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EXCLUSIVE: One of South Africa's best CSGO players retires
'Shazz' - One of South Africa’s most prolific CSGO players and esports stars has announced she will be retiring from competitive Counter Strike after a 17 year career.
Sharon “Shazz” Waison began playing Counter-Strike 1.6 casually in 2003 and decided to start competing 2 years after she began the game. In total Shazz has been playing CS for about 17 years competitively and played all the versions of the game. For the majority of her competitive career she was the anomaly: the only woman to feature in the line ups of some of the most successful CSGO teams South Africa had to offer. Her gender was not what sets Shazz apart though - she is one of the few South African CSGO players that achieved incredible success both locally and internationally, with a number of different line ups. Long before the industry began to raise questions around diversity Shazz was going head to head with the best CSGO players and beating them.
Shazz began her career by winning the 2015 Copenhagen Games as a member of Team Karma. This was one of the few times a South African has claimed gold at an international event and it also happened to be her first CSGO LAN: A testament to the incredible competitive nature of an FPS force to be reckoned with. To those who know her though, this victory would have come as no surprise. Shazz had always been a competitive sports woman at school. Though her love for competition seemed to be thwarted at the age of 10, when she was diagnosed with Lupus and unable to compete or be in the sun. Gaming filled a void and what an incredible journey it was able to take her on.
Other than winning on an international stage, Shazz has claimed all 3 podium finishes at rAge, South Africa’s largest gaming expo, over the years. Many times she was the only woman in the room and her terrifying Deagle play became the stuff of legends. As more conversations around diversity began, many a time Shazz was overlooked, but she truly was the representation of what so many women gamers set out to achieve: to play in mixed teams and be the best of the best. Her name has been linked with some of the biggest South African gaming organisations including Energy Esports, White Rabbit Gaming and as the foundation for ATK’s all women CSGO lineup.
Not only has Shazz knocked down a multitude of proverbial walls for esports players to come, she has greatly contributed to building the foundation of competitive gaming in South Africa. She did all of this while fighting an extremely taxing disease that has caused her to require a life saving kidney transplant, keeping a smile on her face and a positive word of encouragement for anyone entering the space.
One of only a few South African esports players to win internationally
© Supplied
With a career and list of achievements many will envy, Shazz has decided to announce her retirement from competitive CSGO:
“I have achieved things from gaming I never thought I could do. I’ve managed to tick off things from my bucket list and, while this might sound cheesy, I even found love through gaming (Shazz is currently dating Goliath Gaming CSGO Player Nico “Dweezil” Devonport). Gaming has saved my life and that is something I will never forget.”
While Shazz is retiring from the server she is hoping not to leave esports altogether and has expressed an interest in shoutcasting or analyse roles on broadcasts. She says a big achievement for her was breaking the stereotypical boundaries about women in esports and achieving what she was able to achieve without having a platform to help her.
While international stars are celebrated and lauded, South African competitive players are sometimes forgotten once they choose to step away from competitive play. With the local esports scene rising to prominence in the last few years, many might be forgiven for not realising the impact Shazz’s style of play had not only on the scene as a whole but on individual competitors who would later go on to also rise to greater heights. She broke barriers, destroyed stereotypes and, most importantly, played a level of Counter Strike that could not often be beaten.
When the industry looks back at what has been achieved, Sharon “Shazz” Waison will be one of the first names that should be quoted and remembered. May that scary Deag play be celebrated for many years to come.
