Stellenbosch University (SU) was recently crowned as South Africa’s top e-sports university. This is according to Yaseen Gangat, Maties e-sports club manager.
The Maties e-sports team represented SU at the University Sports South Africa (USSA) E-Sports Championships at Hotel Sky in Johannesburg from 28 to 31 August, where 24 SU student athletes competed in the video games Electronic Arts (EA) Sports Football Club (FC) 25, Rocket League, and Valorant, according to Gangat.
“We performed strongly across all three, earning enough points to finish as the top university in South Africa for e-sports in 2025,” said Gangat, in correspondence with SMF News. “What secured our overall victory was consistency.”
Maties e-sports took first place overall because points were awarded for top-16 finishes, which rewarded the most consistent teams, according to Gangat.
“At a tournament level, results are usually decided in best-of-three or best-of-five series,” said Gangat, who explained that this means the team must win the majority of either three or five games to win the match. “[This means] consistency matters just as much as individual plays.”
Logan Mercuur (left), a third-year Bachelor of Data Science student at Stellenbosch University, who won second place in Electronic Arts Sports Football Club 25 at the University Sports South Africa (USSA) E-Sports Championships, according to Yaseen Gangat, Maties e-sports club manager. McArthur Wulana (right) is one of the National Executive Committee members at USSA, said Gangat. PHOTO: Yaseen Gangat
About e-sports
EA Sports FC 25 is a one-player versus one-player football simulator, while Rocket League combines football and cars and is played in three-player versus three-player matches, according to Gangat.
Valorant is a tactical first-person shooter that tests teamwork, communication, and precision, he said.
Gangat said that two players reached the top 16 in EA Sports FC 25, with one reaching the top eight and another finishing second. The men’s division had a total of 111 players, he said.
SU secured a bronze medal in Rocket League after tough matches against the University of Pretoria, who took the gold, according to Gangat.
In Valorant, SU entered two of its four teams, with the first team finishing in first place after defeating the University of Cape Town in the final and the second team finishing third, he said.
“I’m happy I could be a contributing factor to us being back on top,” said Logan Mercuur, a third-year Bachelor of Data Science student at SU who won second place in EA Sports FC 25. “We’re back, and across all three games, it’s clear we want to keep this spot.”
Logan Mercuur, a third-year Bachelor of Data Science student at Stellenbosch University, won a silver medal in Electronic Arts Sports Football Club 25 at the University Sports South Africa E-Sports Championships, which was held from August 28 to 31. This is according to Yaseen Gangat, Maties e-sports club manager. PHOTO: Logan Mercuur
‘Twice as hard’
“I really wanted to represent my university,” said Karla de Beer, a third-year BSc (Food Science) student at SU, in correspondence with SMF News.
De Beer said that the team spent weeks working on strategy and playing together to prepare for the tournament.
“Our second team secured an impressive third place, with Karla the only female competing against men, showing why she is our best female Valorant player again,” said Gangat.
However, De Beer said that her calls often get overlooked or ignored and she wants people to see her as a good Valorant player beyond being female.
“I feel like I have to work twice as hard to prove that I am not ‘boosted’,” said De Beer, who explained that “boosting means when you play with people better than you are and they boost you to a higher rank than you deserve to be at”.
She said that she hopes her representation will show other women that skill and dedication matter more than stereotypes.
Karla de Beer, a third-year Bsc (Food Science) student at Stellenbosch University (SU), who competed in Valorant at the University Sports South Africa E-Sports Championships in Johannesburg, according to Yaseen Gangat, Maties e-sports club manager. PHOTO: Mandisa Ncalo
Note: This article was updated on 19 September to correctly reflect De Beer’s comments.