For the third consecutive year, Ballantine’s Blended Scotch Whisky teamed up with GamrX, Africa’s biggest gaming tournament, at the Landmark Convention Centre on the 8th of August 2025. Gaming enthusiasts from across the continent, including guests from Senegal, Ivory Coast, Mauritius, Kenya, Ghana, Cameroon, and Benin Republic, joined the celebration of GamrX 2025, themed ‘GamrX4rce: Enter the Arena.’ Guided by its Stay True ethos, Ballantine’s infused the festival with immersive experiences and unforgettable highlights that honoured the dynamic culture of gaming.
From the moment attendees entered the arena, the Ballantine’s Experience Centre set the tone for a weekend of high energy and pure nostalgia.
Inside the Ballantine’s Experience Centre, guests explored a series of immersive zones that brought the spirit of gaming and community to life. The Chill Zone offered a buzzing social space to relax and connect, and also featured a dedicated Ballantine’s merchandise store, showcasing thoughtful, limited-edition lifestyle pieces that reflected the bold spirit of the gaming community.
Just steps away, the Bar Zone served signature cocktails such as Ballantine’s Apple, Ballantine’s Sour, and the refreshing Ballantine’s Lightening, each crafted to stand out, just like the gamers who showed up.
Energy peaked in The Play Zone, where attendees embraced movement and competition through high-energy dance challenges, modern gaming battles, and throwback magic at “Uncle B’s Gaming House”, a retro game centre where favourites from the PlayStation 1 and PlayStation 2 era rekindle memories of gaming’s golden beginnings.
GamrX4rce 2025 delivered a packed programme of esports battles and cultural showcases.
With the energy in the hall at a fever pitch, the first contest of the day kicked off with the Best Voice Over: Anime Edition. Competitors dazzled in cosplay, bringing to life iconic anime and game characters, from a spirited ninja to a brooding demon hunter and other fan-favourites. The crowd erupted as the judges crowned NaruFan and DevilHunter, as joint winners, setting the tone for a day brimming with contests, camaraderie, and an unshakable celebration of African gaming culture.
From there, the action intensified as competitors went head-to-head in a series of fighting and mobile games, all battling for glory and a share of the multi-million-naira prize pool. The momentum carried straight into the esports battles, beginning with the headline arena-style fighting showdown, where top-tier teams fought tooth and nail for supremacy. In a flurry of flawless combos and emphatic finishers, a competitor using the gamer tag General ZOD claimed victory, earning bragging rights and the crowd’s roaring approval. The intensity continued with the continent’s premier mobile shooter tournament, which crowned its reigning champion for the fourth consecutive year, before the day’s grand finale, a clash in a globally beloved arcade-style fighting series, delivered a thrilling win for another competitor using the gamer tag The Apprentice.
Between intense gaming battles, a high-energy DJ interlude kept spirits soaring, while across Ballantine’s immersive zones, guests dove into the Ballantine’s Quest Card game, joined the dance challenges, took selfies using the hashtags #BallantinesNG and #StayTrue, and painted digital tributes to pro gamers on the interactive wall, honouring their influence while celebrating their own gaming journeys and creativity. Many walked away with exclusive merchandise, earned through participation, originality, and an unshakable commitment to staying true to the game.
Evane Chenuet, Marketing Director at Pernod Ricard Nigeria, reflected: “GamrX4rce 2025 was a powerful expression of creativity, community, and culture. At Ballantine’s, we believe in showing up where people are free to be themselves, and this year’s event proved once again that gaming is one of the most vibrant spaces for self-expression in Africa and across the world. From the gaming battles on stage to the energy in the Ballantine’s immersive zones, we saw the Stay True to the Game spirit come alive in every moment.”
Ballantine’s once again affirmed its dedication to authenticity, self-expression, and community, proving that gaming is a way of life and the best way to play is to Stay True to The Game.
#BallantinesNG #StayTrue #GamrX2025 #GamrX4rce 2025 #EnterTheArena
