South Africa loses to Egypt

With so few South African gamers having ever played against top level international competition, the standard of eSports in other countries often is a mystery to many South Africans. Just how good are we, how much work do we still need to do in order to be on par with the best, and where do we go from here?

As a result there are many misconceptions that exist based on the lack of knowledge.

Thus the MSSA sees the IeSF's on-line international test matches are an important part of establishing just where South Africa fits in and highlights both the flaws and the strengths of South Africa's gaming.

The MSSA too sees the on-line test matches as an important method in testing and training the Protea National Team.

The test match against Egypt thus formed an important part in getting the SA National Team ready for the 2014 IeSF World Championship Baku.

Although Egypt is ranked lower than South Africa overall, the current Egyptian Dota 2 team is considered by many to be one of the world's heavyweights.

It is thus, without surprise, that the Egyptian team came out strong, put the Protea's on the back-foot right from the beginning and took the first game with a convincing win. That was expected!

However, the ever amiable Ion Todd, a UCT student, rallied his troops and put on a strong showing in the second game. With determination, the Proteas took a a fragile lead in the second game from the beginning, but by half-way through the game, the Egyptians wrested the lead from the Proteas to take a narrow victory in the second game. It was clear that the international experience that the Egyptian possessed gave Egypt the much needed advantage to take the test match by two games to zero.

However, after the game, Ion immediately sat the team down, and they analysed the game making extensive notes on where they went wrong, and what they needed to do to correct their game.

Ryan Boyes, the National Team Manager, was heard to say, that while it is never pleasant to lose, the games against Egypt showed the character of the MWEB Protea Dota 2 Team and the resilience of each one of the players. He was also heard to say that it showed exactly what the MSSA needs to do in order to get the team up to speed, and that he will be submitting his report with his recommendations to the MSSA's Management Board as soon as possible.

Thus, the result against Egypt has left the MSSA in a very positive mood as the MSSA remains confident and upbeat about its team and its chances in Baku.

The test match was, after all, only the beginning of a long campaign against teams with much greater international exposure and experience.

The team that played against Egypt on 8 August 2014 was:

Name	Nick	Club	Residence
Ion Todd (Team Captain) Jason Bredberg Dylan Henderson Saleem Manjoo Timothy van Reenan Mostert Ryan Boyes (Manager)	NotioN Meherim PIXELPUSHA SLIMZ ZEALOT SNOWf1Ke1	Knights Mind Sports Knights Mind Sports Knights Mind Sports Knights Mind Sports Knights Mind Sports	Cape Town Cape Town Cape Town Cape Town Cape Town Witbank

For more information:

Colin Webster
General Secretary
Mind Sports South Africa
P O Box 19275
FISHER'S HILL
1408
Tel: 011 828 4994
Cell: 073 593 9451
Fax: 086 672 1911
e-mail: mindsportssa@iafrica.com
URL: http://www.facebook.com/mindsportssa

Mind Sports South Africa (MSSA) is an affiliate of the South African Confederation of Sport and Olympic Committee.

The MSSA is responsible for the good governance and promotion of Board games (such as Backgammon, Diplomacy, Checkers, Draughts, Morabaraba, etc), eSports (whether they are played on ?cell phones, Sony® PSP?s, personal computers or similar), and Historical figure games (also known as wargames).