OUR STORies
Lyalle Windvogel
aka L.y.Ly,
I graduated from the Nelson Mandela University in 2015, thereafter I was enrolled as a practising attorney in 2017 with right of appearance in the High Court of South Africa. However, those who have been able to identify my true passion in life, will tell you that I am, and always will be a gamer by heart.
I have captained Dopamine Gaming (which was established in December 2020), brought together with my partners at KLM, neXt with whom I have amassed 7000 in game hours with, and Marsman, with 4000 hours.
Kenan Damons
aka neXt,
I grew up in a different continent, on the other side of the world, that being America. I was quite a shy individual, and unsure of myself. When Chucky, the Chucky Cheeses mascot (A guy dressed as Chucky Cheese, a mouse) would come to the food tables to say hi to all the kids, I was so frightened of him I would hide under the table until he left.
It all changed when our dad bought my brother and I a SNES. I was able to relate to my fellow peers in school, who were also playing games. Then the PlayStation 1 rolled out, as well as my self-confidence. I was still spooked by Chucky Cheese, but I was socializing and feeling comfortable around others a lot more. Casual gaming over the years, until my brother brought home a friend who introduced me to DotA, a custom mod map in Warcraft 3, thus began the journey.
Marius Erasmus
aka Marsman,
My parents got divorced when I was very young. I struggled to be socially more active with other kids because I felt like I was inferior to them. I think a lot of kids today and people can relate. So I didn’t like talking to people at all when I was young and my mother decided to get me a playstation 2 when I was 7. I didn’t even know what it was but since that day my life changed completely. I found a subject I can talk to with other kids and I got interactive in the real world as well.
The start of our adventure starts out as general conversation between two gamers, which leads to a discussion about our greatest passions in this life, and what our hopes and dreams are, finally with a third -like minded- member joining our discussion, KLM E-Sports was born from humble beginnings.
Created by Lyalle Windvogel, Kenan Damons, and Marius Erasmus, KLM E-Sports was established in February 2021, our vision is to further E-Sports in South Africa, to provide a professional platform for players, teams, casters and stakeholders alike to showcase their unrealized talents within our community. We aim to provide the foundation upon which aspiring DOTA 2 players will thrive, while uplifting the community in its entirety by providing stakeholders and all interested parties the opportunity to invest and sponsor our already buzzing community through KLM.
Together we have competed in numerous online tournaments, as of March 2021- amassed more than 30 000 hours of game time, collectively. As a result thereof, we have been able to identify areas in the South African gaming community which requires improvement. KLM seeks to achieve the enhancement of player experience, improving the viewing quality for the avid DOTA 2 supporter and host tournaments that the community may be proud of.
Apart from being gamers, individually we specialize in the day-to-day corporate trade, described briefly below: -
Lyalle is a practicing attorney by profession since 2017 after graduating in 2015, with right of appearance in the High Court of South Africa. Marius, the youngest of the three of us, is on his way to becoming a Chartered Accountant, currently working in the auditing field as well as rounding up his studies. Kenan, after years of being in the working world, has left to pursue a qualification in Software Development.
Internationally, the professional DOTA 2 scene has seen rise in popularity amongst its competitors, “The International” DOTA 2 (2019) tournament hosted by Valve Corporation currently holds the record for the biggest prize pool in E-Sports history reaching over $39 Million.
Our business model is focused on realizing the ever- growing interest towards E-Sports. We are constantly growing, and each day our drive increases, we become more cohesive and more efficient. We achieve this by constantly discussing ideas and plans, refining current systems, and solidifying our partnership.
At this juncture, all our focus and attention is focused on DOTA 2, however, one of our long-term goals is to include more games into our practice. Our dream is to be an internationally recognized E-Sports brand, and for this to be realized, our establishment will grow, and with the growth we will expand to include our communities’ favourite games which are played competitively.
Our goals are clear, and most importantly, shared amongst the KLM team.
The progression of the South African gaming community is paramount, how we will measure our success in the future is entirely dependent on whether we have had a positive and ever-lasting impact to the community.
KLM will host multiple, successful events with cash prize pools for winners, runner ups, and community participants (endorsing those who wish to join the community as a broadcasting team).
As a recognized brand, our aim will be to attain multiple sponsorships to aid in the creation of a fully developed e-sports community in South Africa. This will allow us to host events with large prize pools, to become internationally recognized, and subsequently open the doors for us to expand into other games apart from DotA 2.
Our mission is to become the country recognized brand for E-Sports. A platform for players to shine, whether in game as a player, or a broadcaster, a medium for businesses to invest in the scene of E-Sports, and to provide a pleasurable spectators experience.
ABOUT US
