WHAT WE DID IN 2019
We started 2019 with a fair amount of trepidation. It was a year where we knew we would not be doing as many smaller LAN events as we previously had. This was in part due to a renewed focus on our online structures and the associated potential online campaigns. It was also due to 2018’s event costs brought on from seemingly unenthusiastic event attendance.
The team decided to spend a year ensuring an ongoing engagement with more of South Africa’s gaming communities. This was only achievable on scale via online tournaments, and so 2019 was the year of new titles, new community initiatives and an expanding focus on including players from sub-Saharan Africa.
The mobile gaming community specifically proved to be a hungry one. We introduced Clash Royale, COD Mobile and PUBG Mobile through the course of the year and saw the titles quickly become well supported by their communities.
It was thanks to a number of partnerships and sponsorships that many of the online tournaments saw more cash awarded via our platform than previous years. This also saw our registered user base increase to over 23,000 – a number that is both humbling and thrilling.
The year saw us pass 1,000 tournaments hosted and over 24,000 matches played.
We started the year with a site update, which brought more customisation to your profiles. Achievements, reputation, avatars, free agents, video content focus, matchfinders and more. Some proved more successful elements than others did, and with the 2020 site update (yes, there will be one), you can expect some of the elements to arrive tweaked and improved.
However, the year was not just about the regular online tournaments every week. We were fortunate to be involved in a number of the year’s major events, as well as host a number of important gaming and esports campaigns and events of our own.
SAMSUNG S10 LAUNCH
An event we had the (unexpected) honour of assisting with was around the launch of the Samsung S10. We were tasked with consulting on Fortnite mobile at three mall activations, as well as organising the MCs, players and other influencers to ensure an engaging celebration of Samsung’s latest device.
MWEB GG
The MWEB Gaming Gatherings were brought to life in partnership with MWEB, MSI and a number of other rotating partners. The intention was to give gamers and experts in Cape Town a social environment to discuss their gaming and related passions. Two events were hosted in 2019, and 2020 is likely to see a return of the series of events in a slightly altered form.
Photos: Album 1 | Album 2 | Video 1
UCON | AFRESPORTS
After 2018’s Afresports events unfortunately cost more to run than we got in return, we decided to collaborate with the ongoing UCT event UCON, and with our sister organisation Zombiegamer. This ensured a cost split to manage the venue, security and other event costs. It also meant more variety on the floor for attendees.
On the agenda was FIFA, fighting and potentially the first inter-varsity event hosted at a venue, when players from Stellenbosch University took on players from UCT in a FIFA tournament. The event also saw the inaugural Redragon Keyboard Rebuild Race hosted, which saw a new element joining a roster of activities in the year.
FIFA ENATIONS QUALIFIERS
The FIFA eNations qualifier was an opportunity for two South African FIFA players to represent the country in London for the FIFA eNations Cup 2019. The qualifier was officially sanctioned by SAFA and FIFA, which would have an Xbox player and a PlayStation player competing directly under the SAFA banner.
RAND SHOW
Fortnite at the Rand Show saw one of the biggest prize pools on offer for the title locally. In the lead-up to the Easter weekend event, online qualifiers were hosted, but all roads led to the Johannesburg Expo Centre in Nasrec where over R100,000 cash was up for grabs.
Photos: Album 1
DEBONAIRS PIZZA SERIES
Debonairs Pizza went all-in with gaming during 2019. The South African pizza brand became a valued partner and offered R10,000 in cash and R5,000 in pizza vouchers every month. The prizes were split across a variety of titles and platforms over the month and saw players enjoying regular online tournaments with plenty of tasty rewards.
MORTAL KOMBAT 11 SEASONS
Mortal Kombat 11 arrived earlier in the year and immediately saw a launch event hosted at the Fokof Bar in Pretoria – as well as its own kollectable beer.
The first season of tournament action culminated in a truly African grand final at Protea Fire & Ice in Pretoria, when Zambia’s Mr. 5000 took the championship, which saw him walk away with cash and a trip to Ireland.
The second season was an online only series, which again saw players from all across Africa competing for their share of the cash up for grabs.
Photos: Album 1 | Album 2 | Video 1 | Video 2
BMW M FESTIVAL ASPHALT SERIES
With R50,000 cash up for grabs in the BMW M Festival Asphalt Series, there was a good likelihood that the series was one of the biggest cash prize pools offered for a mobile title in South Africa.
UNIVERSITY ESPORTS
This year saw us continue our relationship with the Stellenbosch University’s (Maties) sports department as they continued their esports expansion at the institution.
However, the year saw that expanding to include conversations with other Western Cape tertiary education institutions.
Ultimately, this series of conversations expanded to include University Sports South Africa, and the first USSA Esports Tournament hosted in Stellenbosch. Eleven institutions from around South Africa attended the FIFA tournament, which saw the Maties team secure the championship. 2020 is likely to see an expanded campaign in University Esports.
COMIC CON
We were asked by Warner Bros. (South Africa) and the Inscape Education Group to operate a R10,000 Mortal Kombat 11 activation at the second Comic Con Africa event. Players competed daily to secure a spot in the finals on the fourth day of the Con. The 12 consoles were never empty and saw players of all skill levels trying to secure the daily qualifying spots.
The finals saw familiar face, Sho Kahn walk away with the R10,000 winner-takes-all cash prize.
RAGE 2019
For rAge 2019, we headed up to host our own activation in partnership with MWEB, as well as assist Redragon with their stand.
Being the first to host the Keyboard Rebuild Race earlier in the year meant we were the most experienced team to bring the competition to life at rAge. As with our previous experience with the activity, the seats were never empty and there was never a shortage of spectators engaging with the competitors and crew alike. A blistering time of 4:14 saw Johannesburg end the year with the fastest rebuild time.
Other members of the ACGL family were hosting three days of mini-tournaments for Mortal Kombat 11, Fortnite and PES 2020 at the MWEB stand. Winners of each day walked away with an ASTRO Gaming A40 headset sponsored by Logitech.
Photos: Album 1
ROCOMAMAS SMASHBALL SERIES
The Rocomamas Smashball Series saw 14 different Rocomamas branches in Gauteng and Cape Town play host to a FIFA 20 tournament series.
Over R25,000 was up for grabs with each branch winner securing R1,000, a potential spot in the grand final and peripherals and products sponsored by Apex Interactive.
The finals were hosted in December at the Z-Fest event where Goliath Gaming’s Julio Bianchi took the crown and R6,000 cash after over two months of competition.
Photos: Album 1
SANDTON CITY GAMERS EXPO
Late November saw Sandton City host their first gaming expo in partnership with BT Games. We were brought on board to facilitate the FIFA 20 tournament, fastest lap and other activities.
Around 512 FIFA 20 players competed in the tournament which offered a R40,000 cash prize pool. The bulk of that prize pool went to Bravado Gaming’s Masoom Fakie after a close final against a fellow Capetonian, Julio Bianchi.
STREAMER ROYALE
The Streamer Royale event featured eight streamers and their teams in a R15,000 Fortnite tournament. Redragon and Sparkfox sponsored the event which saw a series of qualifiers run over a number of weeks until the finals on 30 November.
The top spot went to Team Hutchie by the narrowest of margins over Team Clouds.
AND…
The year also saw us contracted to assist Red Bull with staffing on two of their events: Red Bull Cape Town Circuit and Red Bull Hit the Streets.
Sonic Informed brought their brands to support our video elements such as the monthly Top 5 and the streamer page.
When we look back, 2019 was a good year for the ACGL team and extended family, but it would not have been without the support of all the communities, partners and sponsors who formed an integral part of what we did. So thank you all – it means the world to us.
We have plans for 2020 and look forward to having you all along for the ride again.
