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South Africa’s Top Gamers Crowned at 2025 MTN SHIFT Gaming Grand Finals at Canal Walk

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Massive wins, standout talent and a showdown wrapped up five months of fierce competition across the country.

After months of qualifiers and regional heats at eight Hyprop malls across South Africa, the MTN SHIFT Gaming Experience reached its electrifying conclusion at Canal Walk Shopping Centre. With hundreds of spectators and players packing the gaming arena, the national finals brought the heat and crowned South Africa’s best in EAFC 25™, Beat Saber, Call of Duty and more.

In the EAFC National Final, Hamza Moosa (17) from Sandton, proved why he’s one of the country’s most exciting young talents. A professional esports player for Goliath Gaming, Moosa outplayed the competition to take top honours. A familiar name on the international stage, he recently represented South Africa at the Esports World Cup qualifier in Saudi Arabia. Hamza left the MTN SHIFT Gaming national finals with prize money of R25000.

Beat Saber fans saw a fast-paced, high-score battle won by Michael Prange (17) from Pretoria and Garsfontein High School. Ranked #2 nationally, Prange is also a two-time Beat Saber World Cup competitor and has helped shape South Africa’s competitive VR rhythm community through coaching, mentorship, and global participation. As the 2025 MTN SHIFT Gaming Beat Saber national champion, Michael won a Gaming PC valued at R50000.

In the schools division, Ridhaa April, 15, from Cape Town’s Southern Suburbs, took the EAFC title. A prodigious talent who’s been competing since the age of 12, Ridhaa plays professionally for Goliath Gaming and already holds multiple top finishes, including 1st place at the 2025 ASL.

In the Rocket League school tournament, Curro took top spot, followed by Edgemead High in second place.

Meanwhile, Call of Duty Mobile closed out the finals with serious intensity as returning champions Nixuh held onto their title. The dominant team of Magicz (Raees Ismail), Adnaan (Adnaan Bhamjee), Raz (Rahil Bux) and Enigma (Jameen Essa) walked away with a R30 000 cash prize.

“The atmosphere at this year’s finals was absolutely electric,” said Vanessa Herbst, Marketing Manager at Canal Walk Shopping Centre. “The level of skill on display was unreal, and the crowd brought their energy every day. The bar has been set very high for the 2026 edition.”

The MTN SHIFT Gaming Experience is South Africa’s biggest mall-based gaming tournament, played over five months across Gauteng and the Western Cape. Regional heats were hosted at Rosebank Mall, Clearwater Mall, The Glen, Woodlands, Table Bay Mall, Somerset Mall and Capegate Shopping Centre, with the final week of competition culminating at Canal Walk. The tournament drew thousands of players across all skill levels, offering more than R250 000 in prizes and a platform to compete in front of live audiences.

“The SHIFT Gaming Experience is about bringing high-level competition into public spaces and giving players of all ages the opportunity to compete, connect and grow,” said Christie Stanbridge, Brand and Campaigns Marketing Manager at Hyprop. “From pros representing South Africa on global stages to young players discovering their potential, far more than being entertaining, this year highlighted gaming as a space for learning, discipline and community.”

With the 2025 tournament wrapped, planning is already underway for an even bigger return in 2026.

The post South Africa’s Top Gamers Crowned at 2025 MTN SHIFT Gaming Grand Finals at Canal Walk appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.

Africa

Bede Gaming’s Latest Sunbet Expansion Delivers iGaming Platform to Namibia

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Launch adds sports, slots and live casino, with integrations including Kambi and Evolution.

Sunbet, the digital gaming arm of Sun International, has launched in Namibia using an “internationally configurable” platform supplied by Bede Gaming. The rollout marks Sunbet’s latest African market expansion with the technology partner.

Bede said the Namibia deployment mirrors Sunbet’s other African markets, covering sports, slots and live casino. The platform includes integrations with Kambi, Evolution, Habenero and Pariplay.

Operationally, Bede said Sunbet will also use its partnership with Xtremepush to access CRM tooling aimed at supporting acquisition and retention.

Bede and Sunbet have worked together since 2017. Bede said that after slot regulation changed in South Africa in 2022, Sunbet expanded its digital product line-up, followed by a Botswana launch in 2024. Bede cited H2 2025 Botswana results of 189% growth in registrations, 239% growth in unique players, and increases of 370% in total wagering and 350% in Gross Gaming Revenue (GGR).

Kirsty Stewart, Chief Legal & Client Success Officer at Bede, said: “It’s been wonderful to continue fostering our ongoing partnership with Sunbet, including the delivery of their two global expansions over these last couple of years. There’s a lot to be proud of within this customer relationship, and we’re looking forward to building on the outstanding performance we’ve witnessed so far. I’m eager to continue offering a strong foundation, exceptional service and powerful integration suite for Sun’s future growth.”

Simon Gregory, Chief Executive Officer at Sunbet, said: “Sun International is a well respected and trusted brand in Africa, so Sunbet’s intention was always to leverage this good will by expanding into other African markets. We experienced significant success after our debut in Botswana, so rolling out Sunbet to the Namibian market was the natural next step for us, especially given that Namibia is one of South Africa’s strongest trading partners.

“We are equally confident that with Bede, we have the right partner to achieve our regional expansion strategy. Their platform offers the digital flexibility and stability we need to efficiently enter new markets while living up to Sunbet’s promise to deliver a high-quality experience for players.

“We look forward to building a strong presence in Namibia and bringing the same trusted Sunbet experience that customers have come to expect across our other markets.”

The post Bede Gaming’s Latest Sunbet Expansion Delivers iGaming Platform to Namibia appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.

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Alea adds FAZI games via single API aggregation deal

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Nearly 300 FAZI titles will roll into Alea’s operator network as the aggregator targets regulated growth in Latin America, Africa and Europe.

Alea has signed a content partnership with casino game provider FAZI that will see FAZI’s portfolio of nearly 300 games distributed to Alea’s global operator network via a single API integration.

Alea said the agreement supports its expansion across regulated markets in Latin America, Africa, and Europe. The integration adds FAZI content to Alea’s aggregation platform, allowing operators to access the games through the same connection they use for other suppliers.

Titles highlighted in the launch line-up include Wild Hot 40, Golden Crown, Wild Hot 40 Free Spins, Very Hot 5, and Wild Hot 40 Blow.

“We’re happy to welcome FAZI to the Alea platform,” said Eduard Verdaguer, Partnerships Manager at Alea. “They have a strong portfolio with games that already perform well in different markets, and we’re looking forward to making their content available to our operators.”

“Alea’s strong operator network makes them a valuable partner in scaling our distribution globally,” said Bojan Mitic, CEO of FAZI. “This collaboration allows us to reach new markets more efficiently and strengthen our position across key regions.”

The post Alea adds FAZI games via single API aggregation deal appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.

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MozzartBet is Live on Fast Track’s AI-native CRM Platform

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MozzartBet, one of South-East Europe’s largest sports betting and gaming operators, has gone live with Fast Track CRM platform, rolling out the platform across its brands in the Balkans, Romania and Africa.

MozzartBet operates across a range of regulated markets, with brands in Serbia, Bosnia, Croatia, Romania, Malta, Kenya and Nigeria. The launch is the next step in MozzartBet’s player engagement strategy, as the operator continues to scale its multi-market presence and deepen the experience it delivers across its brands.

“We have been genuinely impressed with Fast Track from day one. Their team understood our operation, our markets, and what we needed to achieve – and the platform has lived up to it. Our CRM team is already running campaigns in ways we could not before, across all of our markets, and we are excited about what this partnership will let us build for our players going forward,” said Nemanja Savkovic, COO at MozzartBet.

The launch gives MozzartBet’s team a single real-time customer model across its brands, alongside Fast Track AI – the platform’s natural-language and agentic-workflow capabilities, which let operators interact with the platform conversationally and delegate end-to-end CRM tasks to AI agents.

“What MozzartBet have built across the Balkans and Africa is genuinely impressive. We are deeply aligned with their vision for where they are going, and we will continue to do everything we can to help them see that vision through,” said Simon Lidzén, Co-Founder and CEO of Fast Track.

The post MozzartBet is Live on Fast Track’s AI-native CRM Platform appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.

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