Showing posts with label age. Show all posts
Showing posts with label age. Show all posts

Sunday, 8 February 2026

Even Titans fall!

Zaid Williams (Protea Team Member) gave it his all and finished in the top eight.

In esports, thousands of players grind every day hoping to get noticed. Most of them are talented, but only a few ever reach the competitive level. The difference is not always skill—often it is strategy. Being an unknown player does not mean you are doomed. It simply means you must approach your improvement and exposure more intelligently than players who already have attention.

Success in esports is built through a combination of performance, consistency, and visibility. If you can develop all three, you can turn yourself from an anonymous ranked player into someone teams take seriously.

Thus, top esports athletes can never rest on their laurels. There is always a David to a Goliath, and sometimes there are even several Davids!

So it was on 7 February 2026 when Zaid Williams took to the field!

Zaid went down to Burkina Faso, then won against the DR Congo, and then, only to lose against Lesotho to have to bow out of the championship while in the top eight.

Although disappointed, Zaid stated, "I’ll take it as a lesson, I’ll do even better in the next one!"

Fighting talk indeed, and this is exactly what MSSA expects in terms of the character of its top Protea Esports athletes.

The games were streamed by Waylander Gaming, and can still be seen on: https://youtube.com/@waylander_gaming

In conclusion, unknown players can succeed in esports, but it requires more than talent. You need proof of skill, experience in competitive settings, a reputation for reliability, and a presence that makes it easy for others to notice you.

Climb ranked with consistency, compete in tournaments, build connections, and create a clear identity as a player. Most importantly, stay disciplined long enough for your results to speak louder than your name.

In esports, being unknown is temporary—if your performance and professionalism are strong enough to force people to remember you, and remember, as Zvi Katabi would always say, " When you are sleeping, someone else is training...".

Additional reading:

Athlete's rights:
Employment opportunities

Posted by at No comments:
Labels: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Saturday, 7 February 2026

Protea DotA 2 Team to represent South Africa in GEG25 qualifiers - Saturday, 7 February 2026

Matthew Raubach (Captain of the Protea DotA 2 Esports Team) is upbeat about South Africa's chances in qualifying for the GEG25 Championships

Further to the article 'Clash Royale esports athletes may win a trip to Mumbai....', in which it was stated that Mind Sports South Africa had submitted its entry to Mumbai 2025 Global Esports Games (GEG25).

With the GEG25 World Finals to be held in Mumbai, India, from 26 February to 1 March 2026, first regional championships will be held to see who will go through to GEG25 in Mumbai.

Obviously there is not a great deal of time on our side.
The DotA 2 team begins its campaign with his first game at 16H00 against Botswana, and then against Zambia at 18H00.

The team then girds its battle armour once again on Sunday, 8 February 2026, to do battle against Namibia at 16H00 and then against Malawi at 21H00.

Obviously the entire South African community stands behind the Protea Esports Team for the DotA 2 esports title, and is, with one voice, cheering on the team..

The Protea DotA2 Esports Team is as follows:

TitleNameClubNickProvince
DotA 2
Matthew Raubach (Capt.)ZAG AcademybeeGauteng
Callum FosterZAG Academysk3pWestern Cape
Lennard KoekemoerZAG AcademyremedyGauteng
Berend van StadenZAG AcademyBerendGauteng
Suhail KhanZAG AcademySoupGauteng
ManagerJohan van BredaZAG Academy-Gauteng

Additional reading:
Athlete's rights:

Posted by at No comments:
Labels: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Thursday, 5 February 2026

Zaid Williams to represent South Africa in Clash Royale - Saturday, 7 February 2026

Zaid Williams (Dimension Gaming) is ready to do battle in the Protea Esports Team for the Clash Royale esports title.

Further to the article 'Clash Royale esports athletes may win a trip to Mumbai....', in which it was stated that Mind Sports South Africa had submitted its entry to Mumbai 2025 Global Esports Games (GEG25).

With the GEG25 World Finals to be held in Mumbai, India, from 26 February to 1 March 2026, first regional championships will be held to see who will go through to GEG25 in Mumbai.

Obviously there is not a great deal of time on our side.

Zaid begins his campaign with his first game at 17H00 against the player from Burkino Faso. Should he win, Zaid will go through to play against the player from Benin.

However, should he lose, he will drop down to the loser's bracket.

Either way, his second game will be at 18H00.

Should Zain win both his games on Saturday, 7 February 2026, he will return to do battle on Sunday, 8 February 2026.

Obviously the entire South African community stands behind Zaid and is, with one voice, cheering Zaid onwards.
 
Zaid's matches will be streamed by member club, Waylander Gaming on: https://youtube.com/@waylander_gaming

Additional reading:
Athlete's rights:

Posted by at No comments:
Labels: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Thursday, 29 January 2026

MSSA enters Global Esports Games to be held in Mumbai, India.

Zaid Williams (Clash Royale) and Matthew Raubach (Captain of DotA) have been selected to officially represent South Africa as members of the Protea Esports team that will play in GEG25.

 Further to the article 'Clash Royale esports athletes may win a trip to Mumbai....', Mind Sports South Africa has submitted tits entry to Mumbai 2025 Global Esports Games (GEG25).

The event should have been held in 2025, but due to a variety of factors, the
GEG25 World Finals will be held in Mumbai, India, from 26 February to 1 March 2026. 

However, it must be noted that regional qualifiers will be held prior to the finals.
 
Entry is for the following titles: 
 
  • DOTA 2 (PC): FIVE (5) Athletes + ONE (1) Coach per team, per country/territory  
  • Clash Royale (Mobile): ONE (1) Athlete per country/territory 

The current MSSA Protea Team for the DotA esports title will again take to the field while MSSA selected its Clash Royale athlete at its recent Northern Cape Online Provincial Championships.

The DotA team is arguably the best DotA team to ever represent South Africa and under Matthew's leadership, the South African Protea DotA 2 team recorded decisive wins over Madagascar and Namibia in 2025 IESF (International Esports Federation) regional matches

The team consists of:

TitleNameClubNickProvince
Clash RoyaleZaid WilliamsDimension GamingslimzaidyWestern Cape
DotA
Matthew Raubach (Capt.)ZAG AcademybeeGauteng
Callum FosterZAG Academysk3pWestern Cape
Lennard KoekemoerZAG AcademyremedyGauteng
Berend van StadenZAG AcademyBerendGauteng
Suhail KhanZAG AcademySoupGauteng
ManagerJohan van BredaZAG Academy-Gauteng

Additional reading:

Posted by at No comments:
Labels: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Friday, 23 January 2026

Clash Royale esports athletes may win a trip to Mumbai....

 


Today Global Esports Federation (GEF), formally invited its Member Federations to register for the Mumbai 2025 Global Esports Games (GEG25). The GEG25 World Finals will be held in Mumbai, India, from 26 February to 1 March 2026. 
 
Entry is for the following titles: 
 
  • DOTA 2 (PC): FIVE (5) Athletes + ONE (1) Coach per team, per country/territory  
  • Clash Royale (Mobile): ONE (1) Athlete per country/territory 
 
Since MSSA has already selected its DotA team for IESF's WEC25 (which is still to be held), MSSA shall be using the selected Protea Team for the DotA esports period for GEG25.

However, a Registered Player has not yet been selected for Clash Royale and noting that entries must be submitted by 28 January 2026, MSSA shall select the winner, or the highest ranked player if the winner cannot attend, at the Northern Cape Online Championships to be held on 24 January 2026 if:
  1. The Registered Player is affiliated to a member club,
  2. The player has a current passport,  and
  3. Signed Senior Contract (Please note only Registered Players who are 18 years or older of age are eligible for this event), and
  4. Confirmation to attend events (test matches and other matches).
Colin Webster, President of Mind Sports South Africa, stated, "This is a remarkable achievement by Global Esports Federation to still deliver to its members and athletes. Unfortunately there is little time afforded to the members to be as comprehensive as possible in selecting a Registered Player for the Clash Royale esports title. Nevertheless, MSSA and its Board are confident that the right person will rise to the top".
 
Posted by at No comments:
Labels: , , , , , , , , , ,

Tuesday, 19 November 2019

Age restrictions applied to games and esports titles should be taken very seriously


Every athlete at IESF's World Championships complies with age restrictions. Seen here, Jason Batzofin, Players' Commission Chairperson, taking the Players' Oath at a previous IESF World Championships.
Mind Sports South Africa (MSSA) maintains that it is essential for all esports athletes to comply with the age restrictions as set by the Films and Publications Board (fpb). While many gamers  may feel that the age restrictions set are unrealistic or unnecessary, all should note that the age restrictions set, are set for a reason.

It is important that esports athletes look after both their physical and mental health. It is the mental health of gamers that age restrictions are there to protect.

Age restrictions are not new, and the reasons for placing age restrictions on films and games have not.

Because children learn quickly and often imitate what they see and hear around them, parents need to shelter their children from certain types of movies, music, games and book content which is deemed to be inappropriate.

Since parents are not able to monitor all such content, age restrictions exist to provide good parents with the tools to make an informed decision.

Age restrictions therefore exist to prevent children from viewing potentially harmful content.

It is true that parents do have the freedom to choose what their kids do and don’t watch, and many are aware of the influence of inappropriate content and the lasting effects of such. However, event organisers, schools, clubs, MGO's, and team owners have no such luxury as it is illegal to allow a child to participate in a game or esports title for which the child is under-aged.

Age restrictions should be taken very seriously and adhered to at all times.

International Esports Federation (IESF) too complies with age restrictions set, and due to the nature of IESF, uses, as its default, the highest age restriction so that no member national federation is compromised.

Thus for IESF's 11th World Championships to be held in Seoul from 11 to 15 December 2019, the following age restrictions apply:
TitleAge restriction
DotA 216
PES 202012
Tekken 716

 Also read: 
Posted by at No comments:
Labels: , , , , , , , , ,
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)