South African Thabo Moloi becomes Red Bull’s first esports athlete in Africa

Thabo Yvng Savage Moloi
Thabo "Yvng Savage" Moloi seen during a shoot in Johannesburg, South Africa, on July 17, 2020. Credit: Mpumelelo Macu/Red Bull Content Pool

Red Bull has announced that South African Thabo ‘Yvng Savage’ Moloi is now the company’s first esports athlete on the African continent.

Moloi’s first major win was at the VS Gaming FIFA Festival in 2018 when he was 16 years old. This was was also his first esports event.

He won first place for the PS4 competition. This caught the attention of the esports scene since he had never professionally competed before.

In the leadup to the festival, Moloi trained with a friend.

“I trained with a good friend of mine who is a strong and established FIFA player himself. We would play and I would beat him, but when I started beating him consistently, I decided I was ready to compete,” Moloi said according to Red Bull.

south african esports athlete Thabo "Yvng Savage" Moloi

Thabo Moloi. Credit: Mpumelelo Macu/Red Bull Content PoolAfter the festival, he joined local esports team Goliath Gaming.

In 2019, he placed first in the 2019 FIFA eNations Cup South Africa Qualifier.

Earlier this year, he also played as a member of the eBafana Bafana team in the FIFA eNations Stay and Play Cup this year. The tournament helped raise funds for GlobalGiving’s Coronavirus Relief Fund.

Among his other achievements, Moloi currently ranks in first place in the official FIFA rankings for PS4, according to Red Bull.

At 18 years old, he is now the first esports athlete for Red Bull in Africa.

You can view more of this South African esports athlete’s biography on the Red Bull website.

Feature image: Mpumelelo Macu/Red Bull Content Pool

Megan Ellis
More

News

Sign up to our newsletter to get the latest in digital insights. sign up

Welcome to Memeburn

Sign up to our newsletter to get the latest in digital insights.