Following the conclusion of Ghana’s Gamr X National Qualifiers, which were conducted on March 29 at the Otium Game Hub in Accra, the West African nation has chosen its representatives for the second edition of the continental esports showpiece.
34 gamers competed in the qualifiers, which were run by the Esports Association, Ghana (EAG), for the chance to represent their nation in either Mortal Kombat 11 (MK11) or FIFA 23 at the Pan-African tournament, which will be taking place in Lagos, Nigeria, in June 2023.
Nine of the 34 attendees took part in the highly anticipated MK11 qualifier. The event was highly anticipated not only because of the calibre of gamers competing, but also because the country’s first Gamr X representative, Mahadi “Assasin” Abubakar, impressed at the main event back in 2022, taking home the bronze medal after taking on ten of the continent’s best MK11 gamers.
And it would be Assasin’s sibling Babyfox of Gamers Republic who would beat out his competitors to secure his trip to Lagos, Nigeria. Babyfox would go undefeated throughout the qualifiers, defeating Gob the God and facing Mr. APK in an intense Grand Final battle. Babyfox discussed his Grand Final clash with Mr. APK in an exclusive chat with EAN.
“Before the match, I was very nervous, but then once I was locked in and started playing, it just flowed easily; I think that is what helped calm my nerves. He is a very aggressive player and I tried my best to stay away and it worked.”
When asked if he thought he could improve or even match his brother’s performance at the main event in June, Babyfox said, “I try not to put too much pressure on myself, so even if I do bad, I won’t feel horrible, but I think I will do well; top 4 at the very least is okay.”
Babyfox will be joined in Nigeria by FIFA 23 gamer Wisemars of Ruutz Africa, who came back from the losers bracket to beat the undefeated Pretty Boy Dells of PlayProvince twice to earn a spot in the continental tournament. The first leg of the Grand Final would end in a draw at the end of 120 minutes, with the dreaded penalty shootout next, in which Wisemars would come out on top. The second and final leg would see the Ruutz Africa player take an early lead and maintain it till the end of the 90 to secure his victory.
Speaking after his victory, Wisemars said, “I will say the second leg was a bit of luck, but it’s FIFA, it’s a game, anything can happen, but the first leg I really dominated the game. We shouldn’t have gone to pens, but we take it and into Nigeria we go.”
The 2023 edition of Gamr X which is set to be held in Lagos City in June 2023 is expected to see a larger turnout than the first, which featured five game titles and competitors from ten different African nations, including Ghana, Senegal, Tanzania, Kenya, Algeria, Cameroon, South Africa, the Ivory Coast, and hosts Nigeria. This year’s event will see eight more African countries join the original ten.