Looking back on 2021 and how we're carrying the momentum into 2022.
We're excited to announce that we are finally expanding into Middle East Africa.
Announcing our new divisions who will be Bringing the Bravado.
Bravado to build gaming facilities in Egypt, UAE and Saudi Arabia.
Introduction
Although it’s been a quiet past couple of months on the press side of things at Bravado Gaming, it’s been anything but quiet internally. With so many ideas and dreams being worked on by our incredibly hard-working team and the support and backing from our sponsors allowing us to innovate and explore new grounds, we are proud to announce that something massive has been in the works. We have been working tirelessly at possibly the biggest milestone ever set by Bravado Gaming since its inception in 2006, and have finally reached a point where we’d like to share it with you, but first, let’s take a look into the amazing year that was 2021.
Looking back on 2021
After many years of establishing our brand and making ourselves known worldwide as a leading Multi Gaming Organization from South Africa, we decided it was time to change things up a bit, so we did a rebranding. With our all new redesigned logo and various other rebranding efforts such as our new website, we look towards the future with hope of continuing Bravado’s past successes and paving the way for esports in the region.
This was obviously a big step for us as it forced us to look at things both retrospectively and introspectively. Through looking into our past, we discovered where we want Bravado to go and what we want it to stand for, which sets a narrative with a clear call to action. A story we want to tell in order to inspire individuals from all four corners of the earth.
In addition to the rebranding efforts, we developed our Headquarters facility in Johannesburg of which is the focal-point of the brand heading into the future, with state of the art technology and amenities in order to aid our regional operations and activities.
A big win for us in 2021 was getting verified on Twitter. Organic and fair growth is important to us and being able to reach this milestone while maintaining those principles gave us that motivation to keep doing what we’re doing and be the brand that represents Africa in esports. We also hosted the Red Bull Hit the Streets: Kumite Qualifiers as well as drove many other important initiatives such as the Gaming 4 Good initiatives through our content teams. These events, along with the victories we had in terms of performances in tournaments as well as integrating new members of the Bravado family made 2021 a year to remember.
Each and every year at the Bravado camp we try to reflect, adapt and improve on our footprint. Looking back on 2021 we continued to push the boundaries and accomplished a range of competitive, social and development goals. We have undergone some changes that were finally realized in 2021 and for me it will always be the birth year of the new Bravado. - Tristan Rens: General Manager of Bravado Gaming.
Carrying the momentum into 2022
Carrying the momentum from 2021 into 2022, some of the plans we have include the renewal with Alienware, Intel and Dell Gaming as the primary sponsors of Bravado Gaming. These household brands that are at the forefront of technology and gaming have helped enable Bravado to become what it is today and the story we continue to tell. This renewal is incredibly important to us as we get to continue working with sponsors that share the same vision as us, have been along with us for the journey through our highs and lows, and above all else, have the same passion for gaming and hunger for victory and success.
Along with the announcement that we will be re-signing with our primary sponsors, we will also be splitting ways with Dashfibre and a few teams, players and content creators of which we had previously announced through social media. We wish the best for everyone that was with us and have decided to take new routes and explore new grounds. It breaks our heart to be saying goodbye but we wish everyone that we are departing with all the best in their future endeavors and thank each and every one of them for being part of the Bravado family.
One of the biggest milestones was working towards and making Project Destiny a reality in 2018 with Alienware, Intel and Dell Gaming. Now, another milestone has been achieved with a vision and dream for Bravado finally coming to fruition after many years with the support of our sponsors. We’re ready to enter 2022 with full force as we begin a journey beyond boundaries in order to continue developing some of the best talent throughout the region while simultaneously integrating a culture that will develop a holistic call to action. We’re here to continue our legacy and most importantly, to continue telling inspiring stories. - Dimitri Hadjipaschali: COO and co-founder of Bravado Gaming.
Bravado enters Middle East Africa
The culture of Bravado Gaming is that of being the best version of yourself. We have lived by that tenet from day one, more than 15 years ago and it has brought us incredible success over the years, not only in competing in esports, but also developing minds and introducing people to a whole new world and way of thinking in the gaming and gamification eco-system. Bravado is about unleashing yourself and finding your true potential. Together with Alienware, Intel and Dell Gaming, we will be taking this call to action beyond the borders of just South Africa, by expanding Bravado Gaming and becoming the ambassadors for esports in select countries throughout Africa and the Middle East.
Throughout our history we have a common goal to represent our region on the world stages. From our rich history in CS:GO in which we attended DreamHack Winter in 2014 to “Project Destiny” in 2018 which saw us take an all South African roster to North America to compete against the top talent in the world, reaching heights of 2nd place at Dreamhack Winter Sweden and 1st place at the Dreamhack India 2018 Invitational. This story of success extends further to our Call of Duty and DOTA teams and all the other important stories that we have been able to tell with our rosters, players and campaigns, who together have helped etch the Bravado Gaming lifestyle in the hearts of gamers and the broader community alike.
Bravado Gaming will be expanding into a MEA multi-gaming and esports organization, representing 4 countries within this region.
This is an expansion that we’ve been working on for the past year which has finally come to fruition and we’re delighted to finally and officially make this announcement as we work hand-in-hand with our sponsors to further develop competitive and social gaming culture and serve as an inspiration to all gamers alike.
Introducing our Divisions
Valorant
For the first time in Bravado’s history, we will be getting into Valorant! We’ve decided to pick up a Valorant team primarily based in Egypt which will consist of 5 players and a coach. We’ve carefully developed a squad that is motivated and passionate to compete at the highest level possible.
Counter-strike: Global Offensive
Counter-Strike has always been a bread-and-butter division title in the Bravado legacy, especially after our success with Project Destiny 2018. We have bolstered some of the most talented players that have emerged from the region & represented Africa on the world stage while simultaneously developing our ecosystem with the goal of building champions. We’ve seen previous players of Bravado represent some very reputable international organizations such as Cloud 9 and Complexity. While we will be expanding into new regions and hosting home to new titles we’ll continue to build on the rich history of Bravado CS:GO. Being such an integral part of our legacy we have put emphasis on bringing together a squad of talented and hard-working players who all have a common goal in mind.
Fortnite
With Fortnite exploding into one of the most popular gaming and esports titles ever, we expanded into the division with relative success and have plans to pick up even more representatives. Our Fortnite roster will span across South Africa, Egypt, UAE and Saudi Arabia.
League of Legends
We have noticed the culture and the potential of the players and community in the Middle East as League of Legends continues to grow in popularity and has serious prospects with regards to expanding in the scene. While we haven’t confirmed our plans for a League of Legends squad, we are actively on the look-out for the top talent in the region whose goals and ambitions align with that of Bravado’s.
Rocket League
With the inclusion of Southern Africa in the RLCS circuit we have seen huge potential in the level of competition as well as the popularity of Rocket League in South Africa. We are excited and proud to continue to support and represent some of the best athletes that our region boasts.
FIFA and Fighting Games
Over the past few years we have built a strong connection to the FIFA and Fighting Games communities. We have seen huge potential not just in the talent of the players but in the culture of these titles and while we expand and broaden our horizons into the Middle East, we want to take an even more active role in the development of the culture in South Africa. We will continue to host home to some of the best FIFA, Tekken and Street Fighter players in the region.
Content Creators and Brand Ambassadors
While Bravado in its history has been a predominantly esports driven brand, we have spent the last few years building our content creator ecosystem. While there have been some changes over this time, we want to continue to develop this ecosystem under the Bravado banner. We have some exciting news as well as the intention to continue to develop and build on the content creator arm at Bravado.
It's finally time for MENA players to have the proper support, nourishment and leadership to help them tap into their full potentials and show the world how much talent there is here. Extremely looking forward to showcasing what we're capable of bringing to the table! - Ahmed Mosaad: MENA Division Lead at Bravado Gaming
Developing Bravado venues across the region
In addition to the exciting announcement around the expansion of our players and divisions, we’ll also be developing interactive venues in Egypt, UAE and Saudi Arabia. These venues will be kitted with state-of-the-art equipment to ensure that events, training and boot-camps are a flawless experience for our players and divisions. In addition to the venues we’ll be creating for our players, we’ll also be hosting a variety of public and private events. We hope to ease folks new to gaming and esports into the scene as well as provide great events and experiences for those that have been waiting for the opportunity to explore and share their passion.
Redefining Reality
In the ever changing environment that is the gaming and esports industry, there is only one factor that remains constant, change. Since the inception of Bravado Gaming, its core has been about a culture, a lifestyle and a reminder of our own inner strength and ability. This is why we have put such an emphasis on concurrently developing each and every ecosystem internal and external to our organization.
Being able to finally integrate our culture into the rest of the region with the help of our sponsors is a dream come true. We’re so excited to implement our determination on what social and competitive gaming really stands for. I believe that we have a unique way of telling stories that directly touch the hearts of being the best version of yourself and we want to ensure that we can Bring the Bravado to the masses as we develop our expansion plan. The amazing team at Bravado will work tirelessly to expand on this model and positive way of being, to social & competitive gamers, endemic and non-endemic brands, as well as various ecosystems as we believe that we are far more than just a team of gamers. We are a brand and a message that consistently works to instill a specific value to individuals alike, both inside and outside of the game. - Andreas Hadjipaschali: CEO and co-founder of Bravado Gaming
While we develop and maintain esports athletes and content creators alike, we have and will continue to focus on our community involvement. We do this through bringing members of the gaming and esports community together at some of the most innovative and ground-breaking gaming and technology events across the various regions to share our culture with the community. All with the holistic goal of creating stories through our campaigns, activities, players, coaches, managers and brand as a whole to inspire enthusiasts, social and competitive gamers across the globe.
Final thoughts
As we discussed before, one of the most important aspects of this expansion is the fact that the same sponsors we’ve had for years are going to join us on this journey into new grounds. We believe that the Middle East and Africa are regions filled with potential for greatness in gaming and esports. It’s time for us to push that narrative and uplift the future generation of greats from the Middle East and Africa, and who better to team up with than Alienware, Intel and Dell Gaming to make this venture a success. Be sure to stay up to date and follow our journey throughout the year and don’t forget to #bringthebravado :)
About Bravado Gaming
Bravado Gaming is a Middle East and African premier esports organization and gaming lifestyle brand serving home to some of the best competitive gamers throughout select countries in divisions such as CS:GO, Valorant, Fortnite, Rocket League, FIFA, Tekken, Street Fighter and a Content Creator team. Working with world leading brands Alienware, Intel and Dell Gaming, Bravado continues to grow from strength to strength as we work on continuously telling inspiring stories and developing all eco-systems of the gaming industry. Read more about Bravado Gaming here.
