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SportsBiz Africa Esports Cup Day 1 recap: seven East African players have made the knockout stage after a long and chaotic opening day in Kigali.
And with the tournament format changing before the action got underway, finishing inside the top four was enough to keep the dream alive.
The 32 players were divided into four groups of eight, with the top four from each group now advancing. The group winners get a direct place in the quarterfinals, second and third place finishers enter the winners bracket, while fourth place players must fight through the losers bracket.
ALSO READ: SportsBiz Africa Esports Cup Groups Revealed: Prorate Drawn Into Group of Death
Sixteen players survived. Seven of them are from East Africa. And one of them, Harry Kappa, finished the day on top of his group.
Kappa Tops Group D as Kenya Keeps Three Players Alive
Kappa delivered the strongest East African group-stage finish of the day. The Kenyan finished first in Group D with 18 points, level on points with Nigeria’s Faruk Manzo but ahead in the final standings.
That means Kappa gets the biggest reward possible from the group stage. He goes directly to the quarterfinals. Faruk also moves through in second and will enter the winners bracket.
Shaq and Joabin Survive Group A
Group A was led by Toxic Joe, who finished on 21 points, followed by KillerFreak on 18. But behind them came two East African players. Shaq finished third with 15 points, while Uganda’s Joabin took fourth with 12. Both are through.
ALSO READ: Jere Shaq: The Story of Kenya’s Best FC Player
That is particularly important for Joabin because the new format gives fourth place players another life. Under the original format, only the top two were supposed to advance. Now Joabin remains in the tournament, although he will have to start from the losers bracket.
Shaq, meanwhile, has earned a place in the winners bracket. The Kenyan’s route through the group was enough to keep him among the contenders as the tournament moves into its knockout phase.
Bashir Keeps Uganda’s Challenge Alive
Uganda will have three representatives in the tournament, but only two made it through. Bashir finished fourth in Group B with 10 points, securing the final qualification spot from the group.
He joins the knockout stage alongside Joabin and Ezra. Bashir’s group was won by Somalia’s NHAYCH7 with 18 points, while XMOZAA and KING1LL finished second and third respectively.
For Bashir, fourth place may not look spectacular on paper. But in this format, fourth place is survival. And that is all that matters now.
Prorate and Hermes Escape the Group of Death
If there was one group that lived up to its reputation, it was Group C. Anas Badr finished first with 21 points, but behind him the fight was much closer.
Kenya’s Prorate and Tanzania’s Hermes both finished on 13 points, with Prorate taking second place and Hermes third. South Africa’s defending champion Zaid April finished fourth with 12 points.
That means all three big names survive. Prorate goes into the winners bracket. Hermes also enters the winners bracket. Zaid, despite being the defending champion, has to start his knockout campaign from the losers bracket.
ALSO READ: Harry Kappa: Career, Achievements and Journey in Kenyan Esports
For East African fans, this was one of the biggest results of the day. Prorate entered one of the toughest groups in the entire tournament and came out with second place. Hermes also avoided elimination despite the quality around him. The group had no room for an easy ride.
Ezra Gives Uganda Seven East African Knockout Players
Group D produced the final East African qualifier. Uganda’s Ezra finished fourth with 13 points, behind Kappa, Faruk and Randy.
That gives Uganda three players through:
- Joabin
- Bashir
- Ezra
Add Kenya’s Kappa, Shaq and Prorate, plus Tanzania’s Hermes, and East Africa has seven players still standing. That is a strong showing considering the quality of the field.
Seven East Africans, Three Different Routes
The most interesting part of the new format is that the seven East Africans do not all have the same route into the knockout stage. Their positions determine where they start.
Direct to the Quarterfinals
Harry Kappa
The Group D winner gets to skip the opening knockout battle and wait for the quarterfinals.
Winners Bracket
Prorate
Shaq
Hermes
These three finished second or third and will begin from the winners bracket.
Losers Bracket
Joabin
Bashir
Ezra
They finished fourth and now have to take the harder route. One defeat in the losers bracket could end their tournament.
Some Big Names Are Already Out
While seven East Africans survived, several others saw their tournament end on Day 1. Kenya’s Dav8 finished eighth in Group B, while Uganda’s Aksam ended Group C in seventh.
Rwanda also lost several representatives, with Samy, Tresor, Franklin and Praise failing to make the top four of their respective groups. There were also some unusual results in the standings because several players did not make it to Kigali.
Kyran of Ghana, DZ_GALACTICOS of Algeria and Nissad of Comoros were among those missing from the tournament. Their fixtures therefore appear as 3-0 walkovers in the challonge, rather than games that were actually played.
Click this link to see the tournament’s challonge.
Conclusion: Kigali Has 16 Players Left
Sixteen players started the day dreaming about the $10,000 prize. Sixteen are still alive. For East Africa, seven remain.
Kappa has already booked his place in the quarterfinals. Prorate, Shaq and Hermes will fight through the winners bracket, while Joabin, Bashir and Ezra face the pressure of the losers bracket.
The SportsBiz Africa Esports Cup Day 1 recap ends with one simple fact: East Africa has put itself in the fight.
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