Sammy Oyier and 14-year-old Brilliant Watitwa are the 2025 Rangers eSports tournament champions.

Commonly referred to as Sam Carter amongst the gaming world, Oyier won all his six matches played at the Rangers Gaming Station in Naivasha.

In the penultimate match, Carter who is a student at Kenyatta University hammered Joash Agutu a.k.a Jojo Kazoze 7-5 to be crowned the champion of the third edition of the Rangers eSports competition.

Speaking after the win, Carter praised the tournament director for organizing a very competitive tournament that was all inclusive, bring gamers from all over the country.

Carter said playing against opponents from all over the nation was an eye-opener and gives not only winners but also everyone the opportunity to grow their game and learn new trends in the game.

“I am humbled to be the champion. Gaming is the next big thing and I am glad to be amongst thousands of Kenyan youths championing for eSports commercialisation, development and support.

“We want to grow as a pack and am glad we played with opponents from all over. We want more of such national inclusive tournaments,” said Carter.

Carter walked away with Sh55,000 in prize money as second-placed Jojo Kazoze and third-placed Leon Malone bagged Sh35,000 and Sh25,000 respectively.

Tournament director Mama Selina Rangers, the passionate brain behind the event, says she is planning bigger events.

“I want to support young gamers and show them that gaming is also a career—and prove to Kenyans we can commercialise eSports.

“Nothing is impossible. I enjoyed the youth’s dedication, and we will see more of these tournaments,” she said.

In the girls’ category, Brilliant Watitwa from Nairobi walked away with Sh12,000 after emerging top.

The tournament attracted gamers from Tanzania, Kisumu, Nyahururu, Nakuru, Eldoret, Kakamega, Mombasa, Kilifi, Kiambu among others.

Cliff Omollo, one of the top gamers from Kisumu, urged gamers from the vast Nyanza and Western region to come together, set many tournaments and play hard for them to also improve.

Kisumu gamers struggled against their counterparts from Nairobi but Omollo who is known as the ‘Terminator’ believes there is room for improvement.

“Gaming is big out here. We picked enough lessons in Naivasha and now we need to invest in gaming. This is a rallying call to gaming business owners to take it seriously and invest heavily because through initiatives like Rangers eSports we can grow the sport in Kisumu,” he said.