Meet Team Gematrix: Zambia’s eSports and gaming team

Team Gematrix has become a familiar name in the gaming space in Zambia, but if you haven’t heard of them before here’s your chance to. I, on behalf of Techtrends Zambia (TTZ),  had a very interesting conversation with one of its founders Cholwe Shabukali about the team, what they’ve been up to, and what’s next for them:

TTZ: Who are Gematrix?

Cholwe: Team Gematrix is a Zambian professional electronic sports (eSports) team founded in March 2018 by Cholwe Shabukali and Prince Musole.

As founders we came together because of our passion of video-games and desire to grow a business in Electronic sports and create a global brand we can one day be proud of.

The team currently has 5 players signed under its name, 2 in the FIFA divisions and 3 in fighting games. Team Gematrix made its international debut at the Pro Series Gaming Tournament in Nairobi, Kenya (7th April 2018) and emerged as the African champions.

TTZ: Why was gaming important to you?

Cholwe: For Team Gematrix gaming is important to us because it’s not only a sporting activity, but also a way of life.

TTZ: What’s the latest?

Cholwe: Team Gematrix recently (3rd – 4th of August 2018) participated in the Evolution World Championship series (EVO, for short) in Las Vegas. EVO is the world’s largest and longest running fighting game tournament, having run for 13 years now. This year, it saw 11, 422 participants across all games and approximately 12, 000 event attendees over the EVO weekend. It’s considered the “world cup” in fighting games and is a must attend for the very best in the world. Our team was presented with the opportunity and we sponsored our very best player Justin Banda aka Mr. 5000. He put out a great performance for his first time and emerged 73rd out of 361 players in his tournament Injustice 2.

Team Gematrix is currently the first African eSports team to participate in the EVO world championship

TTZ: Is Zambia supporting the gaming sector?  

Cholwe: Unfortunately, the gaming sector receives little to no support.

TTZ: Where could one go if they are passionate about gaming, are there gaming communities you’d recommend online or locally?

Cholwe: Currently there are local communities such as Agora Code and Nerd Otaku; these communities exist for passionate gamers.

TTZ: Are you as Gematrix taking in more members and what are requirements?

Cholwe: Team Gematrix is currently not recruiting any new team members. However, when we start recruiting, we will issue an official call-out for applications with detailed requirements on our social media pages on Facebook and Twitter.

TTZ: What needs to be done to boost gaming sector as a source of (fun-but-serious) income?

Cholwe: Parties that are involved in the gaming sector should be formal, professional and start taking eSports or gaming as a business, in doing so, the gaming sector can be boosted and be a source of serious income.

TTZ: What’s next for the team?

Cholwe: For Team Gematrix the sky is the limit, we are excited and optimistic about our future.

Check them out on Facebook and Twitter here and here respectively.