eSports
YAS HEAT hails ‘best month yet’ as eye-catching results flood in


String of strong performances and Virtual Olympics qualification for esports squad as they continue to make waves in virtual motorsport sphere
YAS HEAT ESPORTS enjoyed its most successful month of racing to-date after a slew of head-turning results in May. Following the immensely popular Microsoft GP exhibition race – hosted by YAS HEAT earlier in the year – the team is continuing its upward trend and becoming ever-present in esports leagues across the globe.
In the Assetto Corsa Competizione (ACC)-based series, Sim Grid Endurance Cup, YAS HEAT kicked off its title defence with a hard-fought podium, whilst running a bespoke partner livery for Richard Mille.
After qualifying on pole position – with an enviable margin of three tenths of a second – the squad came under pressure before the first round of pit stops, conceding the lead before contact with the third-place car opened up a gap, denying them the opportunity to fight for the victory. Nonetheless, the team most definitely showed that they will once again be fighting at the top of the table.
Meanwhile, the opening round of the Sim Grid x VCO World Cup – also being run on ACC – saw YAS HEAT finish as the highest placed McLaren 720s in P9, with another special edition livery on the car, this time in a vibrant yellow Pirelli colour scheme.
The following 24h race was cut short by an internet issue for the team in the final hour of running, fuelling the fire for the squad to come back stronger and fight for the championship in the remaining rounds.
In the world of Gran Turismo Sport, Angel Inostroza took part in a week-long qualifying event for the 2021 Virtual Olympics. From 4,000 competitors, just 16 have progressed to the first-ever esports inclusive Olympic Games, with YAS HEAT’s own Inostroza qualifying P5 and recording the fastest time from Central and South America.
The YAS HEAT iRacing line-up of Dean Woods, Balazs Remenyik, Joao Văz and Josh Lad are competing in the 2021 ISOWC IndyCar Championship. After two rounds, Vaz is currently the highest placed with P2 in the championship, following his third-place finish at Sebring with team-mate Lad not far behind in fourth.
Since its launch in 2020, YAS HEAT has continued its meteoric rise to the pinnacle of esports entering a total of 1168 races and achieving a win and podium rate of 42.21% and 67.30% respectively.
Saif Al-Noaimi, Team Principal, YAS HEAT said: “May was the best month yet for YAS HEAT. All of our teams and drivers are doing so well in the various titles we are competing in. We’re already establishing ourselves as a top-tier esports team and we haven’t celebrated our first anniversary yet.
“For one of our drivers to qualify for the Virtual Olympics is something we’re hugely proud of, and when you couple that with all of our recent successes on Assetto Corsa and iRacing, we’re definitely on an upward trend!
“I think the statistics speak for themselves. To have a win rate of over 40% and a podium rate of just under 70%, I can’t think of too many teams with those kinds of figures. I can’t wait to see how many more wins and podiums we can achieve before the end of our first year!”
Africa
Results: 2023 Northern Cape Online Championships

Even with load shedding causing frustration among both athletes and officials alike, Mind Sports South Africa (MSSA) was able to still host a verys successful championship were all participants were able to compete and, most of all, have fun.
With the “competent” South African government stating that South Africa will have load shedding for the next two years, MSSA is already reviewing its policies in regard to load shedding and its online championships.
Load shedding has a huge impact on esports, and may end up causing online console and pc gaming to become elitist as only those who are substantially financially advantaged will be able to compete. It may also result in mobile esports becoming more popular.. A continuous and consistent electricity supply is vital to South Africa developing as a major esports nation.
Nevertheless, MSSA is more than happy with the results from the 2023 Northern Cape Championships.
There were no less than seven (7) provinces represented, and more importantly, there were more females participating since 2020. Of the 22 athletes who earned Provincial Colours, 7 of such athletes are females.
Special mention must be made of Karli Roodt (Middelburg Hoërskool) who is the first female champion in the esports title of Rocket League to earn Mpumalanga Provincial colours. Karli also qualifies for National Team Trials, and may very well end up in the National Squad and/or Protea Team.
The female esports team, VYBN Females, also had a good showing in the CSGO esports title. The team has now earned Provincial colours as well as qualifying for National Team Trials, and may very well end up in the National Squad and/or Protea Team. Of course, CSGO is just one of the six titles which MSSA has entered to contest at IESF’s 15th World Championships.
IESF’s 15th World Championships will be played to the following titles:
- Counter-Strike: GO (CSGO)
- Counter-Strike: GO (CSGO) – Female division
- DotA 2
- eFootball
- Mobile Legends, Bang Bang
- PUBGM
- Tekken 7
The winners of the 2023 Northern Cape Online Championships are:
Title | Name of player/team | Club | Colours awarded |
Clash of Clans | Martin Venter | Hoër Volkskool Potchefstroom | North West |
Clash Royale – Premier | John Kim | Middies | Mpumulanga |
Clash Royale – Premier – Female | Leone Loftus | Masters of Mind Sports | Free State |
Clash Royale | Tshwarelo Tshwane | Knights Mind Sports Club | |
CS:GO – Premier
|
ZAG CS |
ZAG Academy
|
|
Josh Chapman | Western Cape | ||
Sebastian Montoya-Pelaez | Western Cape | ||
Michael de Villiers | Western Cape | ||
Josh Orelowitz | Western Cape | ||
Thomas Venables | Gauteng | ||
CS:GO – Premier – Female
|
VYBN Females |
ZAG Academy
|
|
Paula van Vuuren | Western Cape | ||
Chloe Wilson | Gauteng | ||
Rialet van Jaarsveld | Gauteng | ||
Nicky Muller | Gauteng | ||
Alexandria Kruger | Mpumulanga | ||
FIFA 23 – Premier | Antonie Botes | Hoër Volkskool Potchefstroom | North West |
PUBGM – Premier
|
Team eFx |
Team eFx
|
|
Sulaimaan Musthan | KwaZulu Natal | ||
Jared Rubly | Gauteng | ||
Jarrod Pretorius | Gauteng | ||
Richard Henry | Eastern Cape | ||
Rocket League – Premier | Nick Matzopoulos | ZAG Academy | Western Cape |
Rocket League – Premier – Female | Karli Roodt | Middies | Mumulanga |
Rocket League – High Schools | Maree van der Merwe | Hoër Volkskool Potchefstroom | |
Tekken 7 | Jonathan Brown | Team Playbell | Western Cape |
Sportsmanship Award | Desiree Botha | Middies |
eSports
Guild Esports pro-player has $1 million MrBeast win verified

Guild Esports, a global teams organisation and lifestyle brand, has confirmed that Fortnite pro-player, Anas El-Abd (‘Anas’), has had his $1 million MrBeast Fortnite competition win verified by organisers Epic Games and Jimmy ‘MrBeast’ Donaldson – a YouTube personality with the fourth-biggest channel on YouTube and more than 125 million subscribers.
Anas’ victory in the ‘MrBeast’s Extreme Survival Challenge’, which took place on 17 December 2022, has cemented his position as one of the top Fortnite players competing globally at a professional level.
When Anas joined Guild in 2021, he brought with him experience of the European pro scene, having played Fortnite since 2017. Anas has qualified for the game’s flagship Fortnite Champion Series (FNCS) Finals 14 times over the space of four years and 13 seasons, with this latest MrBeast accolade adding to his already impressive track record.
The MrBeast tournament victory from Anas rounded off a highly successful year of competition for Guild Esports and its players in 2022, with notable wins across the RL EMEA Predator League 2022, Game Changers EMEA Series 3, Fortnite Champion Series, EA Sports FIFA 22 eChampions League and the MrBeast Challenge.
In 2023, Guild is one of the leading organisations remaining committed to Fortnite competitions, with previous Fortnite tournament victories including four FNCS titles, Gamers8 – No Build, and the recent MrBeast Extreme Survival Challenge. Guild’s current Fortnite duo Anas and Henrik Mclean (‘Hen’) are also trialling playing together. Hen brings three FNCS trophies to the partnership, while Anas has one of the most consistent and highest average placement positions.
Jasmine Skee, CEO of Guild Esports, commented: “Many congratulations to Anas, who has proven yet again that he is among the world’s best Fortnite players. We are delighted by his success, which underscores the exceptional talent within Guild’s teams. Winning tournaments, reaching ever-larger audiences and gaining new fans, supports our ongoing growth as a leading global esports organisation. We can’t wait to see how Anas and Hen get on this year collaborating further and playing as a duo for Guild.”
Anas El-Abd (‘Anas’), Fortnite player at Guild Esports, commented: “Winning the MrBeast Challenge is one of my best accomplishments since playing Fortnite. Moving forward I will be focusing on tournaments with myself and Hen. We are doing pretty well playing together now, we are both good players and were both looking for a duo, so it makes sense to try it out.”
eSports
The World’s Biggest Esports Stars Train at Kinguin’s Cutting-Edge Esports Performance Center in Warsaw – Summary of 2022

In 2022, 66 bootcamps and 20 special events were held at the Kinguin Esports Performance Center in Warsaw – the state-of-the-art esports training center for players and teams in Europe.
Kinguin EPC is where the best teams in the world train to prepare for tournaments across key esports titles including Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, League of Legends, Dota 2, FIFA, Rocket League, Fortnite, VALORANT and Rainbow Six: Siege.
2022 in numbers:
- Number of bootcamps: 66
- Number of events: 20
- Longest stays: Misfits Premier – 116 days, X7 – 88 days
- The largest bootcamp: Seven Goats – 25 people
- Guests who visited EPC the most: Anonymo (6 bootcamps), Imperial (5), NAVI Javelins (4)
2022 was a thrilling year at the Kinguin Esports Performance Center being used by leading teams including Tundra Esports players, who in the following months won The Dota 2 International and FaZe Clan – winners of Intel Extreme Masters Katowice 2022. The center was also visited by teams such as Imperial, Renegades, Team Falcons, MOUZ, AGO, OG, TYLOO, MIBR, NAVI, SKADE, Acend, Wisła Kraków, Anonymo, Excel, Exeed, TSM and Pasha Gaming Camp.
Paweł Książek, Head of Kinguin Esports Performance Center, said: “The Kinguin Esports Performance Center was created with the best teams in the world in mind and last year showed the importance of the EPC to esports players and teams. It is an honor to host some of the biggest esports teams and legends including the winners of the most prestigious tournaments.”
Since the start of the war in Ukraine, Kinguin has been actively helping people affected by the conflict. The Kinguin Esports Performance Center is open to all Ukrainian esports players and their families free of charge. To date, it has hosted almost 30 people, and its doors are still open to Ukrainian people in need of support.
Kinguin EPC hosted 20 industry events in 2022 including SkillFactor, a talent show where young esports players competed against each other in CS:GO, Deluxe Ski Jump 2 tournament powered by Rockstar Energy Drinks, Esports Skills Camp, modern gaming colonies and practical classes in esports for the University of Physical Culture and Tourism in Pruszków.
Other key events include Intel Overclocking Masters, journalistic competitions in spinning processors, as well as broadcasts from Kinguin Legends, the world’s first tournament featuring the biggest stars in the history of the CS:GO scene.
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