how many GB to budget for each month, remember that the better your connection, the more you’ll want to surf, as you discover the joys of streaming on Showmax and Netflix. Uncapped fibre gives you the option to stream, surf and listen to music to your heart's content, without ever worrying about running out of data.
Next, check out fibre coverage in your area, and brush up on Vodacom’s latest fibre offers.
