The official governing body for E-Sports in SA, Mind Sports South Africa (MSSA), has plummeted from a healthy 500 player user base in its first league back in 2007, to less than 30 registered players this year.
We got in touch with Johann von Backström, founding member of the Amateurs Gaming Association South Africa (AGASA) to get his thoughts on where MSSA went wrong, and what he expects from gaming in SA going forward.
Please briefly explain how AGASA was involved in MSSA back in 2007?
In 2006 MSSA approached us and shared the vision of the MSSA with us. At that time we were already in our second year of hosting online leagues. MSSA felt we could contribute extensively to their cause if we joined and they stated that our players would be eligible for National Colours.
In 2006 and 2007 we managed our leagues and they were accredited by the MSSA. In 2006, the local qualifier for Battlefield 2142 was accredited by the MSSA and the first National team were selected for BF2142 to represent South Africa in Taipei.
In 2007, we managed the online league and teams qualified for national team trials held at Olympic House where they participated for Protea colours and at the same event we had the WCG qualifiers for Command and Conquer.
The league in 2007 grew from 2006 and we were positive for the 2008 season being the biggest yet. However, in 2008, the MSSA decided to administrate their own league through the CGBOC (Computer Gaming Board of Control) and we were only hosting the games on the servers. We continued with registrations for our own league and managed our league in 2008, seeing record entries once again, but the MSSA league’s membership declined in 2008. Towards the end of 2008 we launched the Do Gaming portal and Telkom took over as the principle sponsor of the leagues, taking ownership of the leagues which are now the Telkom Do Gaming Online Leagues.
In 2009 we smashed the 2008 entries once again with the Telkom Do Gaming LAN Championships being held at rAge. Most gamers at the event described it as the best tournament in the history of rAge.
This year the Telkom Do Gaming Online League did exceptionally well with record entries once more. We now have over 1000 gamers in the league including the newly launched BF:BC2 league with 32 teams. We are working towards our grand final already, trying to better the bench mark we set last year.
What were the reasons for the split?
We simply ran things differently. They had constraints as a federation and we wanted to be able to offer the latest games/mods etc to gamers as they became available. We simply needed more operational flexibility, which was not possible in a federated model. We continue to have a club with the MSSA to give our members the opportunity to play in the MSSA league if they wish to do so.
Why do you think the MSSA has seen such a pronounced decline in players over the past 3 years?
My personal opinion is the lack of community involvement. The community is the backbone and we work very closely with them as well as have community members on the AGASA committee. AGASA is a community driven initiative and the work of our league administration and the volunteers we have working with us is phenomenal.
The MSSAS league has dropped from 500 players in 2007, to less than 30 in 2010. How much longer before it gives way? What do you think will happen if it does collapse?
I really can’t say. I suppose the federation will always be there. If it does collapse though- then I think we might see a community driven initiative spearheading E-Sports in South Africa. A lot of gamers have lobbied for us to become the governing body of E-sports in South Africa, but AGASA is a tool to grow gaming in South Africa. The governing is up to the gamers and the talented leaders we have within the community.
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