With the rise in mobile gaming’s popularity, companies are investing in making premium gaming more accessible. Christiano Ramos has already carved his name into mobile gaming history as one of South Africa’s best players.
At the moment around one out of every five smartphone users in Africa is playing some form of connected mobile game. That’s according to Statista analysis. The same report projects the continent’s revenue from mobile games to swell to $2.16 billion by the end of this year and hit $3 billion per year by 2027.
Companies such as Carry1st are investing tons of cash to make the premium games more accessible and delivered a local Call of Duty: Mobile (CODM) server in South Africa in 2022. To celebrate – and encourage more sign-ups, the company hosted a CODM tournament with one of the richest prize pools the continent has ever seen. Christiano Ramos (simply Tiano or DaddyTiano to his online adversaries) took home the main prize that day and is considered one of the best players in South Africa.
How did you get your start in in gaming scene, and how did you know you were good enough to compete for cash prizes?
I have always been a fanboy of the Call of Duty and FIFA franchises. October 2019 comes around and with the release of Call of Duty: Mobile, it definitely piqued my interest to try out the game. The evening of 11 October 2019, African Cyber Gaming League hosted the very first South African online CODM tournament, being a 2v2 Search & Destroy only. 68 teams participated, and 4 hours later we ended up champions and bagging a R1 000 cash prize, and the rest is history.
Which phone are you using for gaming and what would you recommend for someone who is starting out?
My current gaming phone is the ZTE Nubia REDMAGIC 8 Pro. These flagship gaming phones are hard to come by as most of them have to be imported. So one should always focus on getting a suitable device with the following features: display size of 6.8 inches, AMOLED display with a refresh rate up to 120 Hz, good touch sampling rate, a good cooling system, a good chipset (CPU and GPU), good RAM (8 GB+) and ROM (128 GB+) and a good battery size (5 000 mAh+).
That’s flagship territory… Anything we can get on shelf here that you could steer us to?
Some local recommendations of Android devices: ASUS ROG Phone 6, Samsung Galaxy S23 series as they are packing the powerful Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2. As for the iOS devices: the iPhone 12 Pro and above as they have the 120 Hz adaptive-refresh-rate display.
Are you seeing more corporate financial support?
Yes, definitely: Companies such as African Cyber Gaming League and Mettlestate host weekly online cash tournaments. In 2022, Carry1st ran a three-month CODM campaign where they hosted numerous shopping-mall activations in South Africa with cash and prizes. Carry1st also collaborated with South African rapper Nasty C, where they hosted the Ivyson Gaming CODM Tournament, the first major cash LAN event at Emperors Palace.
What kind of prizes are on offer for mobile gamers?
African Cyber Gaming League and Mettlestate offer cash prizes for mobile gamers ranging anywhere between R100 to R1 000 per tournament or daily cup. We are currently busy with Mobile Mayhem Season 3 and our prize pools for these international tournaments are anywhere between $500 to $1 000.
How do you train? Only playing, or do you work out physically?
Being a full-time businessman, husband and father, my training and competing time is limited when compared to others. However, thanks to the endless support from my wife Jami and good time management, I make it work. I represent and play for a team called CAST Esports, we ‘scrim’ (practise online) Monday to Friday between 21:00 and 23:00, and online tournaments vary between weekdays and weekends. I do not work out physically, but I do believe in getting enough sleep, eating well and staying hydrated, as it will all factor into your performance come game day.
Do you have to buy upgrades to progress through the ranks?
With regard to CODM there are in-game transactions where a player purchases CP (COD Points), to boost the progress and experience for the player. CODM has ‘Mythic’ weapons, which are a rare skin with a custom iron sight that can be applied to a gun. They are highly sought after and are considered P2W (pay to win).
Words by: Joanne Carew @littlecarew
Photography: Supplied
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