Invited guests will get to support their city at the MWEB Cape Town auditorium in Parow. The matches will stream live with commentary from the MCave in Cape Town and The HIve in Joburg.
"We are proud to be hosting such a momentous event," says Desmond Kurz, online gaming manager of MWEB Gaming. "COD Black Ops 2 and FIFA13 were chosen as they are two top titles used in competitive gaming in South Africa and internationally. A team from South Africa was even sent to compete at the Call of Duty Championships in Los Angeles for a share of US$1million in April."
This North versus South inter-regional competition is the culmination of months of the MSSA's regional and provincial championships, where the best and the brightest have been competing to be recognised as the top players in their city or province. The regional championship events to determine the best Cape Town team for Black Ops 2 was held in May and for FIFA13, earlier this week. Johannesburg had their provincial championships to find their top players in both games at the end of March.
"In a gaming market set to spend an estimated R1.41 billion in 2013, up from the R1.33 billion in 2012, according to the PricewaterhouseCoopers Media and Entertainment Outlook there is huge excitement to see who the top players in South Africa will be," says Kurz. "Like any big sporting event, the atmosphere is going to be electrifying! Guests will be dressed to support their city in either red for Joburg or Blue for Cape Town; live commentators keeping the crowd going with the help of top local DJ group, Whatisfiction, two big screens where all the action will be screened live; drinks, food and loads of prizes to be won."
The MWEB North Versus South Inter-regional event will begin with a short awards ceremony where top local gamers will be receiving their Colours. Under the MSSA, who is affiliated with the SASCOC (South African Confederation of Sport and Olympic Committee) and recognised by the Department of Sport and Recreation, Mind Sports was upgraded to a tier one sport this year, giving it the same recognition as rugby, cricket, swimming and hockey. As a member of SASCOC, all the games promoted by MSSA are also accredited as national sports.
The recognition of eSports as a sport impacts students on several levels. School-going gamers are eligible to get regional Colours, which earns them a half Colours blazer, provincial Colours which will get them a full Colours blazer and Protea Colours which entitles them to an honours blazer; some universities who have eSports clubs even offer bursaries.
"There has been a massive shift in the way gamers and games are viewed," says Kurz. "There used to be a pre-conception that people who played games were slackers in some way and should be out playing 'real' sports and we are thrilled to have been able to support driving the industry forward to the point where the hard work and effort gamers put into improving their skills is finally getting the respect it deserves and the games they focus on are recognised as sports in their own right."
Win a seat to this event by participating in the "Tweet for your Seat" campaign. To be entered into the draw, send a tweet to @MWEBGMZ for the city you are supporting with a fun photo, blue for Cape Town, red for Joburg and make sure you include the hashtag #MWEBNorthvsSouth. The competition is open until 1pm on Wednesday, 17 July 2013. Winners will be announced on the MWEB GameZone site at 2pm. Since the venue is Cape Town, the competition is only open to those who will be in Cape Town on 19 July.
For more information on MWEB Gaming check out the new addition to MWEB GameZone site.
For more information on the MSSA, go to www.mindsportsa.co.z.
