Seen Here: From debutants to champions! 🏆🎮🔥 Future Esports Academy have made an unforgettable entrance onto the Telkom VS Gaming stage, sweeping Synthesis ENMT in the Grand Final to claim the 2026 Rocket League Championship at Comic Con Africa. Built on friendship, strategy, resilience and trust, the young team turned their first appearance into a championship statement. A new team, a new chapter, a championship legacy in the making. 🚀⚽🎮🏆 Photo Credit: Supplied
A new force has emerged in South African esports.
Future Esports Academy have announced themselves in spectacular fashion, winning the Telkom VS Gaming Rocket League Championship in their very first appearance after sweeping Synthesis ENMT in the Grand Final at Comic Con Africa 2026.
The result capped a thrilling weekend of competitive gaming at the Johannesburg Expo Centre, where esports shared the spotlight with comics, cosplay, entertainment and the wider pop-culture spectacle that has become synonymous with Comic Con Africa.
For Future Esports Academy, however, the weekend was about much more than making an appearance. They arrived as debutants and left as champions.
Synthesis ENMT had to settle for the runners-up position after being unable to halt Future Esports Academy’s charge in the Grand Final.
From Matric to championship glory
Behind the remarkable debut is 19-year-old Marko Appelcryn, who founded the team after identifying an opportunity to continue his competitive Rocket League journey beyond high school.
Appelcryn said the idea developed after he completed Matric in 2024 and began considering how he could remain involved in competitive gaming while building a career around esports.
“I needed to make money and had already been thinking about starting a coaching business focused on schools.”
Earlier this year, Appelcryn joined forces with three close friends to build what would become Future Esports Academy.
Among them is Namibian Rio-Rodan Moller, who serves as the team’s captain, while the other two members are involved as coaches of school teams. What began as an idea centred around coaching and competitive gaming quickly evolved into a team capable of competing — and winning — at one of the country’s major esports events.
School esports experience becomes a competitive advantage
The team’s foundations were strengthened by their collective experience in high-school esports.
That familiarity provided an established understanding of competitive Rocket League, while opportunities to compete against European players offered another level of exposure and a demanding environment in which to develop their skills.
Some members of the squad had also previously competed in championship-level tournaments, giving Future Esports Academy a valuable combination of experience, youthful energy and established chemistry.
Rather than relying solely on individual mechanical ability, the team invested in developing its collective approach.
A week in the boot camp
The players also committed to a week-long boot camp, using the time to sharpen their strategy and strengthen their mental preparation.
For Appelcryn, the psychological side of competitive gaming was particularly important, especially when working with the team’s youngest player, who is just 16 years old.
“I always stand behind them to give the moral support that they need.”
That combination of preparation and trust became particularly important against Synthesis ENMT.
Future Esports Academy had previously suffered a defeat against their eventual Grand Final opponents, giving them an insight into the way Synthesis approached the game.
Rather than allowing the previous result to dictate their approach, the team focused on executing its own strategy.
“We already knew some of their game plans. We just stuck to our game plan and came to the stage to have fun while playing the final,” Appelcryn said.
For the young champions, the message was simple: trust the preparation, trust the teammates and play the game.
“The main thing was to just trust each other.”
A new chapter for South African esports
Future Esports Academy’s victory adds another compelling storyline to the growing South African esports landscape.
Their championship came alongside another significant Rocket League triumph at Comic Con Africa, where Curro Durbanville Wolves Prime, powered by Samsung, successfully defended their Telkom VS Gaming High School Esports League (HSEL) Rocket League title.
The two champions represent different stages of the competitive pathway — with Curro Durbanville Wolves Prime dominating the school competition and Future Esports Academy immediately making their presence felt at championship level.
Together, their performances underline the depth of talent emerging through South Africa’s Rocket League ecosystem.
Comic Con Africa delivers another esports spectacle
The conclusion of the Rocket League competitions brought another major chapter of Comic Con Africa 2026 to a close.
The event, held at the Johannesburg Expo Centre from 24 to 27 September, brought together gaming and esports communities alongside fans of comics, cosplay, entertainment and popular culture.
For Future Esports Academy, their first Comic Con Africa appearance will be remembered for something considerably bigger than a debut.
They arrived as a newly established team.
They leave as Telkom VS Gaming Rocket League Championship winners.
🏆 2026 TELKOM VS GAMING ROCKET LEAGUE CHAMPIONS
Championship: Future Esports Academy
Runners-up: Synthesis ENMT
🏆 2026 TELKOM VS GAMING HSEL ROCKET LEAGUE CHAMPIONS
Champions: Curro Durbanville Wolves Prime
From school esports to the professional competitive arena, the message from Comic Con Africa 2026 is clear: South Africa’s next generation of esports talent is already making its mark.
