Home Gaming Clan Focus: Ventus Gaming

Clan Focus: Ventus Gaming

4 min read
20

conciousDecision_1920x1080p

In today’s Clan Focus, we take a look at Ventus Gaming. I myself recognise the team from Dota 2, but that’s not all they play. The founder, Pieter Venter, tells us more about his organisation and their rather impressive accomplishments.

Founder

Name: Pieter “Cyrus” Venter
Bio: Won the first ever DGC at rAge 2008 in DotA. Elected Chairman of Stellenbosch Gamers Association 2008-2010. Ran various tournaments for Electronic Sports Zone (ESZ), ProLeague.co.za and was admin for various LANs such as DGC (several years), NGL, etc. Currently on the SA eSports Association (SAESA) management board as players representative and tournament director.

Ventus

Q&A

Could you give us some background information on Ventus?

The idea started in 2008, but under the name of Team XploIT. After a merge of Team Brazen and Team XploIT in September 2009 under the name of Team Vodacom didn’t work out, I started working on Ventus with a fresh start. After 6 months of admin work and finding sponsors, we were ready to launch with 6 teams in March 2010, which soon expanded to another 5 titles. More about that can be read on our Wikipedia page

Could you tell us about some of your accomplishments?

We have won several DGL legs and have a few DGC titles under the belt. We have also had international players such as Robert “PandaTank” Botha and a few others. We won several LAN tournaments and online cups over the years. You can get a list of our achievements on the wikipedia page.

1801259_495319883926907_9046623812408985485_o

What was the motivation for starting the clan?

The problem we faced, (and to some extend still do) was that teams break up and form new teams faster than a sponsorship deal can be finalized. This pushed sponsors away as there is no value for them in spending their budget on a team that won’t be around a year later.

I knew there was no quick way to change this behavior, but I could create a brand that will live on, regardless of who the players are.

Before the term MGO became a local trend, before teams like Pantheon existed, I had a vision of creating a sports club for eSports. One brand to promote several teams under. Globally, this was nothing new. I based my model on what I saw from SK Gaming back then.

What are your goals moving forward?

After taking a recess from eSports for 2 years, with the relaunch of Ventus in April 2014, we had to start over in terms of teams and league seeding. We had to start in the open division of DGL and climb our way back up to Premier division where we once were. I am proud to say that all of our teams have qualified for DGC and will be competing in premier next year.

With that being said, 2014 was all about getting ourselves back to where we left off. 2015 will be about expanding our market reach and what we can offer to sponsors. We are busy planning several projects for early next year which will be announced within the next few months.

10551668_565901846868710_7013887290493147694_o

What games are you currently playing?

Officially as per our website, we have StarCraft 2, DotA 2, Trackmania Nations, League of Legends and Call of Duty Black Ops. Unofficially, our Call of Duty Black Ops team has also competed in the Call of Duty Ghosts tournament in the winter leg, but this was only to obtain a seeding for next year, should ghosts be used to determine the seeding for the upcoming Call of Duty Advanced Warfare.

Who or what do you see as the biggest hurdle to professional eSports in South Africa?

The dilemma is that we got a chicken and egg situation here. Sponsors want return on investment (ROI). Players want expenses covered. Right now as it stands, the total expenses players have to incur to get to the top is a lot more than Sponsors are willing to give, seeing as the exposure for sponsors are limited and the risk is high (with teams breaking up). Neither of the 2 are willing to compromise fully or work together to help build this industry. This is not a unique situation, as it is seen in most industries and new upcoming sports. If there is a potential growth in the industry which will help the country’s economy, it usually gets subsidy from the government to help boost it. This is currently not the situation in eSports as all of that money goes to the MSSA, which uses it ineffectively.

That is why I joined up with the SA eSports Association (SAESA) to try and help resolve this issue.

Anything else?

Website: www.ventus.pro
Twitter: @ventusPRO
Facebook
: facebook.com/ventusgaming
Youtube: youtube.com/ventusdotpro
DGL: dogamingleague.co.za/clan/ventus

Clan Focus

Think your clan or organisation have achieved enough to warrant a spotlight similar to the above? Let me know! Send a mail through to Matthew@lazygamer.net and we can make it happen.

Like esports?
Check out esports central

Last Updated: September 18, 2014

20 Comments

  1. I started a clan once, but the cops broke it up.

    Reply

    • Scruff304

      September 18, 2014 at 09:54

      Erm, that is a cult… Which is just as fun xD

      Reply

      • Hammersteyn

        September 18, 2014 at 09:56

        No I mean the one where we wear sheets and ride horses

        Reply

        • Ryanza

          September 18, 2014 at 10:02

          • Hammersteyn

            September 18, 2014 at 10:14

            hehe

        • Alien Emperor Trevor

          September 18, 2014 at 10:11

          But when you said we’re having a Klan meeting I thought you were talking about Mortal Kombat :/

          Reply

  2. Admiral Chief Assassin

    September 18, 2014 at 09:49

    I see some competition of the follicle side there for you Matty…

    Reply

  3. Admiral Chief Assassin

    September 18, 2014 at 09:50

    Some say, that when two opposing afro’s meet, it will be like a black hole ripping open the very fabric of space and time!

    WE MUST KEEP MATTY AWAY FROM THEM!

    Reply

  4. Admiral Chief Assassin

    September 18, 2014 at 09:51

    Jokes aside, I like this Clan Focus segment on Lagz!

    Reply

  5. Ryanza

    September 18, 2014 at 09:59

    BEE or token.

    Reply

  6. Steinholf

    September 18, 2014 at 10:07

    Ventus didn’t care about Trackmania so their players left Ventus to create their own TM Clan.

    Reply

    • Peet Luckhoff

      September 18, 2014 at 12:21

      Yep

      Reply

    • Cyrus

      September 18, 2014 at 18:02

      Actually they loved us but the trackmania captain moved to cod for another team. Ask them yourself about their experience within Ventus

      Reply

  7. Boontjie

    September 18, 2014 at 12:21

    I call hax, I am the only Pieter Venter allowed in gaming and software developement space in Cape Town. There can only be 1. This needs to be settled on the 1 v 1 dota field.

    Reply

    • Cyrus

      September 18, 2014 at 18:01

      Challenge accepted. Hope you read up there that I win DGC at rAge 2008 😛 although I must say it’s a long time ago.

      Reply

  8. NotTooSure

    September 18, 2014 at 12:35

    “Bio: Won the first ever DGC at rAge 2008 in DotA”

    Could Cyrus please share some proof of this claim to fame (besides a DG article). I somehow remember a team by the name of nF (think it was NightFall) winning the event which was organised by The Lair.

    Reply

    • Cyrus

      September 22, 2014 at 16:11

      As commented below, nF Blacksmiths won 2006. TheLair organised that yes. In 2008, however, Telkom DoGaming Championships was upstairs in NAG LAN Area. The lineup that won was me, Valprax, Alcardu, Sagie and Styx. The finals was against CNC (Dr3xus and them).

      Reply

  9. BunnyRaPoes

    September 18, 2014 at 13:37

    I remember Rage 2008 comp was won by a team named nF. Unless this “Rage 2008 comp” that Cyrus’s team won, was organised in someone’s garage in a 8 man LAN after the official Rage (Nag) Lan. Please can you confirm this?

    Reply

    • Cyrus

      September 22, 2014 at 16:03

      You got your years mixed up. nF won in 2006, when it was at the ATI Stand.

      Reply

  10. Koos

    September 18, 2014 at 13:43

    i think Cyrus is talking lekker kuk now!!!

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Check Also

If You Could Create a Game About South Africa…

There is no question that we live in a beautiful country, but it’s also one that can be ex…