Tunisia wins maiden African gaming contest in Morocco

An African gaming competition, the first region-wide event of its kind, saw seven teams battle it out in an international video game.

Contestants crouched over computer screens for several hours as an audience watched players go neck to neck in the multi-player video game “Counter Strike”.

Each contestant wanted to get the top spot at the Electronic Sports World Cup, the main highlight of the African gaming fest.

The event was hosted at a theatre in the Moroccan city of Casablanca, and organised by Moroccan telecommunications company (Inwi) to bring out the best gamers and spread the culture of gaming.

‘‘We wanted this event to be open to the public and all ages. We are pleasantly surprised to see so many people coming. Many came with their families. It’s a good time to share and have fun. It is also a time of discovery, because there are many new things that young people know that their parents or elders do not necessarily know. It’s really a space dedicated to entertaining players and fans”, said Brahim Amdouy, Content Manager at the Moroccan Telecommunication Company (Inwi).

Organizers say that close to 100,000 people dropped in and out of the venue which also featured exhibitions, a dance contest and cosplay shows.

Winners of ESWC Africa were awarded the title of “African Champion” and handed a cash prize of $7,000. In the end Tunisia won the first spot.

‘‘The competition and the event in general were impressive. We do not organize this kind of tournament every day. This meant that we had to travel, and the transport was not ideal. However, this is normal given that this was the first edition. But it was already very good. There is a very good cash prize. I hope that the next competitions will get better and better, perhaps even encompassing the whole continent, including South Africa’‘, said Alaeddine Chaari, head of the Tunisian team.

The participating countries included Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria, Egypt, Nigeria, Senegal and Côte d’Ivoire.