Telkom has introduced the Telkom Digital Gaming League (DGL), previously known as the Do Gaming League.
The new e-sports league will include a Masters programme for multi gaming organisations (MGOs) with prize money totalling R1 million in cash.
"The Masters programme will become the pinnacle of e-sports in South Africa, where eight MGOs will compete for R1 million in cash, the largest prize pool in South African e-sports history," says Enzo Scarcella, Telkom's chief marketing officer.
"At the same time, the DGL will develop local e-sports to bring in new gamers through casual gaming competitions, improved spectator access and increased awareness."
Telkom has been involved with the Do Gaming League as a sponsor since its inception in 2008, and says it has supported gaming in South Africa for over 10 years.
"Gaming has seen phenomenal growth over the past few years as players become ever more engaged. We already have more than four million gamers in South Africa. By professionalising the sport and developing new players, we can look forward to seeing more local talent compete on the same footing as international teams," says Johann Von Backstr"om from the DGL Management Company.
With the new league, Telkom says it will enable the entire gaming experience through a three tier offering, providing high-speed connectivity and local servers for gamers to play on. The new DGL league software will be provided to enable more participants across three tiers.
The first tier is for casual gaming competitions ? including schools and corporate casual leagues ? with the open division open to all.
The second is the DGL league for the best gamers in the country. Telkom says gamers can qualify through the open division, with promotion and relegation through different divisions from April to October.
Last is the DGL Masters programme, where South Africa's top eight MGOs are invited to compete online from April to October and in two regional LAN competitions. The final is planned for October.
The DGL is the largest online league in South Africa, says Telkom, with the largest player base and over 80% market share for e-sports, having hosted over 35 000 online matches since its inception in 2008. Around 6 000 gamers take part in the DGL. Locally, the gaming industry is estimated to be worth over R2 billion, making it a larger sector than both movies and music.
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