Carlo Petersen
FOUR Cape Town-based professional gamers have been invited to compete in the Do Gaming League (DGL) championship finals in Johannesburg this weekend.
The event, sponsored by Telkom, is the culmination of nine months of competition in SA’s largest online computer-gaming league competition, and will form part of the annual Rage Gaming Expo at the Ticketpro Dome from October 9 to 11.
“We are very excited about being invited. It has taken lots of dedication. We have won numerous third-party competitions with almost a 60 percent win rate,” said Jade Thomas.
Thomas, along with Jonathan Calitz, James Pirie and Daniel Bosman are a gaming clan from the city named Axelerated Gaming.
“Gaming is massive in Asia and Europe and it’s beginning to become very popular in South Africa, too. It is not yet recognised as an official sport, though, so we can’t really get sponsors.”
According to her, the team still require assistance for their accommodation, flights and transport.
Telkom spokesperson Jacqui O’Sullivan said this year’s championship series would see 408 of South Africa’s biggest talents challenge one another in an official VIP area below the Rage Expo.
“In 2015 alone, the Telkom DGL hosted more than 5 000 players across seven different competitive titles, with the league looking to grow even further, come the 2016 season,” O’Sullivan said.
Professional gaming is known as eSports, and last year an estimated 72 million people watched competitive gaming worldwide.
O’Sullivan said R971 193 in prizes would be split across six different competitive titles this weekend.
@carlo_petersen