It was a warm Saturday evening in Cape Town. Inside the Bellville Velodrome, loud cheers echoed through the dome. Rows of glowing monitors lit up the space and the rapid clicks of keyboards filled the air. Gamers were locked onto their screens, faces set in intense focus. This was the atmosphere at Red Bull Locked In, a 48-hour gaming marathon.
Gaming fans were treated to Red Bull Locked In, an electric gaming tournament that saw four teams and 120 players locked in for 48 hours to prove they were the ultimate Apex Legends team on LAN (Local Area Network). A LAN set-up brought everyone into the same space, linking consoles and computers through a local network for the fastest possible gameplay.
The competition featured four prominent South African gaming personalities as team captains. Leading Team Red was Bish (Julia Robson) — the sole female captain in the line-up — while Skarra (Collins Manyame) took the helm for Team Silver. Rounding out the roster were HenricoM (Henrico Morton) for Team Blue and Binkz (Tyler August) for Team Yellow.
Selecting the right teammates was no small feat. Captains carefully vetted online applications, looking for the specific competitive edge needed to survive a 48-hour LAN marathon.
“I did look at skill. Of course, I am naturally competitive,” said Skarra. “I love to win. But also at the same time, it’s also about having fun and making sure that you bring a good vibe to the team.
“It was also kind of looking into that and making sure that the people that are on my team kind of have a good vibe to them. They also know that it’s not always about winning and even if you’re losing, you can still have fun.”
Binkz said many of the participants were familiar to the organisers through their streaming communities.
“When the signups opened we told everyone to register, so a lot of people we knew joined,” he said. Team selections were based partly on chemistry and familiarity but also on giving players the chance to meet, mingle and make new friends. “That’s the point of the LAN.”
Beds lined the side of the stage, giving players a place to rest during the 48-hour marathon. The set-up recreated the nostalgic “LAN party” culture of early gaming, where players would spend entire weekends gaming, sleeping and competing in the same space.
“The ‘bed’ aspect for people that don’t know is that when it comes to LAN, you always want to make sure that you at least have a place to sleep and you know you have some place to rest,” Skarra said.
“It’s not always just about straight gaming. Some people enjoy gaming through the night but with an event like this, where we know there’s going to be an intense schedule coming through, I try to advise the players that: ‘Hey, you know, we want to have fun but there has to be a cut-off time. Try to get some rest, get yourself refreshed for the morning.’”
Gaming professionally is not something Bish, the captain leading Team Red, thought she would do.
“I did not know I was going to do this competitively but I used to come to the Bellville Velodrome for a 1000 man OC lands and that kind of ignited it,” she said. “At the age of 16, I really found my groove in this space. I knew I wanted to pursue Twitch streaming and see where it took me but I had no idea where we’re going to be today.”
On being the sole female captain, Bish said she hoped to motivate more girls to play.
“I’m happy to represent. I grew up in this space and it’s nice to see more girls here as well. There’s girls in every team. If anything, this might just motivate more girls to play Apex and video games. Though we are few, we are mighty!”
Red Bull Locked In became even more competitive between the four captains when teams were offered various competitive elements that included friendly “sabotage” to give their teams an edge.
“Red Bull sort of initiated and allowed us to have little perks that can kind of give us a competitive advantage,” said Skarra. “And one of the players or one of the team captains actually played a card that had to force one of the team captains to switch what inputs they played with.
“One of the team captains plays with a mouse and keyboard. They had to switch to play with a controller. It’s little things like that where you’re put into a sort of unfamiliar water and territory that sometimes can affect how your game goes,” said Skarra.
There’s no malice. “You know, we love each other, [we’re] all great friends at the end of the day but we know once it’s time to lock into the server, we have got to do what we can to win. And that’s been the beauty of it. We can still have fun outside the lobby but inside, you know, we go all out and see who has the best gamers.”
Bragging rights were on the line for Team Yellow captain leader Binkz.
“Just for some context, we had another interview. And then in that interview, we were asked: ‘Do you have anything to say to your captains’. I told him: ‘It’s going to suck if you guys lose to me. It’s going to suck,’” Binkz giggled. “We are in the lead at the moment and there’s one more game to play. They are never going to hear the end of it.”
Several key strategies become far more critical when playing Apex Legends in a LAN environment compared to standard online matches. For Bish and Skarra, communication was key.
“Get to know your teammates, make friends, communication is unfortunately key, so you’re gonna have to be screaming into your mic if you can’t hear each other but that is definitely the best way to go,” Bish said.
Skarra said winning came down to two key things: communication and controlling the map. Being in the right position allowed a team to anticipate enemy movements and defend effectively, while clear communication ensured players knew when to attack, hold back or retreat.
In a LAN setting, where anything could happen, he said, the skills were even more important because every team started on an equal footing.
Heading into the final two games, the tension was palpable. Team Yellow held a commanding lead at the top of the scoreboard, followed closely by Team Blue. Team Silver sat in third, while Team Red found themselves at the bottom of the rankings.
“At the moment, we’re currently third out of four, which you’d think is bad but we’re actually one point behind second and 20 points behind first,” Skarra said. “And with the point system that is very close.
“We also have an advantage going into the last game where we get double points for whatever we earn, meaning there is a good chance that we can also pull ahead both in this next game and in the last. I’m still feeling very confident.”
Team Silver pulled off an incredible comeback. In a stunning upset, the team charged from third place in the final moments to snatch the Red Bull Locked In title.
Skarra was over the moon. “It’s very hard to describe what I feel right now because in our celebrations, I literally almost passed out on the stage but it is just genuinely a surreal feeling and something that I’m so blessed to be able to experience.”
On how Team Silver managed to get themselves out of third place to being the champions, the captain said it was all strategy.
“I stayed up till 3am the previous day just trying to strategise how we’re going to approach every single game mode and then on top of that, I just made sure that throughout, encouraging the guys that: Listen, it’s okay we might be in third place but at the end of the day, I’m still proud of you.’”
After the win, the captain shared a message for the next generation, encouraging young players to embrace their passion for gaming with pride and urging them to never feel discouraged by the stigma of being a gamer.
“To the upcoming young gamers, one thing I have to say to you is: ‘Don’t feel ashamed that you’re a gamer. There was a point where if you were told you’re a gamer, you were always seen as a nerd. You couldn’t really have fun. Gaming is cool now so, you can be a gamer, you can have fun. But also, you can experience moments like this. The most important thing is just realising that whenever you’re gaming, it doesn’t just have to be in front of your screen.
“‘You can be in person and you can live and love that moment. You meet new people and right now I’ve met 30 different new people and it’s just going to be something that I’m going to hold for the rest of my life.’”
The journalist’s trip to Cape Town was sponsored by Red Bull South Africa.