South Africa, it has been a busy news week, but a poor upcoming weekend for events. One big bit of news coming soon is the DGL reveal of its new structure for 2016 which we will try cover in an upcoming article.
Meanwhile, here’s a few things you may have missed from around the local internets.
- Lazygamer: The Lazygamer guide to streaming with OBS
- MWEB GameZone: South Africa says farewell to one of our outstanding female gamers
- MWEB GameZone: nAvTV and SA eSports – Something big is coming
Upcoming Events
…of which there are none this week, which is pretty heartbreaking. But not to worry, there are a few coming in the future you should make a note of:
- 30 January 2016: Games On Heroes of the Storm and Hearthstone
- 5 to 7 February 2016: GAC LAN
- 18 to 20 March 2016: rAge Cape Town
- 29 to 31 July: EGE
Halo World Championship
Congratulations to South Africa’s Vinco Gaming who snatched the first place in this past weekend’s South African finals of the Halo World Championship.
The team will be heading to Cologne, Germany to participate in the EMEA finals on 6 February. Vinco Gaming will be facing 11 other qualifiers (from the UK, Europe and Middle East), where the top four will head to the United States to play in the grand finals of the Halo World Championship… and their share of over $2 million.
https://twitter.com/ESLHalo/status/688866782686347265/photo/1
You can also watch two of the members of Vinco in action in this Dualtage video from their Halo 4 days.
Orena
Orena have announced that the founders of ‘Food Lovers Market’ have made an un-disclosed investment for a “substantial minority stake” in the eSports organisation.
Orena was originally founded in 2013 by Luca Tucconi and Christopher Breedt and operated a number of successful online tournaments. In recent times, Breedt (who also operated as BRand Manager of Orena) has had to step down due to work commitments with a Digital Media company, but Tucconi says that “his work within Orena played a huge role in where the company stands today.”
The investment will allow Orena to build a “high-end broadcasting studio, as well as acquiring the necessary equipment and staff to host frequent LAN events all with the vision of creating a truly professional sporting environment.”
On the investment, the relevant parties had this to say on the matter:
Luca Tucconi, CEO & Founder of Orena said:
“I am more than excited to have Food Lovers on board. What drew us to partnering with one of South Africa’s most established businesses, was their enthusiasm and equal vision for the local gaming industry. Alongside their financial support, we have been given access to a well of experience with regards to their extensive knowledge of the South African business market, event hosting and general business management.”
Travis Coppin, Spokesperson for the Acquisition said:
“With past experience as an avid competitor and follower of the Electronic Sports Scene, I see a huge opportunity in the South African gaming market. Looking at the growth on international shores, we decided it was about time we dipped our toes into the gaming industry. The reason we have chosen to get involved with Orena is due to the proven success of Luca Tucconi and his team with the hosting of successful events in the recent past, as well as their vision for the near and distant future.”
[hide-this-part Morelink=”Via Press Release”]
The founders of “Food Lovers Market”, a leading food retailer, today announced an un-disclosed investment into Orena, one of South Africa’s leading gaming organizations. For the investment, they are acquiring a substantial minority stake in the business and backing founder Luca Tucconi, together with the existing management team, to lift local gaming into the next frontier.
Online Arena Enterprises (PTY) Ltd. has been active for approximately 3 years. The company was founded in April 2013 with the vision of providing the local e-sports community with well-run, professionally organized tournaments and an online platform that catered to every aspect of the local gaming industry. This includes event hosting, LIVE broadcasting and varied forms of digital media.
Orena looks to provide gamers with a newfound motivation to compete at a professional level, a reason for putting hours of time into perfecting their passion. The company, with only two employees and minimum to completely zero funding, has managed to establish itself as the main contender to current market leaders.
With the additional support acquired from the recent acquisition, Orena is now in the process of setting up a high-end broadcasting studio, as well as acquiring the necessary equipment and staff to host frequent LAN events all with the vision of creating a truly professional sporting environment.
Luca Tucconi, CEO & Founder of Orena said:
“I am more than excited to have Food Lovers on board. What drew us to partnering with one of South Africa’s most established businesses, was their enthusiasm and equal vision for the local gaming industry. Alongside their financial support, we have been given access to a well of experience with regards to their extensive knowledge of the South African business market, event hosting and general business management.”
Travis Coppin, Spokesperson for the Acquisition said:
“With past experience as an avid competitor and follower of the Electronic Sports Scene, I see a huge opportunity in the South African gaming market. Looking at the growth on international shores, we decided it was about time we dipped our toes into the gaming industry. The reason we have chosen to get involved with Orena is due to the proven success of Luca Tucconi and his team with the hosting of successful events in the recent past, as well as their vision for the near and distant future.”
[/hide-this-part]
Coverage Elsewhere:
GO Gaming
Game Over Gaming (or GO Gaming, or even GOGaming) has announced their first tournament (of 2016).
The tournament is a Black Ops 3 2v2 double elimination event with a cap of 32 teams (which has already been reached) and is scheduled for the weekend of 29 January. Entry fee per team for the online tournament is R100, and we assume prizes will be up for grabs (although we can’t find it in the tournament announcement), but there will be “spot prizes and give-aways during the tournament.” Matches will be streamed – we will link when we get them.
The tournament bracket is available here for you to keep tabs on the action.
http://www.gogaming.co.za/black-ops-3-2v2-de-tournament/
E-Sports South Africa
It’s 2016, and as with almost every new year there are organisations that do not reactivate and a host of new ones that make their debut. One such new addition to the South African eSports landscape is the aptly names E-Sports South Africa.
The organisation’s website reveals their plans for both ‘competitive’ and ‘social’ tournaments encompassing PC, PS4 and Xbox One across a multitude of titles.
The first tournament announced is a Black Ops 3 4v4 event for PlayStation 4 which kicks off 29 January (first rounds not exclusively being played that weekend to avoid clashing with GO Gaming’s tournament). Entry is R200 per team and the guaranteed prize pool is R2,000. Details and registrations can be found here.
You can keep an eye on their website and Twitter account for more information on what is coming up as it happens.
Southern Barbarians
The Southern Barbarians (a South African team for Battlefield 4) are back for this year’s Nations Cup.
The team from South Africa took the 2014 title and have already picked the 24 players that will participate in this year’s event:
APG-Jokerbb | PuLse-Mike22 | PuLSe-Grizzla | xTc-JordanL | APG-Mango | APG-DirtyPope | PuLse-Hackzor | xTc-Ghostfreak | APG-Whitchers | xTc-Couch | xTc-Chrono | PuLse-Bloodtronix | APG-Eddyz | xTc-Cruelz | xTc-Kierenblade | bvd-Scoper | Pew-KvTQuanTM | xTc-Lang-Slang | Euphoria | PuLse-HadoGenes | dM-Byohazard | APG-Renji | APG-Stats | Fearbb
Expect more details – including streams and schedules – to be announced closer to the February tournament’s start.
MaD Hatters
The MaD Hatters have announced three new tournaments which will all be played on the 29th of February (remember it’s a leap year).
The titles on offer are Rocket League, League of Legends and Brawlhalla. You can hit the links for each title for more information and to register yourself.
Otherwise, head to their Facebook page to keep in the loop of all the madness and activities.
MSSA
The MSSA has announced that the National Team Trials for eSports will be held on 6 June 2016. We assume additional details will follow closer to the date.
eSports on TV
In closing, a zombie and some friends were invited to Hectic Nine-9 last week to give a (pretty brief) interview about eSports. You can watch the rabbits caught in headlights below, and give some of them a follow to show your support.
- Danny ‘Pupsky’ (His team Vinco Gaming took the Halo World Championship SA finals)
- Alton ‘Inferno_xF’
- Andrew ‘Drew’
- Nick ‘HoldenZA’
You can find out about even more events happening in South Africa in our events calendar. If you want all the news about goings on in South Africa, simply click on the SA flag to be whisked to the most comprehensive coverage of South African gaming that you will find on the internet. You may just be surprised by how much is happening around the country.
Know of anything gaming related happening or happened in South Africa? Drop us an email at info@zombiegamer.co.za and we will do our best to cover it.
