No continent is safe from esports as we unveil the first ever esports championship on the African continent - the ESL African Championship, presented by Kwesé. Together with Kwesé Sports, Econet Media’s premium sports content platform, we are excited to give South African CS:GO players and top Hearthstone players from all regions a platform on which to showcase their skills. A total prize pool of R2.000.000 for 2017, which equals to more than US$150.000 per year, will be up for grabs.

The inaugural series of the ESL African Championship will run from April to June, followed directly by the second series starting in July. The grand finals of series two will culminate in October at the rAge Gaming Expo in the Ticketpro Dome of Johannesburg. There, the top four teams and players in both CS:GO and Hearthstone will get the chance to compete against each other on the big stage.

You can find the tournament structure in the graphic below.

ESL’s Executive Board Member, Malte Barth, is thrilled to bring the ESL National Championships to Africa.

“We are excited to bring the ESL African Championship to the local esports community. By giving gamers the opportunity to compete at the leading global leagues and tournaments, we help them pave their way to create legendary moments within the ESL esports universe. Together with our partner Kwesé, we are committed to making the ESL African Championship a great success!”

Joseph Hundah, Chief Executive Officer of Econet Media, is looking forward to the first competitions.

"Kwesé is incredibly proud to partner with the ESL to introduce such an exciting tournament to the African continent. We know esports are growing in popularity on the continent so it’s important for us put esports on the map, and make it accessible for participants and viewers through initiatives such as these. We pride ourselves in being innovative in our approach to entertainment, and have a keen interest in making non-conventional sports and entertainment formats available on our platforms.”

To learn more about the ESL African Championship, check out the official website and don’t forget to follow ESL Africa on both Twitter and Facebook for further tournament updates.

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