StarCraft II Profile: Robert ‘PandaTank’ Botha

By Yolanda Green on Tuesday, February 26, 2013

"Grandmaster"

Robert Botha will face off against Silviu “NightEnD” Lazar, a Protoss player from Romania currently playing for world renowned gaming organisation Fnatic, in an officially sanctioned MSSA match at the StarCraft 2 Invitational Tournament hosted by Megarom and Internet Solutions. This match will be the Feature Match of the event which our country’s twelve best players will attend an 16 March. Let’s take a look at one of South Africa’s most prolific StarCraft 2 player’s profile.

Biography: Robert Botha is South Africa’s first ever StarCraft II Grandmaster and the highest achieving South African player in International tournaments. He is considered by many as South Africa’s first ever Professional gamer.

Age: 22

Province: Gauteng

Race: Protoss

Team: CMStorm

Sponsor: CMStorm

Years playing StarCraft: 3

Tournaments competed in: International e-Sports Federation World Championships (IeSF), World Championship Series (WCS), Electronic Sports World Cup (ESWC)

Achievements: Top 16 IeSF, Top 8 IeSF, Top 8 WCS Europe Combined Nationals, Top 8 ESWC 2012

League: Grandmaster

Facebook page: Robert “PandaTank” Botha

Online StarCraft II Profile: Battle.net

Tags: Heart of the Swarm, HOTS, invitational, Megarom, profile, StarCraft II

Author:Yolanda Green

I like bacon and games, and occasionally I say something coherent about it. I'm not old or cynical, and I'm not the Dork Knight. I AM SHE-RA! Wait, what?

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AndriyP

LOL

Race: Protoss

I was like What kind of race is this in South Africa…dafuq did i miss

Haha brain is slow today
- GeoffChisnall
  
  HAHAHA!
- Admiral Chief Erwin
  
  Well played!
Sir Captain Rincethis

MOAR details! How did he break into the industry? Luck? Or was he ‘scouted’ kindda thing?
- http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=654211497 Robert Infy Hart
  
  He was invited to compete at ESWC and using his own cash, he flew over and finished top 8. His fame took off from there.
  
  In other words, he invested a lot of time and money into developing his gaming career. A lot more than I think any other person in SA is willing to do.
  - Sir Captain Rincethis
    
    That is damn sweet. Good for him.
  - ElimiNathan
    
    I disagree, I think allot of gamers who are serious would pay for this opportunity
    - http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=654211497 Robert Infy Hart
      
      That might be true, but to my knowledge only Pandatank has done it.
      - ElimiNathan
        
        Ye but how many other guys have been invited to compete at ESWC ?
      - http://twitter.com/MatuMikey Michael Matusowsky
        
        None Eliminathan. Literally none. Not even the top DotA clans have been considered.
      - ElimiNathan
        
        There we go
      - Sir Captain Rincethis
        
        Is there a reason for that? They hold a grudge or something?
      - http://twitter.com/MatuMikey Michael Matusowsky
        
        The reason is simple: As good as you may think SA players are… Our best clans are average at best compared to the world.
        Competitions in South Africa, worthwhile ones with nice prize pools, are virtually non-existant. Thus the will to become very good is very small too. PandaTank wanted to become a professional gamer and he had a big passion for it, enough to put it in a ton of his own money in it before anything else.
      - Sir Captain Rincethis
        
        Agreed, hadn’t thought of it that way. Even MOAR good for him We CAN do it!
      - http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=654211497 Robert Infy Hart
        
        There are plenty big events such as dreamhack, where you can make a name for yourself and dont need to be invited to compete. ESWC is one of the few where you need to actually hold an invitation.
- http://www.facebook.com/mindsports Colin Webster
  
  Rob ;’PandaTank’ Botha competed in MSSA events in 2011. As a result, he qualified for National Team Trials and from there was selected to represent South Africa by the MSSA at the 2011 IeSF Championships. Through participating again in MSSA events in 2012, PandaTank was again selected to represent SA by the MSSA in the 2012 IeSF Championships.
  - http://twitter.com/_zilk_ Magiel de Lange
    
    This is true Collin but it didn’t put him in a ESWC seat. He played the online qualifiers that blizzard had made available to the public and he toped the tables earning a seat at ESWC. Pandatank then had to choose will he spend his own money to go since no local sponsor or team even his federation was willing to give him the money to go overseas. He took the gable and it paid off. Making a name for yourself is a few tournament wins on the international level away . As Infy stated he is the first played to take the gable on him own with no help from others and made it big time.
    
    invited to AM razer academy house ? international team/sponsor CMStorm
    http://www.ges-sa.co.za/Gaming/news.php?post_id=204
    
    http://oovoo.tv/news/pandatank (rebroadcast gameplay)
    
    what local player / clan can say that ?
    
    magiel “enjoy” de lange
ElimiNathan

Awesome, so glad someone from SA finally got exposure cos there are ALLOT of good “underground” gamers here
http://twitter.com/WRG_AlwynVenter Alwyn Venter

Like a boss! Backing you all the way dude. Go for gold!
Tyron Bennett

Can anyone link some replays of his. I would love to watch them.
- http://twitter.com/Lolita_za Yolanda Green
  
  Here are some HoTS replays he’s made available: http://www.mediafire.com/?snu73ukwu3rpst8
FreeStanler

Does anyone know whether heart of the Swarm will release with a discount for Wings of Liberty?
Cooler Master South Africa

We’re proud to sponsor PandaTank and look forward to a beautiful relationship.