Some 400 eSports enthusiasts attended Dakar's recent “Esport Experience” tournament, inspired by local heroes like Mouhamed Thiam, 19, alias "Dex77" - three-time continental champion - and by Senegal's real-life football team, the continent's reigning champions.
Dex77's older brother Papa Adama Thiam, 26, alias "Doctor Dexx," is also on the forefront of Senegal's gaming revolution.
"My father gave me my first PlayStation when I was 11," he said.
"My mother used to work half the year as a hairdresser in the United States and brought back the latest version of PlayStation."
With help from Senegal's few gaming sponsors, Doctor Dexx earns about three million CFA francs per year - more than twice the average yearly salary.
The tournament featured one million CFA francs ($1,626) in prizes, divided among the top players of the games FIFA, eFootball and Street Fighter.
Doctor Dexx says he spends his free time coaching younger gamers to nurture "the stars of tomorrow."
Rising star Cheikh Thiaw, 20, alias "Coldfire Junior," said that the national football team's recent successes, making it into the World Cup's last 16, motivated him "to face off against any foreign gamer."
Establishing a career in eSports is no mean feat - the prize money in Senegal is low compared to the rest of the world, and few can become professionals.
But the country is an emerging economy in Africa, and analysts say gaming is likely to expand in the coming years.
Senegal is home to some 20,000 competitive video game players, according to Sengames, the country's main gamers' association.
"More and more young amateur gamers want to become professionals," said Mamoudou Soumare, deputy director of the SOLO Esport club, home of Senegal's best players.
Gaming consoles remain prohibitively expensive for many in Senegal. Older models change hands for around 150,000 CFA francs.
According to Newzoo, which analyses gaming trends, the African continent is fertile ground for eSports thanks to internet connections that are becoming quicker and cheaper, as well as a growing middle class.
The Middle East and Africa are home to 488 million video game players, or 15 percent of the global total, Newzoo, 2022 report shows.
The combined super-region has the highest growth rate, up eight percent in a year.
