July is South Africa’s hottest esports month this year

It’s Christmas in July for local esports fans as this month sees a whole lot of esports action around the country. Some are for the masses, some of the gamers, but every single one is for esports. From competitions to casual, starting with Rush and ending with EGE, July is going to be one of the year’s hottest months for esports.

It’s unsure why everything is revolving around July, perhaps it’s because of school/varsity holidays, but we’re looking at several major events taking place at Rush and the Electronics and Gaming Expo. Both events are featuring an array of esports, but there is an unfortunate clash. The VS Gaming FIFA Festival is taking place on the same weekend as Rush in Johannesburg, so that’s a bit of a bummer.

Here’s what going down at each event if you’re wanting to compete or even just see some esports

Rush Esports Expo 21-23 July

Rush is the first esports expo from the NAG team, the same company who bring us the annual rAge expo. Here there will be several events, and they’re all competitive. The event is taking place at the Sandton Convention Centre, and tickets will cost you R50 for a day pass or R100 for a weekend pass. (PS: You can win double tickets here)

• First we have the annual Electronic Sports World Cup Qualifiers hosted by Orena. This will see 16 Counter-Strike: Global Offensive teams battling it out for a spot in the finals later this year.
• Next is the HP Omen League of Legends Challenge which will also be hosted by Orena, alongside HP Omen, on their Omen stage. This competition will be sending one team to Prague to compete in the finals, a first for local League of Legends and some much-needed love.
• There’s also the Kaizer Chiefs FIFA Challenge, on the Kaizer Chiefs main stage, where competitors will compete for cash prizes and some Kaizer Chiefs goodies.
• Lastly there’s the Orena Fight Nights which will see South Africa’s best Street Fighters battling it out on the OFN main stage.

There’s also a mid-year rendition of the famed NAG LAN which will be taking place at expo for R600 a ticket.

VS Gaming FIFA Festival 22-23 July

This is the event which will unfortunately clash with Rush, but they’re offering a monumental prize pool for the growing FIFA community in South Africa. VS Gaming are putting up R1.5 million for their FIFA competition, and they’re also giving away a Mercedes-Benz Smart Car. They’re offering 1000 spots to aspiring FIFA players and entry to the tournament is free. Attendance at the venue will cost you R100, and all the action is going down at the Gallagher Convention Centre in Johannesburg. There will be a number of celebrity showmatches and action throughout the weekend, so if you’re a FIFA fan, this one’s for you.

Electronics and Gaming Expo 28-30 July

The weekend after both Rush and VS Gaming is the annual EGE, an expo which has been running since 2014 with a central focus on esports. It has been the home for a number of competitions, mainly Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and Call of Duty on Console. This year EGE are growing, and their esports influence is growing (so much so that they’ve cancelled the BYOC LAN).

• This year, for the first time ever, ESWC will host a second Qualifiers in Cape Town for their CS:GO Championship. This means that two teams will be competing at this years ESWC Finals, a first for South Africa. The competition is being hosted by Orena and 16 of South Africa’s top teams will see who can grab the second spot (probably after Bravado Gaming).
• The ACGL and TGN Racing Simulators will be hosting competitions in Call of Duty Infinite Warfare, FIFA 17, Injustice 2, PES 2017, racing and more. On the Friday they will be hosting school events for children in COD, FIFA and PES. The day which follow will see the competitive tournaments in those titles.
• VS Gaming will also be hosting their very first event at EGE. The Dota 2 Masters, for R550,000, is the culmination of the Masters program which came from their days in the DGL.

EGE will be taking place at the CTICC in Cape Town. Tickets vary from R20-R220 for day, tournament and weekend passes.

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Last Updated: July 11, 2017