A natural leader, he thrives to be the best in his sport

Wesley isn’t your average gamer, this young man started playing games at age six, as most of us did but what set him part is his tact, ability and leadership which has lead him to be one of South Africa’s best e-sports captains.

He started his competitive career in 2010. After finishing high school he played casually online before friends introduced him to first-person shooters (FPS), namely Call of Duty (CoD).

“I was shown Modern Warfare 2, a CoD. I quickly got into it and bought it. I was under the impression I would be up against overseas players but instead I was pitted against local players and I realised I was doing seriously well,” said Wesley.

Wesley made a number of online friends, drafting a player base on his friends list, “We got together and made a social clan, People Really Organised – PRO,” he added. The clan got to a point where they were introduced into more tactical play after putting in time to build up a good name for the clan. “We held a lot of prestige and went to Rage 2010 – we took down the competition and received bragging rights at the time since online gaming in SA wasn’t a huge thing,” continued Wesley.

New Age Gaming (Nag) at the time, saw a gap in the market and opened a league called the Nag Gaming League (NGL) and ran CoD tourneaments. “Our team disbanded shortly after the tournament and I joined up with a new team KK,” continued Wesley.

At the next Rage, Wesley and his team won all their matches taking home a large prize pool. “We played on 10 sponsored PCs and on huge screens, it brings back a lot of good memories – it was the first year I actually got prizes,” said Wesley.

Wesley not only plays Cod, he also plays a wide selection of FPS. His team, which is comprised of five players with three reserves, have a dedicated slot in which they practice every day.

2012 saw Wesley starting with Modern Warfare 3 (MW3), “It was the year of my first loss,” said Wesley with a sigh of disappointment.
It was the year in which the communities merged into Do Game League (DGL) and the year in which all the professional teams from CoD4 moved over into MW3. “Those teams had years of experience of playing together, I was still in KK at that point and backed out, joining Monster Gaming which was sponsored by Monster Energy,” said Wesley.

Monster Gaming was doing well and won a lot of games and going into Rage 2012 they would go up against the best.
“I was approached by a clan called Bravado Gaming, one of the best out there and at the time our team wasn’t holding together well, I was offered a sponsorship with Bravado and joined them, wanting to improve on myself and my gaming,” said Wesley.

According to Wesley Bravado didn’t base themselves on having the best individual players, but more the best teamwork – they mastered it.
They went to Rage 2012 and in the finals went up against Monster Gaming.

“The previous night they did their homework, they stayed up watching our previous plays and learnt our strats, using them against us – and that was my first loss, they humiliated us,” sighed Wesley.

He was bleak about the loss and took three months away from gaming, in that time he was removed from Bravado.
“When I got back into the gaming I started at the bottom once again and worked my way up – players that have won, normally throw everything out the window, I have seen the most humble gamers turn arrogant, there is no room for that, it’s a team game,” said Wesley, slightly frustrated.

He joined Evolution Gaming (Evo), they had no accolades or prestige I nthe gaming community, but he stuck with them, captaining and coaching them, continuously cycling players out to build a team that could take on Bravado in 2013.

“I had to stop playing again, a close family member passed away and I stepped out of the team, they went on and won Rage, beating Bravado – which felt like a win for me seeing as I had a strong hand in their win,” continued Wesley.

Wesley has gotten back together with his old team aiming for the win in the 2014 season and they have joined up with Bravado, replacing their two former CoD teams.

When asked about his mouse and why he chose it, Wesley said he prefers optical of laser, in that he has a lot more control over his shots.
“Best advice I can give any would-be competitive gamer, is have a rival: someone who will force you to do your best, my older brother was and is still my personal rival and has played a huge role in my gaming – and keep a train of thought, stay calm, know your fight, your opponent and make the right calls, use your gaming sense, incorporating every aspect of the game into itself, this will make you one of the best,” ended Wesley, who thinks e-Sports deserve more recognition in South Africa, believing our home players can be the best in the world.