ESports Cup wraps up
KNYSNA - The Knysna eSports Cup saw an action-packed final on Friday afternoon, 16 July, to wrap up a successful inaugural endeavour for organisers.
The cup was a team-based and cross-platform tournament, allowing players to compete from a range of different devices, including mobile, PC or console. It got underway on 5 July with six days of qualifying action that successfully concluded on 11 July. Roughly 600 gamers tried to secure their team a spot each day while only 99 positions were available per day. By the end of the qualifying period, a total of 594 competitors, including about 20 local teams (60 players), had taken part. The knockout rounds would see three days of non-stop action in which only a third of the teams (66) would take part. The first semi-final got going on Wednesday 14 July, followed by the second semi-final the day after. The semi-finals trimmed the competitors to only half the numbers, with 33 teams comprising 99 of the country’s best Fortnite players geared up for the ultimate challenge on Friday 16 July.
The time came at 14:30 on Friday for the finals to start with the first of five matches that would determine who could expect to receive the trophy in the post (see photo). After three hours of exciting, nail-biting action it was team KJC that emerged as the surprise victors. Players Bvdkareem, CHIMP, and Jetski battled it out against some of the country’s best and came out on top to win the biggest share of the R20 000 prize pool, which was divided among the top eight teams. Organisers were thrilled by the outcome of their first tournament. “The concept of this Knysna eSports Cup began earlier this year on a road trip along the Wild Coast. We were wanting to bring something different to the Knysna Oyster Festival programme (something also Covid friendly),” said organisers Catherine Finn and Roscoe Vercuiel. “Lots of effort went into the design and flow, ensuring spectators were entertained and our sponsors and Knysna got amazing coverage. The tournament was well received within the gaming community with an astounding amount of organic ‘chatter’ happening across numerous social media platforms.”
They have great plans for the festival and the industry within Knysna. “Going forward we want to go bigger and better. We want to introduce a new and untouched market to Knysna, i.e. Knysna as a gamer’s destination.”