Taylor Rose to shout-cast SA's official League of Legends IeSF test match against Switzerland.

Taylor Rose when selected to represent South Africa at IeSF's 7th World Championships - Seoul.

On 6 September 2017 MSSA announced that the official IeSF test match against Switzerland shall be streamed on MSSA's channel on TULUNTULU.

The test match forms part of the Protea League of Legends Esports Team's preparations for IeSF's 9th World Championships - Busan.

The South African Protea League of Legends Esports Team shall play from MWEB's MCAVE at the following times:

• League of Legends (Game 1) - 13H00 to 14H00
• League of Legends (Game 2) - 14H00 to 15H00

Taylor Rose has established himself as a  well respected League of Legends player.

While at the top of his game, Taylor won numerous Provincial Championships and earned himself provincial and national federation colours. Taylor then went on to represent South Africa in both the 2015 and 2016 Protea Esports League of Legends Teams in both Seoul and in Jakarta.

At IeSF's 7th World Championships - Seoul, Taylor had the honour to be South Africa's flag bearer. 

With the wealth of knowledge that Taylor Rose has in both the local and international scene, Taylor's shout-casting should be most enjoyable.

MSSA announces full National Team Squad for CounterStrike: GO.

The way that Mind Sports South Africa (MSSA) now selects its national teams is by first selecting a squad for each title.

Once the squad is selected, athletes within such squad are selected for various terms of duty.

However, it should be noted that the entire squad shall be awarded National Federation Colours, and once the athletes actually are selected for the Protea Team to play against an international opponent, the Protea Colours award shall be made.

The squad consists  of 10 players of whom 5 are male, and five are female.

Ryan van Schalkwyk (Team Captain)

Ryan nan Schalkwyk is only 21 and is a software developer.

Along with CounterStrike, Ryan enjoys playing my guitar and making music. 

Ryan quickly admits that he enjoys pushing himself hard and bettering himself. The competitive aspect of CounterStrike: GO enthralls Ryan. It is through such hard work and competitive spirit that has allowed Ryan to earn the achievement of being selected as Team Captain, an achievement of which Ryan admits that he has always dreamed.
As Ryan says, " I'm really looking forward to pushing myself and my team as far as we can go at the world championships".

Esmari Swart (Team Vice-Captain)

The Vice-Captain is non other than Esmari Swart and has become the first female Vice-Captain of a South African CounterStrike: GO squad.

Esmari currently is studying a degree in BSC in Information Technology and Robotics at NWU Vaal.

Yet even though she is totally committed to her studies, Esmari finds the time to be truly dedicated to esports in that she founded InTenSity eSports, competes on a regular basis, and even umpires at MSSA events.

As Esmari states, "I got into competitive eSports by meeting people in the CS:GO community. Met such amazing and interesting individuals who inspired me and pushed me to try and become the best player I could! I have always enjoyed gaming but never knew the competitive side of it. When i got introduced to it at the end of 2016 I couldn't get enough! Ultimately what drives me is to see the eSports scene in South Africa grow and to go as far as I possibly could go! I enjoy the competition too much to not try my best and get involved in any way possible".

Certainly from what MSSA has seen, Esmari is driven. Esmari has already earned herself Gauteng Provincial and National Federation Colours and has both Provincial and National titles under her belt. 

With Ryan van Schalkwyk and Esmari Swart at the helm of SA's  National CounterStrike: GO squad, great things  are expected from the squad as a whole.

Rojuan Kuba

Rojuan, from Cape Town,and, although employed as a Sales and Stock Manager, has been an active competitive esports athlete for the past 5 years.

Rojuan tarted playing multiplayer online games back in 2012 when COD 4 was the 'thing'. Having also played Call of Duty Ghost in 2014 for his own clan 'Extreme Rush', Rojuan made the move to CounterStrike: GO and currently plays for VexxedPhoenix.

Rojuan has said, "I am excited to travel to South Korea and represent South Africa. Definitely going to be giving it my best to prepare and perform at all events. I would like to thank MSSA 

for this opportunity".

Simon Zandstra

Simon Zandstra, has been playing competitive Counter-Strike: Global Offensive since 2015. Over the

years Simon's passion for the game has only increased with each passing year, and he will profess to all  that he truly loves the esports game of CounterStrike: GO.

Simon represented South Africa in South Africa's National Protea Team at IeSF's 8th World Championships - Jakarta where the team battled it out in what many considered to be the 'group of death' consisting of Azerbijan, China, Romania, Russia, and South Africa. Thus Simon brings  to the team his experience of the international stage.

As Simon says, "Playing at the very highest level of CS:GO will always be a dream of mine, and I am determined to grind my way to the top. I love my country, South Africa, and my city, Cape Town, and I hope to represent them to the best of my abilities, and prove that I have what it takes to be the best".

Leander Van Schalkwyk

Leander has confessed that he has always been fascinated by games - for  as long as  he can remember. While watching his uncle Johan 'cyb3rj' Kleynhans play fps games, Rojuan developed a deep attachment for esports. For hour-upon-hour Leander would watch his uncle compete in Battlefield. It was though Johan 'cyb3rj' Kleynhans' help that Leander obtained his first personal computer (pc) and has ever since helped Leander continue improve his equipment.

While playing, even though Leander is competitive, he always tries to have fun., but, whilke having fun his competitive nature shows and will always push himself to improve and win. 

Leander is known to be  sociable and has create strong friendships with  family and friends - a lot who were met online.

As Leander states, "Now my thrust is greater than ever seeing my team doing well in different stages and different tournaments. And still believe I have a lot to learn".

James Hulletts

It would indeed be strange if  a Mind Sports National Squad did not have a student from University of Pretoria (Tukkies). Although James is in his second year of studying BEng Computer engineering at the University of Pretoria (2nd year), James is a committed esports athlete.

Having started playing multiplayer online games back in 2007 when COD 4 came out, James moved on to COD:Black Ops 3 and finally on to CounterStrike: GO. James too currently pays for VexxedPhoenix.

James states, "I am excited to travel to South Korea and represent South Africa. Definitely going to be giving it my best while trying to balance studying and gaming. I would like to thank MSSA for this opportunity".Bernicé Botha

Bernicé Botha aka Bunny or MissT, is a self-confessed CounterStrike: GO addict. Havng started playing CounterStrike: GO four years back,  Bernicé has aalmost become evangelical in recommending the game to  new players. 

Bernicé freely admits that she has made a lot of new friends through the game of CounterStrike: GO, of which some became her family. 

It is through Bernicé's lovet of the game that she finds enjoyment in both victory and in defeat. Bernicé is the first to admit that it is sometimes  important to lose as players, if open to the experience, realise that through defeat esports athletes may learn new skills.

As Bernice says, "there is always gonna be someone better out there than you , so just keep on practicing and playing and you will improve".

Jessi-Rae Warren

Jessi-Rae was introduced to CounterStrike: GO by her boyfriend as she would often watch him play and she thought that it looked like a lot of fun. Jessi-Rae's boyfriend thhus set up her younger brother's computer for her and really introduced her to the game.

Before Jessi-Rae started playing CounterStrike: GO on her  own computer she hadn't really done much online gaming, having only played a few console games but never anything too serious. 

"I really like first person shooter games and I love the competitive aspect of cs as well as the logic needed to play the game. Counterstrike: GO is just as much a mental game as it is a skill based game," says Jessi-Rae.

"Through gaming I have met some amazing people and have been offered some amazing opportunities and I would never be able to go back now".

Blair Hamberger

Blair Hamberger is currently studying at Stellenbosch University. having got into gaming from a very young age on console because of her brothers (I used to play various playstation games with them), it was only three years ago that she began to take gaming seriously and got her first regional colours with MSSA in FIFA. 

It was then that Blair decided to start playing Counterstrike: GO and with the aid of Jason Batzofin Blair helped start a female competitive squad and team. Since then the team has been growing together as a team and individually to the best of their abilities in order to reach their true potential.

Blair says, "I enjoy counterstrike because of the competitive nature of the game and its widespread knowledge. It is a very hard game to grasp at first and I always enjoy a challenge and I of course enjoy the game mostly because of my team".

Marisa van der Westhuizen

Marisa has been around the scene for a while playing for various teams and organisations.

Her main interest is CS:GO however she also does enjoy playing 'HOTS', 'The Witcher' and 'DOTA 2'.

Marisa maintains, "I consider myself a dynamic and consistent player that works best under pressure and am always looking for a challenge. I cant wait to play against the best in the world and show what SA girls can do".

Putting back

Umpires at  MSSA's 34th Gauteng Championships:
(l to r): Johan van Breda, Leonard Loftus, Ian Bezuidenhout (Provincial Director) Garth Schoeman, and Ryan Boyes.

Getting into a national team has greater responsibilities than just playing  against top international competition.

Being a member of the national team means that the gamer becomes a role-model. As such there are a number of obligations that the gamer will 'pick-up'.

One such obligation is that all members of the team (as  long as they have reached the age of majority) are expected to umpire at least once in the year in which they serve as a member of the national team.

The reason for this is simple.

Through following this policy, gamers who have not performed at international level are able to not only meet members of the national team, but also interact with such team members.

This way barriers  can be broken down, MSSA's top players can then also assist others in game-play and give much needed assistance.

For this, the team member  shall become an accredited umpire and receive MSSA's very stylish - and much in demand - orange shirt. Ooh!

A good example of one such player who continually puts back is Johan van Breda. Johan was a member of MSSA's 2016 Protea Esports Team which attended IeSF's 8th World Championships, and has umpired at the 34th Gauteng Championships, the 21st North West Championships, and at the National Team Trials.

It is all about putting back...

A new national umpire.

Johan van Breda

The survival and growth of any organisation depends upon the calibre of those who work tirelessly to make the organisation a success.

This is particularly true for volunteer organisations such as Mind Sports South Africa (MSSA).

Fortunately for MSSA there are many gamers who feel the need to 'put back' into gaming.

One such person is Johan van Breda.

Johan rose to fame in 2016 when he was selected to represent South Africa in the Protea League of Legends team.

The team participated in IeSF's 8th World Championships in Jakarta, where the team helped South Africa to earn a ranking of 14th in the world.

In a bid to further develop the South African gaming scene, Johan has volunteered to also umpire in order to introduce gamers to the standard that the players will find at international competition.

It  is largely due to the likes of Johan that MSSA is growing in leaps and bounds.

Find your dream!

Francois Mouton representing South Africa in HearthStone at IeSF's 8th World Championships - Jakarta. 

It is not easy to find your dream.

There are so many people along the way that  might attempt to deter you, or steer you along a different path for their own ulterior motives.

Then there are those who go out and try to educate and get you to create a considered opinion.

In my own life, I consider myself to be blessed to be surrounded by the latter.

My parents (now deceased) always promoted freedom of thought at a time in South Africa when such freedom was not much appreciated. Then there was Zvi Katabi, my old swimming coach, who added much, and to whom I shall always be indebted.

But I digress.

Many gamers will look at the two options offered to gamers in South Africa by Mind Sports South Africa (MSSA) on the one side, and by private operators (like TELKOM) on the other.

Such gamers feel that they need to choose between the two.

The truth is that gamers can do both.

Few gamers are aware that  the league offered by TELKOM was in fact started by MSSA in 2005.

It is important though that gamers get in as many competition type games as possible if they are to improve on an international stage.

In my own experience, I have found that I was only ready for international competition if I had played in at least 5 competitions between championships

Thus, in order to find your dream, you have to put in a lot of work.

Your dream will  not just fall into your lap, and often you will find that the more difficult path leads to greater success.

Just as it takes years of study to acquire a degree to find the career of choice, so becoming a professional gamer requires hours of training, competitive play, and taking every opportunity that is offered no matter by what, who, or whom.

Team eSports South Africa returns

Team eSports South Africa
Back row - (l to r) Matthew Smith, Simon Zandstra, Dillon Justus, Maryke Kennard, Francois Mouton, Johan Uys.
Front row - (l to r) Jessie Joubert, Taylor Rose, Lyle Jeacocks, Johan van Breda, Leandré Sparks

Without doubt MSSA's Team eSports South Africa sunk their hearts and souls into IeSF's 8th World Championships - Jakarta.

The only reason why the team did not win was due to the exceptionally high standard at such World Championship.

Matthew Smith, who captained the League of Legends team, was heard to remark at how the standard of play had exponentially improved.

Even with such improvement among the other teams, Matthew was still able to cause ripples as he obtained 'kill' after 'kill'.

The CounterStrike: GO team also shook the tree and only went down 16 - 8 to Russia.

Francois Mouton, won three and lost three in HearthStone, and has established himself as a contender in this event.

As usual, the South African team proved to be not only a determined adversary in the game, but also a  team with which every other team wished to associate. The friends that Team eSports SA has made will last them all their days, and the team proved that whether they lost or won, their spirits remained the same.

The team were true ambassadors, and a credit to all of South Africa.

Korea is victorious at IeSF’s 2016 e-Sports World Championship - Jakarta

Top three countries

IeSF’s8th World Championship 2016 - Jakarta, officially ended on the 9^th of October 2016.

The quarter-finals and semi-finals were held on the previous day, being the 8^th of October, with the finals being played on the 9^th of October 2016 where all the title winners for three different game titles were decided.

The overall winner was Korea, which, remarkably, witnessed its League of Legends team finish the tournament without a single loss.Korea’s League of Legends team won the title by winning all the sets of games in the final, while its Counter Strike: Global Offensive team finished the tournament in 3^rd place overall. Korea’s HearthStone team, while only finishing in 4^th place, earned sufficient points to push the Korean national team into first place overall.

The total points earned by Korea was 152 to once again regain the top rank.

The overall runner-up was Finland, whose Counter Strike: Global Offensive team won the the CounterStrike: GO title, with 111 total points.

Austria, which only participated in HearthStone, came on the 3^rd place by earning 100 points for winning such title.

Team China, stayed on the 4^th place with total points of 98.

The opening of the 8^th IeSF World Championship 2016 Jakarta, saw a bevy of who's who at the opening, such as, IeSF Board Members, IeSF President Mr. Byung Hun Jun, IeSF Vice-President Mr Silviu Storie, officials from the Indonesian e-Sports Association, as well as personnel from The Association For International Sports for All.

During the 4 days of the tournament, many top-class games occurred which drove the crowds wild while a various events hosted by KEK TV, RAZER, ASUS, allowed visitors to experience a wider range of entertainment.

Thanks to the cooperation with TAFISA, there was a great deal of interest from the media which benefited the sponsors.

Colin Webster giving his speech

Colin Webster, Board Member of IeSF, gave the closing speech. The current status of e-sports becoming a global sport was emphasised, while at the same time asking the players to foster a sense of ethics to further develop e-sports.

Consequently, Korea’s winning back the 1^st place in the global ranking as well as the honour of the country in which e-sports is claimed to have started.

As for IeSF World Championship, as the sole e-sports competition based on nationality, the championship ended with great success once again.

Already everybody is looking forward to the 2017 competition.

The draw for HearthStone - IeSF's 8th World Championships - Jakarta

Panfil Eugeniu (Romania) squaring up to Francois

The draw for Hearthstone, and Francois Mouton, South Africa's representative, has an interesting group.

Tunisia is well known for its high standard in the game, having won the World Championships in 2014 in Baku.

Even still, it is widely believed that Francois has great potential, and the ability to cause many an upset.

A full list of all the Hearthstone players is:

COUNTRY	NAME	TEAM	NICKNAME	BIRTH
Australia	Kelson, Barber	nil	MrLego	1996
Austria	Raffael, Iciren	Austria	Gameking	1997
Azerbaijan	Kamran, Gasimli	Azerbaijan	Ego1st	1994
Belgium	Jochen, Taminau	Venko Gaming	dentamme#2861	1993
Brazil	Wagner, Paz	Brazil	Donair	1998
China	Yonghao, Liu	Team China		1990
Costa Rica	Carlos, Perez Brenes	Costa Rica	Lucky Shadow	1996
Egypt	Salama, Sherif			1995
Finland	Janne, Aho			1992
Georgia	Levan, Gorgadze	Georgia	levanidas	1990
India	Tirth, Mehta			1995
Indonesia	Rama, Akbar
Iran	Reza, Saeedinia			1990
Italy	Adriano, Diodati	Nazionale Personal Gamer Hearthstone	Zargon	1995
Korea (South)	GWANGSU, KIM	TEAM KOREA	UrGot	1992
Macau	Ka Hou, Wong		Kakakka	1995
Macedonia	Nikola, Ivanovski		Nine	2000
Malaysia	Gary Keat, Gan	Malaysia	Gary	1983
Netherlands	Pim, Van Valkengoed	mCon	Monkeloid	1989
New Zealand	Jamie, Broughton	eBlacks	Numnum	1987
Philippines	Patrick Ben, Garanganao	Philippines	garangana0	1987
Romania	Eugeniu, Panfil	XPC	Drujbanu	1997
Russia	Dmitrii, Izhmiakov	vesuvius	unwi	1996
Serbia	Milan, Sataric	Team Serbia	Satara#2113	1994
South Africa	Francois, Mouton	South Africa	Fafa	1986
Sweden	William, Sjoeblom	Reason Gaming	Firrlo	1995
Switzerland	Yannick, Widmer	Qualitas Helvetica	YounTheory	1992
Thailand	Pagorn, Kitmanomai		Mikka	1990
Tunisia	Wael, Soussia	Tunisia	VanityLord	1995

The main matches of the group preliminary round will be broadcasted in English through IeSF channel on Twitch TV(http://www.twitch.tv/iesf_tv), official website of IeSF(http://www.ie-sf.org/) and in Chinese through HuoMao TV(http://www.huomao.com/). Also it will be broadcasted in Indonesian at Ligagame eSports TV(www.ligagame.tv/). The following is the schedules of broadcasting schedule for the 6th of October, and the schedule is based on Indonesia Standard Time(GMT+7).

SA's League of Legends has an exciting competition ahead of it.

Matthew Smith after having done the draw

The opulent ballroom of the Grand Mercure hosted the draw to determine the draw to see in  which group the teams would be placed.

Australia went first, and one by one the team captains were called up to participate in the draw.

Eventually it was the turn for South Africa, and veteran (and Protea League of legends eSports captain) Matthew Smith lept to his feet to do the draw.

With the draw being done, the official representative South African team found itself in Group B with the likes of Belgium, the Netherlands, Costa Rica, Romania, and Serbia.

The battle lines have now been drawn. The various teams are now eyeing each other in order to go for the prize.

The 2016 South African League of Legends team is the most internationally experienced team to ever leave the shores of South Africa for League of Legends, and with veteran players of the calibre of Matthew Smith, Maryke Kennard, Taylor Rose, Johan van Breda, and Johan Uys, all South Africans can rest easy knowing that the team will give of its best and fly South Africa's flag high.

The main matches of the group preliminary round will be broadcasted in English through IeSF channel on Twitch TV(http://www.twitch.tv/iesf_tv), official website of IeSF(http://www.ie-sf.org/) and in Chinese through HuoMao TV(http://www.huomao.com/). Also it will be broadcasted in Indonesian at Ligagame eSports TV(www.ligagame.tv/). The following is the schedules of broadcasting schedule for the 6th of October, and the schedule is based on Indonesia Standard Time(GMT+7).

News on broadcast of 8th IeSF e-Sports World Championships - Jakarta

IeSF's 8^the-Sports World Championships, held by International e-SportsFederation (IeSF) in Jakarta, Indonesia for 4 days, from 6^th to 9^th October, 2016, will be broadcasted worldwide via multi media. 

The IeSF e-Sports World Championship, which holds its 8^th convention this year, is the only international e-Sports competition that is based on nationality. 

The 2016 edition includes over 340 athletes from 32 countries in three game titles: League of Legends (LoL), HearthStone (HS), Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO).

To increase the global e-Sports fans and communities excitement and knowledge of the competition, the 8^th e-Sports World Championship is including renown commentators and casters for each game title will be gathering force in Jakarta.

In League of Legends (LoL), Aaron “Sona” Chamberlain, Andrew “Spuddington” Spurrier, and Reid “RAPiD” Melton will be commentating together.

Aaron “Sona” Chamberlain had prior experience of commentating on Vain Glory PAX 2016 and League Fest. Andrew “Spuddington” Spurrier commentated on EU Challenger Series. Reid “RAPiD” Melton is a familiar name for IeSF World Championship fans as he also participated in the last year’s competition as a commentator as well as League of Legends Champions Korea (LCK), StarCraft 2 Proleague, and Afreeca StarCraft Brood War League (ASL).

In Hearthstone, Aaron “Sona” Chamberlain and Reid “RAPiD” Melton will take the microphone again to deliver scintelating banter and commentary.

The knowledge of both casters will be directly translated into improving the knowledge and the excitement of the viewers.

The two casters will truly benefit all viewers who have an interest in the title.

Andrew “Spuddington” Spurrier and Danny Kim, who commentated on Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS: GO) in Australian e-Sports League, are grouped together as THE commentating team for CS: GO.

With this fabulous line-up of casters, main matches of each game will be broadcasted through internet media, Twitch IeSF Channel (https://www.twitch.tv/iesf_tv/) and IeSF Official Website (www.ie-sf.org) in English. 

The  matches will also be broadcasted in Indonesian at Ligagame eSports TV(www.ligagame.tv/) and Chinese at HuoMao TV (http://www.huomao.com/). 

While Twitch had a prior experience of broadcasting IeSF eSports World Championship, it is the first time the other channel going on live through its official website.

*Starting with the Opening Ceremony, the schedule is as shown below

Date / Time (GMT +7) Stage (Broadcasting)
Date		Time	Match
Day 1 10/6 (Thursday)		11:00 - 12:00	Opening Ceremony
		12:00 - 13:30	LoL Preliminary Single Match
		13:30 - 15:00	LoL Preliminary Single Match
		15:00 - 16:30	LoL Preliminary Single Match
		16:30 - 18:00	LoL Preliminary Single Match
		18:00 - 19:30	LoL Preliminary Single Match
		19:30 - 21:00	LoL Preliminary Single Match
		21:00 - 22:30	LoL Preliminary Single Match
Day 2 10/7 (Friday)		10:00 - 11:30	CS:GO Preliminary Single Match
		11:30 - 13:00	CS:GO Preliminary Single Match
		13:00 - 14:30	CS:GO Preliminary Single Match
		14:30 - 16:00	CS:GO Preliminary Single Match
		16:00 - 17:30	CS:GO Preliminary Single Match
		17:30 - 19:00	CS:GO Preliminary Single Match
		19:00 - 20:30	CS:GO Preliminary Single Match
Day 3 10/8 (Saturday)		10:00 - 11:00	HS Semi Final #1 (Best of 3)
		11:00 - 12:00	HS Semi Final #2 (Best of 3)
		12:00 - 13:00	HS 3rd Place Match (Best of 3)
		13:00 - 14:00
		14:00 - 17:00	LoL Semi-Final Best of 3
		17:00 - 20:00	CS:GO Semi-Final Best of 3
Day 4 10/9 (Sunday)		10:00 - 12:00
		12:00 - 14:00	HS Final (Best of 5)
		14:00 - 17:00	CS:GO Final (Best of 3)
		17:00 - 20:00	LOL Final (Best of 3)
		20:00 - 20:30	Closing Ceremony