Arno Joubert shares his passion, plans for eSports

Arno Joubert, Grade 12 Polokwane Preparatory School and College (PEPPS) learner and his eSports team finished fourth during the Electronic Sports World Convention (ESWC) LAN qualifiers hosted by Orena eSports Organisers at the Rage Expo in Sandton, Johannesburg recently.
Joubert and his team were up against 13 other teams in the Counterstrike: Global Offensive (CS:GO). The winners of the Sandton and Cape Town events will represent South Africa in the ESWC World Championships
Joubert’s fellow team members were team captain Gordon Britz and Divan Blig­nault, both from Krugersdorp, Dustin Mynhardt from Johannesburg and Chayce van Zyl from Cape Town, all of whom he met during online tournaments. The team met in Krugersdorp a week prior to the tournament for one on one training sessions, lasting three to four hours at a time, with Britz.
According to Joubert he started playing games like Delta Force and Starcraft when he was still in pre-school thanks to his dad who bought him his first computer. He also said his family always supported him and that his whole family would play against each other on some weekends.
His mother Roberta said she fully supports him as she believes that he is talented in the sport and it makes him happy. She explained that parents need to move away from the perception that gamers are lonely, nerdy boys and men with no social skills and accept the fact that eSports is a sport just like any other where athletes put in vast amounts of time and effort in their strive to be the best in their respective fields while developing multitasking, group work and leadership skills. She said the world is moving towards a digital future and that the youth of today need to be prepared.

Story and photos: THINUS DU TOIT
>>thinus@observer.co.za