Can you believe it? We just wrapped up Comic Con Africa to some rather astounding success and just two days later we have the Vodacom rAge Expo kicking off. If you don’t know what is going down at this year’s rAge expo then this guide is for you. We have put together a comprehensive guide to the show this year.
RELATED: Comic Con Africa Would Have Been Nothing Without the South African Community
Vodacom rAge Expo 2019 Dates and Times
- When:
- Friday 27 September – 10h00-18h00
- Saturday 28 September – 09h00-18h00
- Sunday 29 September – 09h00-16h00
- Where: Ticket Pro Dome, Northgate
- Cost: R160 per day ticket / R320 weekend pass (online or available at the door)
Check out the floor plan for rAge expo 2019 down below along with some of the highlights of the show.
Esports at rAge 2019
Let’s get this out of the way first before we get to the activities and shops at the rAge expo 2019. There will be a load of esports competitions going down at the show this year including the ASUS ROG Invitational as well an ATK Arena.
ASUS ROG Invitational
South Africa’ds CSGO elite and the nation’s top qualifying teams are competing for R150,000 in the ROG Invitational. The tournament is taking place throughout the weekend and you can check out the times and schedule here and well as watch the games live on Twitch.
ATK Arena
BMW has partnered with the ATK arena to sponsor prizes for the weekend’s Sim Racing Hotlaps. Prizes include VIP tickets to M-Fest, BMW merch, and a BMW Driving Experience.
Guests can also participate in 2 vs 2 CS: GO competitions against two of SA’s top players for a chance to win even more prizes.
ElectronicSport.Africa
ElectronicSport.Africa (ESA) plans to launch Africa’s definitive online esports platform at rAge this year. The platform will enable users to play and compete in various popular online games, virtual drone racing and robotic tournaments in SA. The platform will allow users to use the social tool available to create their own organizations, teams and profiles.
Evetech and MSI
Evetech and MSI will be hosting its first charity gaming event at the Vodacom rAge expo this year. The Hero Charity Cup has been created to help the Seeds of Africa. This organization was started to empower early childhood development in previously disadvantaged communities in SA.
The tournament will see 24 of South Africa’s finest gaming and tech influencers battling it out on the Evetech and MSI main stage. GLITCHED will be represented during this tournament as I will be competing in the battles.
Meet Bravado
Bravado Gaming will be at the Incredible Connection stand on Saturday from 2-3 pm. The first 500 people will get a lucky packet and everyone will go into the draw to win a Dell G3 gaming laptop or 10 Bravado Gaming Experiences (we have no idea what this is).
MWEB/ACGL
Every day of rAge 2019, the MWEB and ACGL stand will be hosting a series of King of the Hill tournaments for Mortal Kombat 11, Fortnite and PES eFootball 2020. Winners of the tournaments will win an ASTRO A40 headset.
PUBG Mobile Africa/ Tencent Africa
PUBG Mobile will be hosting a special international esports guest Paul “Redeye” Chaloner as he chats about mobile and esports in Africa. You can meet him on Saturday, 28 September on the main stage
Red Bull
The Red Bull Hit the Streets for Streetfighter V will be taking place at the rAge expo 2019. The winner of the national final will receive an all-expenses-paid trip to compete at the Red Bull Kumite last chance qualifier. This is not an open tournament but you will be able to catch some of the matches during the weekend
Vodacom
The Vodacom rAge PUBG Tournament is one of the biggest planned for the show. It is open to everyone and registration is simple. Head over to the Vodacom stand and sign up while you are waiting in line to play. Players get the chance to score as many points as they can in a single game of PUBG and can play as many rounds as they want over the course of the weekend. Your best score of the show will be logged.
Missed out on rAge 2018? Check out what went down below;
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Activities
Esports aside, rAge has its fair share of awesome things to see, play and do during the weekend. From the awesome new World Robotics Olympiad all the way to flying around as Tony Stark in Iron Man VR. Take a look at some of the highlights of the show;
World Robotics Olympiad South Africa (WRO SA)
The finals of the World Robotics Olympia SA provincial events will be taking place over the weekend. Attendees can watch the teams battle it out using their robotic creations.
The tournament includes a range of categories from 6-12 years, all the way to 16-19 years old competitors. Each day every team have to rebuild their robots from scratch without any instructions. The robot has specific dimensions it needs to adhere to before heading off into a range of matches.
These matches include football where 2 robots kick balls around using infra-red ball seekers and a compass sensor; a solution-themed match where teams have to do a presentation on their idea/project; and an advanced robotic category.
Acer Predator
Acer will be showcasing its extensive Predator gaming range at the show this year in what we predict will be the most stylish stand at the show. Competitions will be running and guests will be able to sign up for Apex Legends and Fortnite tournaments to stand a chance to win some cool Predator gaming swag.
Apex Interactive
Try out some X-Gamer energy drink while testing out the latest Razer hardware and accessories. Apex Interactive will also have Trust Gaming, PDP Gaming and Turtle Beach on the show for users to get hands-on with.
Artist Alley
The awesome Artist Alley returns for another fantastic year of local artists, custom-designed merchandise, cosplay accessories, blades and much, much more.
DOOM Eternal at rAge
You can stand a chance to win a DOOM Eternal Collector’s Edition valued at R3,999. Head over to the PlayStation stand and take a photo at the DOOM activation. Tag @PlayStation_SA and use #DOOMEternal #DOOMatrAge to enter to win the pack.
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Cosplay
The Vodacom 4U Cosplay Contest will take place on the Cosplay Stage on Sunday afternoon. Categories and prizes range from R15,000 and a 3D figurine printed of the winner.
Evetech and MSI stand
Apart from the Hero Charity Cup, Evetech and MSI will also be hosting some fantastic PC gaming at the show. Expect the stand to show off some of the latest tech from Atec, Corsair and Hikvision.
Hawkeye Arrow Tag
R20 gets you a game of Hawkeye Arrow Tag as you stand a chance to win an archery set valued at R650.
KOODOO and PlayStation SA
Need a gaming fix, PlayStation South Africa will be showcasing a range of awesome gaming merch at the KOODOO stand where guests can purchase Marvel, DC, Harry Potter and other merchandise.
PlayStation SA will also have a range of games on show too including Marvel’s Iron Man VR, Beat Sabre, FIFA 20, MediEvil, Concrete Genie, Nioh 2, Dreams and much more.
Playinc
Playinc and Table Realms in partnership with the Nexus Hub will be hosting a Treasure Quest for geeky loot. Visit Playinc at the Vodacom stand to start your quest and you can earn figurines, key chains, plushies and much more. There will be 20 QR codes hidden around the venue for you to scan with the Table Realms app which in turn rewards you will awesome loot.
Find all 20 codes and you can stand a chance to win the ultimate Legendary Loot prize.
Prima Interactive
Have not gotten your hands on Borderlands 3, FIFA 20 or Gears 5 yet? Prima Interactive will have them all on show for you to loot, kick a ball and blow some Swarm apart.
Seagate
Seagate will be hosting unique console and PC experience live demos during the show where they will showcase some of the best tech for your gaming needs. You will also be able to meet Mete Ozbey who travelled all the way from Turkey.
What are you going to get up to at the Vodacom rAge Expo 2019? Let us know down below.
