The Carry1st Africa Cup will bring together the continent’s top players and teams from Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, Morocco, Nigeria and South Africa in competition for a $15,000 prize pool. Following qualifying rounds, the surviving teams will gather in-person for a dramatic final showdown. The tournament will also award $1,000 to the Most Valuable Player (MVP) in the grand finals, with MVP prizes available across all regional matches.
Africa's esports scene is experiencing rapid growth, driven by the continent's growing young population. With over 60% of Africans aged under 25, there is immense appetite for and rising participation in competitive gaming, especially on mobile devices. As smartphones become more prevalent, the need for expensive hardware and high-speed internet to compete at the highest levels is fading away.
To meet this growing demand, the ecosystem is evolving to provide gamers with an elevated experience. Carry1st, which develops, licences, publishes and monetizes games on the continent, recently partnered with Call of Duty: Mobile to deploy dedicated servers in Nigeria and South Africa for this growing community. The Carry1st Africa Cup signals the bright future of esports in Africa, amidst the backdrop of a burgeoning gaming market expected to surpass $1 billion this year.
Carry1st CEO and Co-Founder Cordel Robbin-Coker comments “Carry1st Africa Cup is a realization of our vision of uniting the continent's gamers and reflects our broader mission to enhance gaming experiences in Africa. We're excited to bring together Call of Duty: Mobile teams from major gaming hubs like Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, Morocco, Nigeria and South Africa. We're proud to play our part in this booming esports ecosystem that will only continue to grow across the continent."
"Having laid the groundwork with the successful launch of COD:M servers in Nigeria and South Africa, we are excited to take the next step by bringing competitive gaming to the forefront. The Cup is set to be an exhilarating celebration of African gaming talent, and we can't wait to witness the action unfold," adds Guillaume Noé, VP of Growth at Carry1st.
In addition to the fierce competition on the virtual battlefield, participants can also look forward to yet-to-be-announced performances from the continent’s biggest musical artists and a hub of gaming entertainment for fans.
How to Enter
Registration for the Carry1st Africa Cup will open on Monday 27th May via the Carry1st website.
Teams must consist of a minimum of 5 players, and the competition is open to amateur and professional gamers alike. Participants from across the continent will compete using Call of Duty: Mobile's multiplayer functionality. Upon registration, players will receive special lobby codes for their matches, granting them access to exclusive gaming lobbies where they will face off against other teams to compete for a spot in the finals and to win the Cup.
The qualification stages are expected to run throughout June and July, which will culminate in the tournament’s finals, set to take place in August 2024, with regional champions taking part. Carry1st will support any travel arrangements for teams unable to travel for the finals, ensuring that all qualifying teams can participate.
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About Carry1st
Carry1st is Africa’s leading publisher of games and digital content. Its mission is to scale awesome content in frontier markets by solving hard problems. Carry1st develops, licenses, and publishes games and monetizes them effectively with Pay1st, a proprietary payments and online marketplace, the Carry1st Shop, to better monetize content in the region. The company has scaled games such as Call of Duty®: Mobile, Mine Rescue, and SpongeBob: Krusty Cook-Off. Founded in 2018, the company is backed by Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), BITKRAFT, Google, and Riot Games.