Monday 18 April 2016

Results: MSSA's 2016 Online Provincial Championships

The Maritzburg College DotA 2 First Team.
From Left to Right: Troy Marais, Alex Little, Sershin Naicker(Captain), Darshan Dhayaram, Ronald Lindsay Murdoch-Oats
MSSA's Online Provincial Championships held on 16 April 2016 started without a hitch as teams from six provinces prepared themselves for  battle.

Thanks must be extended to MWEB for use of the servers ansd to the MSSA administrators and umpires who worked tirelessly behind the scenes in order to create a top-of-the-line championships.

The championship attracted players from the Free State, Gauteng, North West, Mpumulanga, KwaZulu Natal, and Western Cape.

Not only did players battle it out to earn the various titles of Online Provincial Champion and earn Provincial  Colours in the process, but the fight was also to earn a place in the 2016 National Team Trials that will ultimately deliver a team to the IeSF's 2016 8th World Championships in Jakarta from 6 to 9 October 2016.

The championship held all enthralled as the teams went from round-to-round while giving  their best.

In League  of Legends, Team Gryphon, lead by captain Jean-Pierre van  der Merwe and 2015 Protea Player, Matthew Smith, demonstrated to all  that they were unstoppable. The Capetonians thrashed every team to leave their mark pn the championship as the team to beat. Not even Tuks Mind Sports, nor the new stars on the block, Team Vapor (from Sasolburg High) were able to stop Team Gryphon's  relentless onslaught.

The developmental  nature of MSSA's competitition structure may be seen having borne fruit in the DotA 2 game title. Maritzburg College in 2015 finished in 5th place  in MSSA's 2015 Online Schools Championships, but through hard work, dedication, and discipline, Maritzburg College has now got its  game on. In the 2016 MSSA Online Schools Championships, Maritzburg College annihilated all the teams that they played to prove without doubt that such team is South Africa' best  school team in such title. However, would the school team  be able to stand up to the more experienced non-school teams?

The 2016 MSSA Online Championship showed just how much  improved the Maritzburg College team is. Team after team crumbled in the face of Maritzburg College. The school team has revealed to  all its character and ability. By winning  this  championship, Maritzburg College has made itself a major contender as one of South Africa's top DotA 2 teams in the country.

The  game title CounterStrike: GO saw some interesting developments. Jesse Joubert (who many consider to be the heart and soul of Rondebosch Boy's team) played for  Anteria Gaming. The combination seemed to have worked well as TERA|Qube (Anteria Gaming) began the championship.  It quickly  became evident that the CounterStrike:GO title was a fight between TERA|Qube and a very much  improved St John's College team under the skillful guidance of 2015 Protea player, Jason Batzofin. Eventually TERA|Qube and St John's met, and everyone held their breath as the two top teams 'slugged' it out.

None  of the teams gave quarter, but eventually TERA|Qube emerged as the victor by the narrowest of margins, with St John's College taking second place.

The winners are:

Title Section Name of team Club Colours awarded

CounterStrike: GO
Premier TERA| Qube Anteria Provincial Colours
Under 24 Team Delta All Stars
High School Phantom Troupe l Branden Fairmont High School

DotA 2
Premier Maritzburg College Maritzburg College Provincial Colours
Under 24 We Took a Tower! Wits University
High School Broken alliance Fairmont High School

League of Legends
Premier Gryphons Knights Mind Sports Club Provincial Colours
High School CCS Shadow Hunters Crawford College - Sandton

In total 15 players earned the right to wear provincial colours by having won all their games outright.

Photographs of the event may be found on: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10154736371389008.1073741941.146018324007&type=3

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