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Cape Town - While South Africa has a healthy gaming market, the country has a long way to go before local gamers can truly feel at home, says a gamer team which is heading to France for an international competition.
"Firstly, there are a lot more players in each field respectively, secondly, there are a lot more tournaments with larger prize pools, and thirdly, the fan base is a lot larger when compared to the local gaming scene", said team eN.Heat team members.
The team comprises leader James "zerOchaNce" Wijnberg, Ruan "Elusive" van Wyk, Ashton "Golz" Muller, Thulani "LighteRTZ" Sishi and Tiaan "T.c" Coertzen.
They are heading to Paris for the Electronic Sports World Cup (ESWC) where they will face 23 teams from around the world in the Counter-Strike: Global Offensive gaming challenge.
They are cautious about their opponents, given that internally, gamers are exposed to more competition than their South African counterparts.
Preparation
"In terms of experience, the international teams have a lot more exposure to playing in front of a large crowd on a stage in big tournaments, whereas at local tournaments we have roughly 50 people spectating live", said eN.Heat.
The ESWC showcases gamers' ability in an intense competition in front of an audience of 200 000 and an internet broadcast that reaches around two million, organisers say.
To prepare for a tournament, the team has to run the gauntlet of work and study commitments, along with hours of preparation.
"Since we heard the news, we've been working as hard as we can! It's difficult for some of our players to allocate the time required with studies, work and family related issues, but I believe we have made the best use of our time", said Wijnberg.
"In terms of how we practice, we spend a lot time on strategies and aim, but the majority of our time is spent studying our opponents and countering their strategies."
As for the platform, the team is emphatic that the PC is the ideal machine for gaming.
"Counter-Strike has always been a computer based game due to the amount of aim control and movement required to play the game at a competitive level. The use of a mouse and keyboard compared to a console remote allows the player to have a better game experience."
The ESWC will be held in Paris from 29 October to 2 November.
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