In their efforts to grow awareness and accessibility to large-scale esports events, Soccer Laduma, along with the support of Mettlestate, aims to provide the biggest and best gaming platform for South Africa's esports community.

As Soccer Laduma kicks off the League, which is its first esports event, the publication says that it hopes that the event will be the first of many similar tournaments to come.

As the league continues to expand across the continent, players will be capitalising on the opportunity to compete against the best in South Africa, and it is Soccer Laduma's vision to create a hub for players of all skill levels (instead of just focusing on top tier competitive players) to take part in weekly competitions akin to those seen in traditional South African sports.

Any player in South Africa who would like to be a part of the Soccer Laduma League and test their skills on the gaming stage is eligible to enter.

Barry Louzada, founder and director at Mettlestate, says, "Naturally, everyone wants to get into esports right now. And thankfully we have amazing partners in Soccer Laduma and PUMA, who are powering this inaugural league."

"PUMA has strong credentials in the sport style and football space and more recently in esports through their sponsorships globally of Cloud9, GenG and a host of other teams. It is, therefore, logical for them to support a tournament of this nature as the gaming consumer in this space is a potential PUMA consumer," adds Louzada. 

"We hope to take advantage of the involvement of world-class sponsors and both Soccer Laduma and PUMA's endorsement of the league to make gaming more accessible to everyone — whether they are simply casual gamers or are looking to get into the big leagues," says Louzada.

"Anyone is eligible to compete and this is a prime opportunity for players who have never played competitively to enter the arena. The spectator value is also going to be massively appealing, as we may well see a few top players emerge as global talents, competing against the world's best," Louzada says.

"Mettlestate is incredibly excited and proud to be working with Soccer Laduma and PUMA. We anticipate great success with the Soccer Laduma League, and we hope to see this become a seasonal or yearly tournament in future and eventually expand on a global scale," Louzada adds.

Clint Roper, Soccer Laduma's GM, says, "We're incredibly excited to be launching the Soccer Laduma League and to have the guiding expertise of Mettlestate handholding us in our foray into the world of gaming."

"We share their vision of having this league becoming the league of choice for players of all skill sets across South Africa. With PUMA coming on board to power the initiative, we have no doubt that together we will be creating a world-class product that will service the South African gaming community's growing passion for esport," concludes Roper.

Three separate group stages will make up the six-week season. The groups include Amateur, Premier and Legends League.

Players that place first and second at the end of the qualifiers will be placed into the Legends League and players in third and fourth place from each group at the end of the qualifiers will be placed into the Premier League. The remaining players will be placed into the Amateur League.

Winning players stand the chance to walk away with R10 000 in cash prizes and PUMA merchandise. But cash prizes will only be awarded in the Legends League. PUMA merchandise will be up for grabs in the Premier League, along with a chance to win promotion to the Legends League.

The finals will be live-streamed to Mettlestate's Twitch TV at the end of July 2021.

For more information, visit www.mettlestate.com. You can also follow Mettlestate on Facebook, Twitter or on Instagram.