Q& A with esports host
SAM Wright works as an international shoutcaster (video game commentator) and host in electronic sports (esports). The Tech Girl blogger travels the world working at events. Wright spoke to The Star about the rise of esports.
Competitive gaming has always been part of the local gaming community – friends around a television in a Fifa tournament at a braai is pretty much where the bug for esports bites. Organised competitions have existed for 10 years, though only recently, with the addition of corporate investment, has it become “mainstream”. I think it’s grown in popularity as gaming becomes more popular and live streaming platforms like Twitch become more accessible. Social media sites are allowing us to connect with other gamers who want to test their skills against one another and attend local esports events.
I think it’ll continue to grow but I hope to see South Africa’s esports scene develop its own flavour. Right now, many of the events follow the European formats and style but I think we have a unique culture that needs to be celebrated in SA esports. Redbull have recently done just that with their “Hit the Streets” tournament, offering qualifiers around the country, literally on the street, with music jamming and an authentic South African flavour. I hope more events take a page out of the Redbull book and follow this. We don’t need giant stadiums and flashing lights to get people to attend – we need to take the competition to the players.
We have a host of teams and players that compete internationally in a variety of titles. We have a few Counter Strike Global Offensive players currently living in North America competing in the leagues there.
Recently South Africa fielded a team to represent the country at the Overwatch World Cup in Los Angeles at BlizzCon 2019.
The winner of the Redbull Hit The Streets competition will be flying to Japan to compete with some of the best in the world.