Watching people shooting other people in the face may not sound appealing to most, but for some people, it’s a living.
The only kind of sports that entertain me are the ones I’d enjoy doing myself. Naturally, this means esports.
If, like me, you’re hoping to get into the whole esports scene, Mettlestate and Matrix Warehouse’s Matrix Maverick Challenge – a Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) tournament – is a good place to start.
Teams announced on Mon! All you need to know about the @MatrixWhHo Maverick Challenge on @kwesesports #RoadToPro https://t.co/NoB5oOrgyS
— MettleState (@MettleState) July 6, 2017
CS:GO, if you haven’t heard of it (and, seriously, how have you not?) is an online first person shooter game exclusive to the glorious PC Master Race.
It’s rather huge on the esports scene as well, and has been for several years.
[#CSGO] Chiefs are taking on Dark Sided tonight at 7pm AEST on Train for @ESEA-P!
📺 https://t.co/easUaLnCEz pic.twitter.com/d42Uf7y6H0
— Chiefs Esports Club (@ChiefsESC) July 10, 2017
It is a popular choice for gamers all over the world, from here, to the US and is even played in Eastern Europe and Russia.
In fact, the Russians really love it. A lot. Players of the game know that in at least every 3rd lobby is a dude with a bad quality mic yelling “Rush B, cyka blyat!”
A phrase which I decline to translate…
Barry Louzada, co-founder of Mettlestate, said that the purpose of the tournament is to help prepare young gamers for bigger tournaments.
“At this moment, there is no one really catering for these teams. The simple fact is that there is nothing for them to play for. We really want this tournament to bring the smaller teams up to the same level as the more established and professional teams,” said Louzada.
cyka blyat rush b every round until it works, then rush a?
— Adeel Karim (@TheRealVimmto) July 10, 2017
Look at the little troll go!
The teams participating have been selected, and include the likes of PewPew Gaming, Pixel Hunters, and Lasagne Lads. The winners get to walk away with R50 000 in hardware vouchers; a social and branding make-over for the team; and professional esports shirts designed and printed for them.
Getting paid for being better at other people in gaming. That’s what I call living the dream.
There’s a lot of organising and money that goes into these tournaments, professional and otherwise. Which begs the question; could it become as commonplace as any other sport?
“Absolutely!” says Louzada. “The world is already looking at South Africa and starting to notice things that we are doing here in the esports nation. As long as we have the support of brands like Samsung and Matrix Warehouse, it can only get better.”
The strategic, caffeine-fuelled carnage will begin on 17 July and will be available to stream on Mettlestate’s Twitch channel.
– Tyler Roodt
