Kenan aka neXt, an up and coming Software Developer by profession but a Gamer at heart...
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.
I would mainly play the game alone with bots, buying Power Treads on every hero, until I finally branched off to playing online. It was rough, but an immense amount of fun. Then my internet became unstable and I was unable to play, and I stumbled across League of Legends, and ended up playing it for over a year. Early 2014, I came across a post of someone I recognized from High School, complaining about the abuse going on the DotA 2 South African server, and a conversation broke out and another fellow High school peer joined, and told me he can give me DotA 2.
That was the start of my journey of DotA 2 with Lyalle (L.y.L.y), accruing over 7000 in game hours of playing together. Sharing an incredible bond even outside of the game, we would constantly discuss the dream of participating in the e-sports scene of DotA 2, and being the ones holding the reigns. We would bounce from team to team, the two of us, until one day Marius (Marsman) reached out to us, saying they’re looking for two players of our caliber. The three of us became a solid unit, able to rely on each other, and our successes grew. Then Marius came down to Port Elizabeth, and the three of us grew closer and we knew, this is something solid. The talks of taking ownership and hosting our own e-sprots events started up again, but this time with Marius, and everything started taking shape.
Thus, began the venture that is known as KLM E Sports. We all share the same vision and goals, of what we would like to achieve in the South African market for E Sports. With the motivation and drive we possess, it is achievable. We as a team look forward to the future, the opportunities to build relations with potential sponsors, the growth we can bring to the South African players, and to the industry itself for the country. We have many ideas going forward, and we are excited to bring them to fruition, for the success of our venture, the success of our players, and the success of whoever comes on board to join us in sailing these seas.
P.S. – I’m probably still spooked by Chucky Cheese.