Game on! Durban North’s Max heads to Brazil for e-sports championships
Max and his team, Socks Up will be competing at the World Finals taking place in Rio de Janeiro in December.
DURBAN North’s Max de Wet is jetting off to Brazil after his team, Socks Up, was crowned this year’s Red Bull Campus Clutch Champions.
At the national Valorant Champions finals that took place at Comic Con Africa, the team formed by five friends two years ago, vanquished all their rivals, securing a spot in the World Finals taking place in Rio de Janeiro in December.
‘Extremely excited’ is how Max described his feelings about going to Brazil for the first time to compete.
“I’ve never been to Brazil before, and I’m extremely excited and looking forward to it. I’m going to put in a lot of time and a lot of practice with the team, get my head down, work hard and just represent South Africa well,” said Max.
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The Boston City Campus eCommerce and Marketing student believes that attitude is a factor in winning. Asked how he copes with mental pressure during a tournament, he said he prepares beforehand.
“You need to have a positive mentality going into it, and never doubt yourself. Before the tournament, I just sit and think to myself: Go in with 100 percent confidence and just perform well.”
“In gaming, I would say making the finals is my greatest achievement. There’s a lot of stuff I work on at once, but this is my greatest achievement so far,” he said.
Max says his love for gaming started when he was just four years of age.
“I started when I was about four, playing with my uncle’s PlayStation and always tried to play on my dad’s computer. I also used to play Nintendo growing up. I got my first PlayStation, moved on to computers and then just started playing competitively.”
He described himself as ‘dedicated’ and that he draws his inspiration from David Goggins, a prominent athlete from the US.
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Socks Up captain Rob Gallo said working together as a team helped them win the championship.
“Winning was amazing, and we are so excited for the team because we were so committed, and we trained together almost every day so we could play as one. It still feels surreal that we are going to Brazil to represent South Africa, and hopefully, we can bring it home,” said Rob.
This year’s world final will feature 50 student e-sports teams for the first time.
“The winning team will also receive a whopping €20 000 (R357 046.20) in prize money, and an exclusive VIP experience at a 2023 Valorant Champions Tour event,” they said.
