EDIT: The title of this post has been amended after readers voiced their disapproval. Thanks for your comments, we took the criticism on board and have adjusted it accordingly.

This may come as a surprise to many but there is money to be made in becoming really, really good at video games. There is even an International eSports Federation (IeSF) World Championships in South Korea, to which South Africa will send a team skippered by Maryke “Ykie” Kennard.

First let’s run through that team in full and the games in which they will compete, below from Fin24:

The team is captained by Maryke “Ykie” Kennard, and comprises Nathan “StatiC” Anderson, Wynand “ViViD” Meiring, Taylor “elis” Rose, Matthew “Feno” Smith, Vasudev “Paga” Stringer and Cameron “SexyB” Tilley. Johan Uys is the coach and Ryan Boyes manages the group…

Kennard is a League of Legends player and members will also compete in StarCraft II, and HearthStone.

Right, so about skipper Kennard – here’s a few pics of her from her Facebook page and Mweb:

I hope that last one serves as some intimidation against potential opponents, looking rather fierce me thinks.

Organisation has been hampered by a lack of funds, however, with Mind Sports South Africa in a tricky spot:

Despite e-sports being accepted into the Olympic Committee of Asia, preparations are hampered by a lack of funds.

“Unfortunately MSSA does not have huge cash reserves. Thus when the team is chosen, MSSA first chooses the captain who then recommends athletes to the Selection Committee,” Colin Webster, general secretary of Mind Sports South Africa [said]…

..the South Africans will be up against strong competition where near universal broadband grants wide access to gamers.

“It is incredibly hard to compare SA to Asia. Countries like Korea which have fibre to almost every home have a huge advantage. Thus, it is not surprising that South Korea and China are ranked as number one and two respectively,” Webster added.

He said that gaming events in Asia can attract a rugby stadium crowd of up to 65 000 whereas in SA, gaming events don’t usually get a mention.

Anyone fancy coming to the party with regards funding to help out the best our shores have to offer? We could use a little good news in the international sporting arena right now, although I’m not saying much on that front just yet.

The championships will kick off early in December. Good luck over there gamers, hope you make us all proud – just remember not to party too hard.

[sources:mweb&fin24]