Esports and gaming hub Mettlestate had a busy month in June, reaching 100 000 gamers on the Mettlestate website – a milestone that is testament to Africa’s fast-growing gaming community. June also saw the successful conclusion of the ROG Invitational III, with a prize pool of R 100 000, R50 000 of which went to the winning team. Mettlestate also announced  new partnership agreements with Uber Eats, Steam and Krispy Kreme, and the addition of two new gaming titles to the Mettlestate gaming platform, the Forge. On 1 July, Mettlestate launched their online store – a new home for gamers looking to add to their collections of merchandise and apparel. 

The Mettlestate online store 

“Having been a part of the South African gaming and esports community for so long, we realised just how challenging it can be for local fans to get their hands on merchandise from their favourite titles,” says Barry Louzada, Managing Director and Founder of Mettlestate. 

He adds, “Ordering from overseas stores can have its disadvantages – like lack of local support, items going missing in the mail frequently and long waiting times. We hope that our store will make it easier for South African gamers to get the things they want quicker, more safely and with a lot less fuss”. 

The Mettlestate store is now live, and local gamers can browse and shop for merchandise from top titles like Minecraft, Fortnite, DBZ and others. The store stocks apparel, collectables (like figurines), vapes and vape accessories, and other sought after items that South African gamers may have struggled to find locally before. 

Winter Leaderboard 

On 2 June, Mettlestate launched its Winter Leaderboard, which will run until 31 August 2021. With R 25 000 in prize money up for grabs for the person with the highest number of points at the end of the winter season. To compete, players need not register. They just need to complete a series of tasks to be added to the board. Every time a task is completed, the player will earn points. The more points the player earns, the higher they will rank on the leaderboard. 

Players can find out more at www.mettlestate.com/leaderboard. 

New partnerships and giveaways 

The growing trend of corporate partnerships with gaming entities has gained unprecedented momentum during the COVID-19 pandemic, as corporates in South Africa become increasingly more aware of the loyal fan base and captive audience the gaming community represents. Most recently, Mettlestate gained the support of Uber Eats and Krispy Kreme. First time Uber Eats users on the Mettlestate website will qualify for 75% off their next purchase when they enter a unique code, and Krispy Kreme will be providing weekly voucher giveaways for 12 glazed doughnuts to each winning user. 

Mettlestate will also be giving away R250 Steam vouchers every week to users who join the Mettlestate Discord server. All winners will be notified via an official Mettlestate email or the website. These giveaways will continue for the foreseeable future.  

The Logitech G Challenger Series  

On 07 July, Mettlestate launched the Logitech G Challenger Series. Registrations are now open, closing on 18 July. Check-ins begin one hour before each event. Every Sunday for six weeks, there will be a mobile cup with a R1 000 prize pool. The Logitech G Challenger Series will feature COD Mobile, Garena Free Fire and Clash Royale. Each title will be played twice throughout the series and each cup will be played as a team death match.

To find out more, visit www.mettlestate.com/logitech-g-challenger-series.  

100 000 gamers and counting 

Mobile gaming in South Africa is growing exponentially, and the hype about competitive esports with it. Testament to this rapid growth is Mettlestate’s milestone user base of 100 000 – a number that was officially reached on 07 June 2021. Barry Louzada enthuses, “We are so proud to provide a home online to thousands of gamers in Africa, and humbled by the ever-growing support they continue to give us. We hope to see esports in Africa keep growing and to provide opportunities for African gamers to shine on the world stage”. 

New game titles  

On 15 June, Mettlestate added two new game titles to their portfolio of online games, in which local players can participate. League of Legends: Wild Rift and Clash Royale join the ranks of many other popular games featured in the Forge. More details are available on the Mettlestate website. 

Visit www.mettlestate.com or Mettlestate’s Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and Twitch pages to stay up-to-date with news on upcoming tournaments and to engage with South Africa’s gaming and esports community.

Esports and gaming authority Mettlestate, in partnership with Asus, RepVYBN Esportsublic of Gamers, Intel Gaming, Vodacom World and Ubisoft, hosted the Asus Republic of Gamers (ROG) Invitational III Grand Finals on 26 and 27 June 2021. All the esports action was broadcast live on Mettlestate’s Twitch TV, with highlights broadcast on DStv’s GINX esports TV channel (Channel 127) at 22:00 SAST on both nights. The tournament boasted an impressive prize pool of R 100 000, of which R 50 000 went to the grand prize winning team, VYBN Esports (@vybnesports) for a hard-fought victory over all the other eager, highly-skilled contenders. VYBN Esports remained undefeated throughout the ROG Invitational lll. 

The VYBN Esports team was made up of Captain @XhosaR6, @Figure_R6, @SxndeLs, @DrDropShot007, @elyk_gg, @WxstefulR6 and @Chill_R6. Bravado Gaming (@bravadogaming) took second place (25 000), Phoenix eSports ZA (@Phoenix_MGO) took third place (R15 000) and DNMK Esports (@dnmkgg) took fourth place (R10,000). 

Some of the biggest names in the South African gaming community were on-hand to provide their expertise and blow-by-blow commentary. These included: 

Sam Wright – @TechGirlZA (panel)

Brad Griffiths – @HangryCamel (panel)

Jayson van Kerckhoven – @JustTrinoc (caster)

Jacques Theron – @KanyeDefuse (caster)

Chloë Geraghty – @ChloGeraghty (interviewer)

Rachel Kay – @iamrachelkay (interviewer) 

South Africa’s best gamers spent their weekend going head-to-head in Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege, the tactical team shooter from Ubisoft that has snowballed in popularity since it launched in 2015. The ROG III Invitational was a tight competition from start to finish, with teams including Bravado Gaming, Phoenix Esports ZA, DNMK Esports and winners VYBN Esports taking the South African competitive esports stage up several notches and undoubtedly laying the groundwork for similar big events in the near future. 

The tournament was a fully digital, professional-level esports spectacle that delivered world-class spectator value and expert commentary, and proof that esports is fast gaining momentum across the African continent. Juan Mouton, Country Marketing Manager, Republic of Gamers, Asus, South Africa, says, “This was the third – and largest – event in the history of our partnership with Mettlestate and living proof that South African gamers have what it takes to elevate the profile of esports all over Africa. All the contenders played their hearts out over the weekend and VYBN’s win could not have been better deserved. Well done to everybody who took part. We look forward to next year”. 

Barry Louzada, Managing Director and Founder of Mettlestate adds, “Congratulations to VYBN Esports for playing so well. The turnout from fans was fantastic and the support the tournament received was overwhelming. We are so excited to bring South Africa’s close-knit gaming community more events to come and it’s incredible to see how, every year, the bar keeps being raised in South African esports”. 

VYBN Esports Captain, Rowan “Xhosa” Steyn says, “Our team only formed two weeks before the tournament started. Time was not on our side, so it was a very busy and hectic experience that needed more effort from us to catch up with the others. 

“When the tournament first started, ATK was very dominant, but now all the teams compete convincingly – it’s a matter of a coinflip. Competition is very tight. But there were specific players per team that really stood out for us, like DNMK’s Dan Da Man, Mystic and DVN from Bravado, with a special shoutout to Shadir from Phoenix. 

“In terms of advancing our gaming careers, this is massive. At the end of the day, if you want to become someone, you need networking. Now the team can add to their resumé that they won the biggest tournament in SA. This is something needed for the scene. Nothing can grow unless there’s financial incentive and support”. 

The ROG III Invitational’s success is a striking example of how, unlike many other sectors, esports continues to grow and flourish during the pandemic. This entertaining blend of competitiveness and escapism is rapidly gaining more followers as a professional sport with entertainment value akin to many other major sports the South African public enjoys. Keep your consoles, PCs and mobile devices tuned in to stay up to date with the ongoing rise of esports in Africa. 

Visit www.mettlestate.com or Mettlestate’s Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and Twitch pages to stay up-to-date news on upcoming tournaments and to engage with South Africa’s gaming and esports community.

Esports and gaming authority Mettlestate, in partnership with Asus, Republic of Gamers, Intel Gaming, Vodacom World and Ubisoft, will be broadcasting the Asus Republic of Gamers (ROG) Invitational lll Grand Finals on 26 and 27 June 2021. Fans can watch the broadcast live on Mettlestate’s Twitch TV and DStv’s GINX esports TV channel (Channel 127). 

Don’t miss South Africa’s best gamers vie for the top spot – and big money – in Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege, with a whopping prize pool of R 100 000, of which R 50 000 will go to the grand prize winner. 

Juan Mouton, Country Marketing Manager, Republic of Gamers, ASUS, South Africa, says, “Our partnership with Mettlestate for the Rainbow6 ROG Invitational is a continuation of a three-year relationship with the aim of working towards producing a world class esports production on South African soil. The reason we have continued to invest in esports with Mettlestate as our partner is because of the shared acknowledgement that we as key stakeholders in South African eSports have a responsibility to grow the number of opportunities available to South African talent to develop and excel”.

The Grand Final schedule is as follows:

Match 1 - Saturday, 26th June from 09:00 to 12:00

Match 2 - Saturday, 26th June from 12:30 to 15:30

Match 3 - Sunday, 27th June from 09:00 to 12:00

Match 4 - Sunday, 27th June from 12:30 to 17:30 

Visit www.mettlestate.com or Mettlestate’s Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and Twitch pages to stay up-to-date with breaking news on the tournament as it happens.