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1458360cookie-checkLiquid Telecom Provides High-Speed Net For Africa’s First International E-Sports Tournament
Industry News
2017/07

Liquid Telecom Provides High-Speed Net For Africa’s First International E-Sports Tournament

Africa isn’t known for being a gaming hub in the world of electronic entertainment. Various countries have tried elevating themselves within the continent above being a third-world magnet for rape, death, and perpetual violence, but many have failed. Kenyans, however, are still attempting to give Africa a decent name – at least in the realm of video games – by hosting annual Comic-Cons and by being one of the first African countries to host an international e-sports competition, thanks in good part to the Liquid Telecom network and the Asus ROG computers.

The Nairobi Comic-Con organization teamed up with Liquid Telecom, Asus, AbaGamers and GamersNights to host a e-sports tournament set to take place over the weekend between July 29th and July 30th in Nairobi, Kenya.

According to GamersNights, there will be teams traveling from Uganda, Rwanda, and Kenya competing for $1,500 in cash prizes at the first African international e-sports tournament. They expect at least 3,500 attendees over the weekend event, and a lot of this will be made possible due to the cross-border fibre network that runs from the north of Uganda to Cape Town, covering the developing cities in between.

According to Liquid Telecom’s network map, they cover a wide range of regions, stretching from the border of South Sudan to the edge of the Congo – more than 50,000 kilometers of fibre network infrastructure.

For those who attend the NaicCon (Nairobi Comic-Con) in person, Asus will also proide LAN competitions to ensure that some good ‘ole fashioned fragging can take place without relying on an online internet service.

There are some promotional images on the official NaicCon Facebook page detailing the scheduling for the events and at what time the NEST Gaming Championship will start, but not many details are present on the actual games. I did manage to find a few images revealing that there was registration for Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 for a 4-vs-4 PS4 tournament, and a Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 4-vs-4 tournament on PC. So it looks like they’re at least playing games made within the last decade.

According to the schedule, though, the tournaments will take place in the morning starting at 10:00am. So you’ll have to be there bright and early if you plan on making the trip out to Kenya.

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