South Africa’s competitive gaming scene is growing rapidly, which is clearly illustrated by Telkom’s announcement in January that it is putting up a million rand in prize money for its new Digital Gaming League in 2016.
The bigger prize fund, Telkom said, is to support its plans to foster growth in the competitive online gaming arena, and formalise e-sports in South Africa.
While the prize funds are growing, it is still very challenging for South Africa’s top gamers to turn professional and make a living from competitive gaming.
South African eSports team manager Ryan Boyes told MyGaming that local players need a day job to fit the bill.
How much gamers really make
One of South Africa’s top Hearthstone players said he made around R8,000 last year, which included prize money and sponsorships.
“Internationally players receive salaries and work towards prize money. This shows there is a big difference between us and the rest of the world,” said Boyes.
He said that local tournament sponsors favour giving physical prizes, like gaming hardware, instead of cash prizes.
“This leads to a situation where competitive gamers are forced to fund getting to the event, transport, accommodation and food out of their own pocket,” said Boyes.
“This also leads to a situation where prizes – mouse, keyboards, headphones, and the like – get sold to try recoup the money spent. Some gamers are lucky to break even if make a small profit for one event.”
What other pros have said
MyGaming approached some of South Africa’s top competitive gamers, and they echoed Boyes’ feedback.
One of South Africa’s top Hearthstone players said he made around R8,000 last year, which included prize money and sponsorships.
A top League of Legends player, who represented South Africa at the World Championships, said that he did not make any money from competitive gaming, apart from small prizes like gaming hardware.
A competitive StarCraft 2 player told MyGaming that it is virtually impossible to become a self-sustaining professional gamer in South Africa.
While other top gamers who MyGaming spoke to were hesitant to say how much they earned, they all agreed that it is not possible to support yourself financially through competitive gaming in South Africa.
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The money in SA, small as it is, is in CSGO and DotA 2. Should have asked from those groups?