A twelve-year-old won the Keyboard Rebuild Challenge. A sixteen-year-old finished third in EA FC 26. And Imran Vallie, 22, is now one step closer to the R50,000 Canal Walk National Finals after claiming the EA FC 26 Mall Final title at Table Bay Mall in a weekend that demonstrated more clearly than any previous MTN SHIFT leg, that South Africa’s gaming talent runs deep, runs young, and runs across every age group simultaneously.
The MTN SHIFT Gaming Experience arrived at Table Bay Mall for one of its most competitive weekends of the 2026 season, drawing gamers from across the Western Cape to compete across EA FC 26, Beat Saber, the Fighting Cup titles, the Toyota Gaming Engine Fastest Lap challenge, the Keyboard Rebuild Race, and the Subway Surf Challenge. When the final results were confirmed, new champions had been crowned in every category and the race to the Canal Walk National Finals had become significantly more interesting.
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The Table Bay Mall winners are:
EA FC 26™
1st: Imran Vallie (22) – R2 500 Table Bay Mall gift card and qualification for the Canal Walk Final
2nd: Athenkosi Duva (28) – R1 500 Table Bay Mall gift card
3rd: Joshua Gamaroff (16) – R1 000 Table Bay Mall gift card
Beat Saber
Ruarc Rees-Davies (18) – R1 000 Table Bay Mall gift card
Keyboard Rebuild Challenge
Friday Conor Neeson – R500 Table Bay Mall gift card
Saturday: Tony Kaspersen (25) – R500 Table Bay Mall gift card
Sunday: Nathan Williams (12) – R500 Table Bay Mall gift card
Fighting Cup – Brawlhalla
1st: Jordan Schwameder (17) – R1 000 Table Bay Mall gift card
2nd: Joshua Lamarina (18) – R500 Table Bay Mall gift card
Fighting Cup – Tekken
1st: Ofee Wentworth (30) – R1 000 Table Bay Mall gift card
2nd: Waseem Satardien (31) – R500 Table Bay Mall gift card
Fighting Cup – Street Fighter
1st: Masood Salie (30) – R1 000 Table Bay Mall gift card
2nd: Riyaaz Calvert (34) – R500 Table Bay Mall gift card
Toyota Gaming Engine Fastest Lap
Friday: Taariq Adam (24) – R1 000 Table Bay Mall gift card
Saturday: Winner chose to remain anonymous – R1 000 Table Bay Mall gift card
Sunday: Nicalai Heyat (16) – R1 000 Table Bay Mall gift card
Subway Surf Challenge
Winner chose to remain anonymous – R1 000 Table Bay Mall gift card
The MTN SHIFT Gaming Experience continues to showcase South Africa’s growing esports community, giving players of all ages the opportunity to compete in a live tournament environment at Hyprop shopping centres across Gauteng and the Western Cape. With more than R250 000 in prizes up for grabs throughout the tournament, each regional heat brings competitors one step closer to the National Finals at Canal Walk.
Remaining Tournament Dates & Venues:
Clearwater – Online Qualifier: 25 Jul | In-Centre Event: 31 Jul – 2 Aug
Capegate – Online Qualifier: 9 Aug | In-Centre Event: 14 – 16 Aug
Canal Walk – Online Qualifier: 16 Aug | In-Centre Event: 26 – 30 Aug
For more information about the MTN SHIFT Gaming Experience, brought to you by MTN and Hyprop, go this website.
