What started as a hobby in 2019 has quickly earned Bilal Ali Mohamed fame after he became Kenya’s first ever Africa esports champion. And he is now dreaming big!
In his first international tournament abroad, UK-born Bilal won the gamrX African Championship title in Street Fighter 6 in Lagos on May 4 after he defeated Nigerian Chukwudi Okoli 3-2 in the finals.
He was one of the 10 champions crowned on the day, but the only one from Kenya.
Categories won by other gamers were PUBGM (1011 from Nigeria), CODM (Sierra 7 from Nigeria), Apex Legends (FPC Apex Legends from Nigeria), Tekken 8 (SkyWalker from Cote d’Ivoire), FreeFire (Batty Boys from Nigeria), Mortal Kombat 11 (BabyFox from Ghana), EAFC24 (Mitch from Nigeria), CandyCrush (Adetola Victoria from Nigeria) and JustDance (Opeyemi Ibrahim from Nigeria).
12 countries took part in Africa’s biggest esports tournament, GamrX, dubbed “Battle for Africa.”
These included Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Ghana, Angola, Nigeria, Senegal, Cameroon and Cote d’Ivoire.
“MoZ”, as Bila is known in esports circles, is coached by Brian Diang’a, aka “Beast” at the gaming café Afrigamer located at Adlife Plaza in Nairobi.
He says he took up the sport seriously in 2020 after watching videos of one of the top Japanese gamers, Daigo Umehara.
“I wasn’t good at all in my first year. There is a lot to learn when it comes to fighting games, so the first year I was learning basics and stuff. But, then in 2020 I started taking it more seriously by playing a lot of Kenyan players online,” he says.
When he started taking esports seriously, Bilal played the best Kenyan players online and lost to them.
“But as time progressed, I got better and better. I started winning tournaments online against South African and Zambian players and from there I was really hooked and that’s really what jump-started my competitive journey,” he reflects.
In the clip that inspired him more, Daigo, who is also MoZ’s role model, had an iconic moment where he did a parry to American Justin Wong’s moves to win the match.
“It was very electric. There were a lot of spectators who went crazy when he did that. It really fascinated me seeing it. It is like watching a World Cup final and the whole stadium goes into an uproar. That is what really got me into fighting games,” observes Bilal.
His big dream in esports is to see Kenya involved in big online pro tours that attracts a lot of countries from all over the world.
“I hope it can be bonded with South African countries because I’m able to get a good connection with them. If Kenya can be added to the pro tour, then it would be a big opportunity to see me competing online,” says Bilal.
He says his biggest dream would be to win the biggest fighting tournament in the world, Evo in the USA or Evo Japan.
“Winning any of these is my biggest dream. That’s the highest accomplishment that someone can achieve in fighting games,” says Bilal who also hopes more Kenyan players can join the esport so that the country can have more talent coming out of the country.
“I don’t really tell many people about my journey, but my family is aware of it and supportive,” notes Bilal, adding that they always ask him for links so that they can watch him whenever there is a tournament.
They also wish him the best of luck, give him advice and encourage him.
“I remember coming back from Nigeria after winning the African title and everyone was so happy that I won. I got congratulatory messages,” says the fifth-born child in a family of eight.
Bilal, who is graduating with a Bachelor of Business Science in Financial Economics degree from Strathmore University in June this year, observes that esports is still his hobby.
“It does not take much of my time, but my studies do. Being a university student, the majority of my time went to studies. In fact, there was a tournament I had qualified for in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, but gave it up because it clashed with my exams. I prioritised my studies and exams over the tournament,” explains Bilal.
But now that he is awaiting graduation, Bilal says he has more free time to dedicate to esports.
“That’s why I was even able to go to Nigeria because I don't have school commitments now,” he noted.
Bilal thinks as it is now, it’s difficult.
“But I have heard stories of people making good money from football’s FIFA esports. If you are a top player from that field, you make good money. I think it is possible to make a living when it comes to FIFA tournaments, but you have to be one of the best,” observes Bilal who thinks Kenya is not in a bad place "as it is working towards a future where anyone can make a living from fighting games and esports in general.”
“There are a lot of avenues where you can make a living from esports not as a competitor, but content creation, coaching and doing seminars and lectures.
“As a competitor, it is more difficult, but we are working towards a future where it becomes easier for a competitor to make a living from it in Kenya,” Bilal says, while adding that it is definitely possible to make a living from being a competitor in esports overseas.
As an African champion, Bilal’s plan is to stay up there by playing a lot of international tournaments.
“Hopefully, I can get sponsors to enable me to travel all over Africa and even beyond for tournaments. I also plan to keep practicing to make sure I stay strong in the game, so that when the next opportunity comes up, I’d be ready to play and win again. That’s my plan right now,” says Bilal.
He has had good and bad times in esports, too.
Winning a tournament, he notes, is a high moment for him, but sometimes it is not just his day and he can perform badly. “Losses really hurt and make you question why you are even doing the sport. But, I believe there is no champion out there who has not suffered a brutal loss, so you have to accept the losses as they come and learn from them,” says Bilal whose best moment was winning the 2024 African Esports Championship in Nigeria.
“It was so amazing to win, especially since the player I fought in the final was someone I had played online before and lost to.
“Leading up to the African Championship, I was practicing a lot, three to four hours per day, aware he was my main threat. I really practiced hard and worked on my weaknesses to overcome him.
“Being able to beat him and win the tournament was a very big achievement for me. I’m very happy,” observes Bilal, adding that part of him did not believe it, but it was reality.
“There are also moments when I have encountered situations that are out of my control such as losing the internet, or when the controller has an issue.
“I can say these situations are even worse than losing because of your own skills. You have lost it because of something out of your control,” he says.
Are there any life lessons that Bilal has learned from esports? He says if you like or enjoy something, then you chase it.
“If you do something because you want money out of it, then it can be difficult to stick with it. But if you take something because you enjoy and love doing it, then you see success. There would be long term success, it won’t be success that you get one day and it goes away,” notes Bilal.
Bilal, 25, did swimming in high school at Braeside and Peponi, but says later on, as he grew older, he stopped.
He then started playing esports in 2019, but was more competitive from 2020 and from then on he says it has been mostly online tournaments. He says that he has done a few tournaments locally.
“The last tournament I won locally was in 2021 hosted by Pro Series Gaming (PSG). They hosted Mortal Kombat 11 and I came first,” explains Bilal.
From Mortal Kombat 11, Bilal transitioned to Guilty Gear Strive.
“But there were not many tournaments going on and so I transitioned to Street Fighter 6 which I have been playing competitively since June last year,” he notes.
With the esports craze catching up fast in Kenya, Bilal is certainly one to look out for in this space!
