After what looked like an easy run in the grand finale, the 2025 Telkom VS Gaming High School Esports League (HSEL) Rocket League champions, Curro Durbanville Wolves Prime, powered by Samsung, successfully defended their title at Comic Con Africa 2026 at the Johannesburg Expo Centre.
This marked their second consecutive appearance in the Telkom VS Gaming HSEL Rocket League competition at Comic Con Africa, after qualifying through the online qualifiers held earlier this year.
Commenting on their performance, team captain Kiran Jaynarayan said that, although this is his final year competing in the tournament as a high school student, he was determined to represent his school and team with pride and uphold the reputation they have built.
“I feel like we went out with a bang because of how well we played. We played aggressively from start to finish. We put our opponents under pressure, which caused them to make mistakes and panic whenever we attacked. That really helped us secure the win,” said Jaynarayan.
He further said that, although they knew they had to defend their title, the pressure was still there as they were not only playing to retain the championship but also to uphold their reputation as winners and maintain their momentum.
“You don’t want to lose your winning streak, so we just had to keep playing with confidence. We had to remain calm and composed throughout all our games,” said Jaynarayan.
Meanwhile, the quarterfinals of the Telkom VS Gaming Rocket League Championship and Telkom VS Gaming Masters Counter Strike, commenced yesterday, with both tournaments set to crown new champions at Comic Con Africa 2026.
Kitsune, who finished as runners-up at the 2025 Telkom VS Gaming Masters Counter Strike, will be looking to go one step further this year. Their 2025 final opponents, Bravado Gaming, claimed the title last year but were unable to qualify for the seventh edition of Comic Con Africa, meaning they will not be able to defend their championship. Kitsune will now be aiming to turn their previous runners-up finish into a title-winning campaign this year.
The semifinals and final of the Telkom VS Gaming Championship Rocket League are scheduled to take place on Saturday, 26 September 2026. The Telkom VS Gaming HSEL Counter Strike Grand Final between St John’s College and Parklands College will also take place on the same day, while the semifinals of the Telkom VS Gaming Masters CS will be played on Saturday, 26 September 2026.
Comic Con Africa 2026 is currently underway at the Johannesburg Expo Centre, having started on Heritage Day, Thursday, 24 September 2026, and running until Sunday, 27 September 2026.
