Amid an impressive post-pandemic crowd at Loftus Versfeld stadium baying for a Blue Bulls victory, the powers that be had convened to usher in a new era of spectator sport under the blue banner of the Bulls: an e-sports extravaganza.
Stefan van der Merwe, chief commercial officer of the Blue Bulls team, was excited to attend a test run of his new brainchild in the corner box overlooking the field where the Cheetahs and the Bulls were set to clash on June 10.
No blue jerseys (or orange, for that matter) were present amid a growing crowd, but diverse they were.
A grinning Van der Merwe explained: “It's time to prepare for a future that is coming at us sooner than we thought. Gaming is a huge thing, and I wanted to get us ahead of the curve.”
Van der Merwe and his partners in the gaming industry are aiming to make gaming in general, and e-sports in particular, a fully-fledged stadium experience, and to do so under the banner of the Blue Bulls.
“Imagine it,” says Van der Merwe, “a stadium full of spectators watching local and internationally acclaimed e-sports teams compete. It is incredibly exciting.”
In the box ATK Gaming had set up an impressive slew of premium gaming equipment for fans of rugby and gaming to indulge in the very best digital interactive entertainment can offer.
From high-end PCs to consoles, VR and even top-end, locally manufactured racing-simulator rigs that put users in the closest facsimile of a real racecar-experience available, ATK had pulled out all the stops.
Warren Barkhuizen, CEO of ATK (South Africa's largest gaming and e-sports company), was proudly engaging with every attendee.
“In 10 years all today's gamers are going to be adults. Then they'll call the shots and no one will wonder what 'this gaming thing' is any more.
“The Blue Bulls know this. And that's why they approached us.
“I didn't expect it. I thought it was still a little early for them to see the trend. But I see a whole stadium competing on smartphones with games like Call of Duty Mobile and seeing the action on the big screens mounted around the stadium!.”
Andries Lombard, founder and owner of EG Evolved Simulator Rigs, who provided the premium racing simulators for the test run event, has a “high-octane” day job, but said gaming is his passion.
“I wish parents today could realise these games can be the beginning of a career, and a lucrative one.”
He said he started building his up to R120,000 rigs during lockdown, a passion project that rapidly took off.
“EG Evolved is now a multi, multimillion-rand company.
“Our rigs are so advanced that we are gearing people to be race-ready in the real world.”
Van der Merwe added to the idea that gaming can be the entry point to careers by saying the lucrative business model of spectator sport for gaming and competitive e-sports was already booming in Asia.
It was time South Africa rapidly joined the ranks, and the Blue Bulls would welcome e-sports teams to wear their colours and “join the team”.
Barkhuizen, who manages one of South Africa's two most successful e-sports teams competing in the US for multimillion-rand prizes, was adamant: “Our partnership is secure. It's happening. And next is all the other stadiums and rugby teams.”
He estimated that in only one year there is a 90% chance the Blue Bulls e-sports team will be launched.
Van der Merwe was clear: “In the past fathers would bring their sons to Loftus for the rugby. Now the sons will bring their fathers to Loftus for e-sports.”
From brawn to brains: Blue Bulls branded gaming team is coming to Loftus
Image: Supplied
Amid an impressive post-pandemic crowd at Loftus Versfeld stadium baying for a Blue Bulls victory, the powers that be had convened to usher in a new era of spectator sport under the blue banner of the Bulls: an e-sports extravaganza.
Stefan van der Merwe, chief commercial officer of the Blue Bulls team, was excited to attend a test run of his new brainchild in the corner box overlooking the field where the Cheetahs and the Bulls were set to clash on June 10.
No blue jerseys (or orange, for that matter) were present amid a growing crowd, but diverse they were.
A grinning Van der Merwe explained: “It's time to prepare for a future that is coming at us sooner than we thought. Gaming is a huge thing, and I wanted to get us ahead of the curve.”
Van der Merwe and his partners in the gaming industry are aiming to make gaming in general, and e-sports in particular, a fully-fledged stadium experience, and to do so under the banner of the Blue Bulls.
“Imagine it,” says Van der Merwe, “a stadium full of spectators watching local and internationally acclaimed e-sports teams compete. It is incredibly exciting.”
In the box ATK Gaming had set up an impressive slew of premium gaming equipment for fans of rugby and gaming to indulge in the very best digital interactive entertainment can offer.
From high-end PCs to consoles, VR and even top-end, locally manufactured racing-simulator rigs that put users in the closest facsimile of a real racecar-experience available, ATK had pulled out all the stops.
Warren Barkhuizen, CEO of ATK (South Africa's largest gaming and e-sports company), was proudly engaging with every attendee.
“In 10 years all today's gamers are going to be adults. Then they'll call the shots and no one will wonder what 'this gaming thing' is any more.
“The Blue Bulls know this. And that's why they approached us.
“I didn't expect it. I thought it was still a little early for them to see the trend. But I see a whole stadium competing on smartphones with games like Call of Duty Mobile and seeing the action on the big screens mounted around the stadium!.”
Andries Lombard, founder and owner of EG Evolved Simulator Rigs, who provided the premium racing simulators for the test run event, has a “high-octane” day job, but said gaming is his passion.
“I wish parents today could realise these games can be the beginning of a career, and a lucrative one.”
He said he started building his up to R120,000 rigs during lockdown, a passion project that rapidly took off.
“EG Evolved is now a multi, multimillion-rand company.
“Our rigs are so advanced that we are gearing people to be race-ready in the real world.”
Van der Merwe added to the idea that gaming can be the entry point to careers by saying the lucrative business model of spectator sport for gaming and competitive e-sports was already booming in Asia.
It was time South Africa rapidly joined the ranks, and the Blue Bulls would welcome e-sports teams to wear their colours and “join the team”.
Barkhuizen, who manages one of South Africa's two most successful e-sports teams competing in the US for multimillion-rand prizes, was adamant: “Our partnership is secure. It's happening. And next is all the other stadiums and rugby teams.”
He estimated that in only one year there is a 90% chance the Blue Bulls e-sports team will be launched.
Van der Merwe was clear: “In the past fathers would bring their sons to Loftus for the rugby. Now the sons will bring their fathers to Loftus for e-sports.”
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