Thursday 31 December 2020

Lenel Human makes history.

 

The position of a Mind Sports South African Provincial Director is indeed an important one. 
 
With Mind Sports South Afica's Constitution mirroring the South African Constitution in many respects, the roles and duties of MSSA's Provincial Directors are vital for ensuring growth and development within the various 

For the first time ever, a female, Lenel Human (aka MamabearZA) from Pretoria and the Co-Founder of BooGames, has been elected to the position of Gauteng Provincial Director.    

Lenel Human and Team BooImplode joined Mind Sports South Africa (MSSA) in October 2019 with their sights set on developing the gaming community in South Africa. In 2020 Lenel Human too successfully completed MSSA's Level 1 Umpiring Course.

There is a saying that in order to get a job done, give it to a busy person. The saying is particularly true in the case of Lenel. 

Lenel, is a wife, a mom of two girls, a graphic designer at night, and a labour law admin assistant at day. When she finds time to relax, you'll find her in front of her computer, gaming the night away, organizing gaming tournaments and socializing with people from all over the world. Bringing South Africa's local youth gamers together and promoting potential future of gamers in the country, is what attracts Lenel to the world of gaming. 

Lenel believes in the philosophy: "To create gaming legends you need to provide the right environment for them to grow, experiment and expand."

Lenel looks forward to making sure that Gauteng grabs all the esports opportunities in 2021, and will be developing players from all types of games to ensure that South Africa is represented by the best talent there is available. 

Amanda Pakade (MSSA President) was overjoyed with Lenel's election and enthusiastically exclaimed. "Lenel is proof of how MSSA can accommodate all its members and provide a nurturing environment for all its Registered Players".

Amanda went on to say, "There is no doubt that Lenel will help provide much guidance and direction for the Gauteng Province."

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Wednesday 30 December 2020

Esports titles selected for all MSSA's Premier Provincial and National Championships.

 

South Africa's Protea DotA 2 team in action at IESF's 11th World Championships - Seoul.
Mind Sports South Africa (MSSA) has a selection process through which all esports titles are selected for use at Provincial and National Championships.

The process takes into account those titles which are used at International Esports Federation'(IESF) World Championships, and those esports titles which are popular among the member clubs.

But saying an esports title is popular is not enough. Just because a title is popular online among recreational gamers, does not make it popular among the hard-core competitive esports athletes who will attend LAN and/or Online championships.

Thus, for any esports title to be considered for consideration to be included in Provincial and National Championships at the Annual General Meeting (AGM), at least one Regional Championship must be held in such esports title to prove that it is able to attract competitive esports athletes to a single venue.

It should also be noted that age restrictions for esports titles vary from country-to-country. An esports title may have a 12 age restriction in one country and may then have an age restriction of 16 in another.

It is therefore important for parents to check the age restriction of the esports title in the country of residence as such age restrictions are established to protect the mental health and well-being of the child.

It should also be noted that changes may be made to the line-up in exceptional cases. If IESF selects a title not on the list for use at its World Championships, then MSSA shall include such title.

Titles previously selected by IESF for their Annual World Championships are:

YearTitle
2020
DotA 2
PES 2021
Tekken 7
2019
DotA 2
PES 2020
Tekken 7
2018
Counter-Strike: GO
League of Legends
Tekken 7
2017
Counter-Strike: GO
League of Legends
Tekken 7
2016
Counter-Strike: GO
League of Legends
Tekken 7
2015
League of Legends
StarCraft II
2014
Dota 2
Hearthstone
Ultra Street Fighter IV
StarCraft II
Tekken Tag Tournament 2
2013
League of Legends
StarCraft II
Tekken Tag Tournament 2
Alliance of Valiant Arms
2012
Alliance of Valiant Arms
StarCraft II
Tekken Tag Tournament 2
2011
StarCraft II
FIFA Online
2010
FIFA Online
WarCraft III: The Frozen Throne
2009FIFA Online

A lot of time has been invested in determining the esports titles for 2021, and the comprehensive list is as follows:

Period/genreTitlePlatformAge restrictionPlayers
Shooter
Call of Duty: Black Ops (Online only)PC/console184 v 4
CS GOPC165 v 5
PaladinsPC/console125 v 5
Sport
FIFA '21Console31 v 1
PES 2021Console31 v 1
MOBA
DotA 2PC125 v 5
Clash RoyaleMobile121 v 1
Fighting
Tekken 7Console161 v 1
Street Fighter VConsole121 v 1
CardHearthStoneVarious71 v 1

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Tuesday 29 December 2020

Esports titles selected for all MSSA's 2021 Student Championships.

 

2021 will see Mind Sports South Africa (MSSA) hold its fourth annual Provincial Online Student Championships. 

MSSA is South Africa's oldest and largest membership based organization for esports having held its first Provincial Championship in 1998, and has been consistently delivering championships for the various esports titles ever since.

In fact, Mind Sports South Africa (MSSA) is the oldest national federation for esports in the world.

Any student of any South African tertiary institution (University and colleges) may participate, regardless of whether the player is MSSA affiliated or not.

However, it should be noted that only official teams entered by University Clubs affiliated to MSSA or the Sports Councils may use the tertiary institution's name. Also, only Registered Players qualify for the team selection process.

The championship allows students from all over the country to test their mettle against each other in an official championship that has the following benefits:

  • Enable students to earn Student Provincial Colours, and
  • Qualify for selection for the National Squad, and
  • Earn medals. The medals earned are awarded at MSSA's LAN Championships.
Many Registered Players will also be delighted to see that Call of Duty has made a welcome return back into MSSA's Student Championships.

All the titles to be played at such event are:

Period/genreTitlePlatformAge restrictionPlayers
ShooterCS GOPC,165 v 5
ShooterCall of Duty – Black Ops 4PS4185 v 5
ShooterPaladinsPC/console125 v 5
Sport
FIFA ‘21Console31 v 1
PES 2021Console31 v 1
MOBA
Clash RoyaleMobile121 v 1
DotA 2PC125 v 5
FightingTekken 7Console161 v 1

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Thursday 24 December 2020

Wishing all a Merry Festive Season.



For many people, COVID-19 dashed their dreams as lockdown, financial hardship, and genneral uncertainty robbed them of their hopes and dreams.

Even though Mind Sports South Africa (MSSA) also bore the brunt of the pandemic, MSSA's Board rallied round to continue to deliver to its members and Registered Players.

Thus in 2020, MSSA still held all its provincial esports championships, albeit as online events, and will still able to select national squads.

Even though there is no guarantee that the pandemic will ease in 2021, MSSA has applied its collective minds in order to have a strategy so that it can even better deliver to its member clubs and Registered Players.

Thus, MSSA wishes all associated to MSSA a truly Blessed Festive Season where all can rest securely and prepare themselves for an action packed 2021.

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Wednesday 23 December 2020

Vlad Marinescu is elected at IESF's OGM to position of president.

The new and the old.... Vlad Marinescu (right) shaking hands with Colin Webster (left) at IESF's 10th World Championships - Kaohsiung.

At International Esports Federation's Ordinary General Meeting (OGM) held on 21 December 2020 via ZOOM, Vlad Marinescu was formally elected in as IESF's president.

Vlad Marinescu succeeds Mind Sports South Africa's own Colin Webster. Colin has served International Esports Federation (IESF) since 2013 until becoming President in 2018, and is largely responsible for much of the democratizing process. 

Saeed Sharaf (of the Syrian Esports Association was heard to say of Colin, "You built IESF as it's today. Thank you for the hard and dedicated work".

Colin Webster was the first non Korean  to be elected into office as IESF president. It was under Colin's watch that IESF enforced a greater degree of good governance.

Colin, when asked about Vlad Marinescu, said, "IESF can be proud to have Vlad Marinescu as its President. Vlad was first co-opted onto IESF's Board in 2019 and seems to have a firm understanding of good governance as well as having a dynamic vision for IESF for the future."