They have been blazing trails in Call of Duty, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and FIFA. Now, a top South African esports group has expanded into one of the biggest competitive games on the planet.
Bravado Fortnite officially launched at the Dell Technologies Forum on 27 June at the Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg. Attendees got to meet the team and the rest of Bravado, as well as take part in Fortnite matches.
Founded in 2006 and run by Andreas Hadjipaschali, Bravado is one of the longest running esports outfits in South Africa. Sponsored by Dell, Alienware and Intel, its goal is to promote esports across the country, as well as create opportunities for aspirant African esports athletes.
“Fortnite is leading the battle royale genre with its mix of action and high-level strategy,” said Hadjipaschali. “It’s also cross-platform, so it can be played on many different gaming devices. This has made it a popular choice for many gamers and attracted many competitors.
“After our successes with creating and supporting winning teams in other games, adopting Fortnite as our latest competitive tier makes perfect sense.”
Fortnite is a new breed of competitive gaming genre called ‘battle royale’. Each match can host up to a hundred competitors – if your character is eliminated, they must sit out for the rest of the round. The pressure rises as the game’s playable map gets smaller, forcing players closer to each other. It’s a ‘last player standing’ format where matches can be played by individuals or two-player teams.
There is also an elaborate construction element: players can build structures to protect themselves, block enemies and gain higher ground. It’s a kinetic experience, which makes Fortnite very popular for online streaming audiences. It’s also a major esports title, with big tournaments offering millions of dollars in prize pools.
Fortnite boasts over 250 million registered users and has hosted up to 10 million players at a time across numerous matches.
“Once I had experienced the mechanic of building and editing, I was instantly hooked,” said Tristan “Zozu” Rens, Bravado’s Fortnite team captain.
“It was something I haven’t seen in a game before and I knew there was something different about it. I’ve never been a fan of battle royale games before I played Fortnite. But the nature of competitive Fortnite, with final storm circles the size of football fields with 40 players battling for the 1st place, is something I couldn’t get enough of. As time went by, the hunger to pursue it professionally grew.”
Rens and his teammates are not afraid to put in the work: they train for between six and 10 hours a day. Currently, Bravado Fortnite is focusing on perfecting its team synergy and will be active both online and at LANs to gain maximum experience. – GeekWire.co.za
