“Wolfiez”, “Skrapz”, “Tekkz”, “Scrub Killa” and “BenjyFishy” are some examples.
They are unlikely to be familiar. Your teenage kids almost certain have.
These names are only a few of the many e-sports celebrities in Britain who make six-figures playing Fortnite, Fifa, and Call of Duty.
The bizarre nicknames aside, these men are making a lot of money by competing in their favorite video games.
While parents might have used to be critical of their children spending so much time alone in their rooms, most people now back their choice to go to school or continue their education.
These gamers have had to learn a lot over the years. In their quest to be the best, many have worked for a decade honing and perfecting their trade.
These gamers are part of an emerging wave of ambitious gamers that is monetizing their skills amid the worldwide boom in competitive gaming.
In 2020, more than 200million viewers tuned into e-sports competitions and the video game market is estimated to be worth more than £5.3billion in the UK alone.
Experts in the industry believe that schools will be able to adapt existing curriculums, and use video and e-sports more often to support their pupils’ future learning.
‘BenjyFishy’, from Sunbury-on-Thames, Surrey, (pictured with his mother, Anne above) has earned more than £400,000 just by playing the popular video game Fortnite
18-year-old Kyle ‘Scrub Killa’ Robertson, of Edinburgh, Scotland, is understood to have pocketed more than £180,000 from playing Rocket League
Donovan ‘Tekkz’ Hunt, 19, is among Britain’s burgeoning e-sports stars who earn six-figure sums from playing Fortnite, Fifa and Call of Duty professionally
Kyle Mayers from Merthyr Tidfil in Wales started streaming last August on Facebook and has amassed a loyal following of around 17,000 fans.
At first, he was not able to cope with the coronavirus pandemic. He left college after failing to find work and quit school.
It turned out that this disappointment was the best thing for Kyle as he started streaming videos on YouTube and sold his Xbox to purchase a phone.
An avid gamer, he now spends 3 hours a day playing Rocket League vehicular football. He was offered a partnership by Facebook three months later.
Since sharing clips on YouTube, he’s logged over 6,000 hours playing the game. He also spends as much as six hours per day playing other video games.
WalesOnline told him that it was “strange” – the initial size was very small and everyone was not aware of it. [watched]There were only 30 people watching.
“Then, it was 150 people somehow. And eventually there were about 2,200 people watching.
There are days when you work for more than three hours. It all depends on the day. There are days that are more slow than others, and there are days when it is crazy.
Kyle is just one of thousands of teenagers across the country hoping to turn their hobby into a fully-fledged career.
There are other routes to the industry. Some gamers offer training tips for their peers at a cost.
Ben Noble, 18, from Tunbridge Wells, Kent gave up his job as a retail worker at the onset of the Covid-19 lockdown to become a full-time gaming coach on freelance platform Fiverr.
It was after he spent time playing Rocket League with his friends that he first realized how he could make money.
Many e-sports players use Rocket League, a popular vehicular football game that is wildly successful to make hundreds of thousands of Pounds.
Fortnite is a third-person shooter that has been wildly successful and now has over 300 million players
In the last few years, E-sports have seen a surge in popularity with many athletes being able to make millions of dollars if their talent is enough to build a successful career.
Ben wants to be able to live off coaching. “I’d like to go this far and then continue my career in coaching,” he said.
“It is something I like doing. If I could make this a job, it would be incredible.”
The most highly paid job in the gaming industry is the one of an e-sports professional.
There are more than 50 teenage British gamers who have been paid six-figure sums, ranging from £100,000 to more than £979,000, for winning competitive Fortnite, Call of Duty and Fifa tournaments in the past.
The biggest earner to date remains Jaden ‘Wolfiez’ Ashman from Essex, who at the tender age of 15 walked away with a $1million prize after winning the Fortnite Duo’s Cup in July 2019.
Some parents have also made tough decisions about focusing their attention on gaming, even though they are earning thousands.
Anne Fish can play Fortnite up to 13 hours per day, and is the mother of BenjyFishy (17 years old), who has become a top player in Fortnite.
Benjy, who began playing at 13 and was signed up at 15 by esports company NRG, has made more than £400,000 from gaming professionally after qualifying for international tournaments, including the Fortnite World Cup in 2019.
His mother may not be able to earn as much as his dad, but their financial success is quite different from Benjy’s earlier years when his parents were homeless. Benjy was eight months of age at that time.
Anne Fish (right) plays Fortnite for up to 13 hours-a-day herself, but is mother to 17-year-old gaming sensation BenjyFishy, who has established himself as one of the world’s top players and has earned more than £400,000 in tournament prizes
A mother-of-two, Mrs Fish from Sunbury-on-Thames in Surrey has signed up for a contract with Galaxy Race, a Dubai-based esports company, to create content about the game, which boasts more than 350 million registered players.
Mother-of-two Mrs Fish, who lives in Sunbury-on-Thames, Surrey, has now been signed up to a paid contract by Dubai-based esports firm Galaxy Race to produce content around the game which has more than 350million registered players.
She was made to make a tough decision after the teenage’s gaming activities began to conflict with his education.
Mrs Fish approached Benjy’s Reed’s School headmaster in Cobham to inquire about his school’s timetable because her son was frequently playing until the very early hours.
She took her son out of school after he refused to take time off.
She stated that he needs to practice for 10-12 hours per day when competing, and 6-8 hours when not.
Signing up to esports is like signing up as a pro footballer on a Premier League team. It takes a lot of work.
“I home-schooled him at 15 years old. Although it was difficult to decide, I believe in giving children the chance and supporting them when they’re passionate.
Kent Ben Noble (18 years old) from Tunbridge wells gave up his position as a retailer worker to join Fiverr, a freelance gaming platform.
Ben discovered he could actually make money by playing Rocket League after spending some time with his friends. He started making about £1,000 a month in March 2020
Many aspiring gamers in the UK have mirrored this story, spending thousands of hours training their skills online.
In 2020, Matthew ‘Skrapz’ Marshall, originally from the Gorton suburb in Manchester, won more than £85,000 for competing in Call of Duty tournaments across the globe.
Matthew spoke out to the Manchester Evening News about how his twin brother, Bradley would take their grandfather’s wi fi in order to feed their love for Call of Duty as children.
Matthew explained: ‘Growing up playing COD (Call of Duty), we just loved doing it, we’d go to school and were thinking about playing it all day, it got to a point where our mum couldn’t get us off it.
We talk daily about how it has been such a blessing, and it has helped us in so many different ways.
“We’ve done this for 14 years. It’s changed our lives in a profound way.” It is a blessing.
These teenage superstars have led many educational institutions to incorporate e-sports into their curriculum.
Newcastle College students can choose to enroll in two distinct e-sports studies programs. These programmes offer an industry-recognized qualification for event managers, gamers, journalists, and others.
There are more than 50 teenage British gamers who have been paid six-figure sums, ranging from £100,000 to more than £879,000, for winning competitive Fortnite, Call of Duty and Fifa tournaments
The video game market is estimated to be worth more than £5.3billion in the UK alone. Image: Call of Duty Warzone
MailOnline spoke with Craig Wilson, Newcastle College’s curriculum leader for E-Sports. Although the college initially planned to have 18 students enroll in 2021 due to the popularity of the course, they soon added classes for 55 people.
He said, “I had a few concerned parents but not as many than I anticipated.”
Some people were curious about the e-sports courses. It’s just playing games.
Students are not just going in and playing on their computers all day. Students are learning, and they’re finding out how their skills can be applied to other industries and what this could lead to.
It’s very much like sport. Many of the students who go to sporting colleges are not going to become the next Alan Shearer.
“It’s just the same as e-sports. Not everyone will make it to the top. It’s an art that these experts do, and it is not simple to achieve.
“The students may not want to go into the profession. It is possible for them to become a writer, marketer, coach or designer of logos and brands. Students are realizing this, I believe. They’re finding their place in the world.
Keith Douglas of Newcastle United Foundation works closely with the team. He offers budding gamers from the North East an easier way to connect with professionals in e-sports and promotes a healthier lifestyle.
MailOnline reported that he said, “These children might go home and play for 6, 8, or 10 hours.”
“But, we’re trying them to feed them nuggets information – Have you looked there? Are you eating right? And have you considered what your future plans are after college?
“You cannot change a culture that has been in existence since the student was 13 years old.” So that they can better understand the relationship between gaming and well-being at the end of two years, we’re trying drip-feed information.
“Our mission at the Foundation is simple: we want young people to have an opportunity, and to inspire them with information that will make them better and more healthy.
Newcastle College student Shay Robson has high ambitions for himself to be a journalist in e-sports once he completes his degree.
As a kid, he played games. His interest in esports grew so much that he jumped at an opportunity to learn more at college.
Shay stated to MailOnline that it was an easy decision because this would be a good stepping stone for my career as I am interested in gaming and esports.
‘I told my parents I was doing something more than gaming – I am working on business, health, fitness and the creative side.
There are two options: go to university, or work in the industry.
It’s more than just about e-sports. The majority of what I learned is applicable to all industries and jobs, including graphic design, management, or even social media.
Newcastle College provides two esports studies programmes to its students. These programs offer an industry-recognized certification for budding event managers and journalists.
Keith Douglas, from the Newcastle United Foundation, supports an esports class at Newcastle College.
Industry insiders predict that e-sports will continue to gain popularity as well as growing interest in the game across the country.
Shahneila Saeed is Head of Education at Ukie. She also serves as Programme Director for Digital Schoolhouse.
She said: ‘I think in terms of current learning, esports can have an impact by creating greater engagement from students by letting them use technology in the way that’s natural for them.
‘The consistent feedback we get from children is that their experience of learning computing in school doesn’t match their experiences of using tech in their day to day lives outside of school.
‘That is why children aren’t as engaged in computing and tech in the classroom, so it’s important to find a way to bridge that gap. That gap can be filled by Esports.
“Tournaments are a natural way to combine the development and application of subject knowledge with soft skills such as communication, teamwork and collaboration to make education real.
‘By doing so, we’re able to engage them in subjects at school and prepare them for the world of work.’
Are we likely to see games being used as learning aids in public schools all across the country soon?
‘There’s certainly enough scope, remit and possibilities in the world of video games to influence every subject that schools teach’, Shahneila explains.
‘Digital Schoolhouse advocates for play-based learning and we’ve put this into practice through the development of curriculum materials that harness the power of video games to teach subjects like Computing, English and Art amongst others.
‘But the value of games in education doesn’t stop there.
“Research by The National Literacy Trust has shown that games play a significant role in raising literacy. Our recent partnership with Ubisoft saw games used to teach the history of America in an immersive, exciting way.
‘It’s not about using games all the time or as the only way to teach. We can engage children in class by adding games to our existing tools and resources.
The World Health Organisation officially recognized videogame addiction in 2019. Recognizing compulsive gaming addiction is now an option, rehab clinics all over the UK offer it.
The Priory says of its treatment packages on its website: ‘Treatment for gaming addiction is similar to the approach that is used for treating people with other addictions such as compulsive alcohol or drug use, with residential, day and outpatient addiction programmes offered.
There are many therapy options and self-help methods that can help you manage the effects of gaming addiction. These include counseling and therapies to reduce your time spent playing games and to get you off of it.
Studies show that violent videogames as children do not encourage more aggression in real life.
A 2020 study showed that children won’t be more aggressive if they play violent games like Grand Theft Auto or Call of Duty.
Multiple long-term studies on aggression and video games were reviewed by researchers from Massey University and the University of Tasmania.
Researchers found no link between aggression in games and signs of anger later in life.
Further study by Dr Agne Suziedelyte, senior lecturer in the Department of Economics at City, University of London, examined the effects of video games on two types of violence – aggression against other people, and destruction of property and things.
According to Dr Suziedelyte, mass media and the general public link violent videogames to real-life violence. However, there are limited data to support this link.
The study focused on boys in the US aged between eight and 18 years – the group most likely to play violent video games.
Her research did not show that there is an increase in violence against others after the release of a violent new video game.
A 2020 study concluded that children won’t become more violent by playing violent games like Grand Theft Auto or Call of Duty.
However, parents reported that their children are more likely to damage things after they play violent video games.
‘Taken together, these results suggest that violent video games may agitate children, but this agitation does not translate into violence against other people – which is the type of violence which we care about most,’ Dr Suziedelyte said.
“Poor quality studies” in the past probably exaggerated aggression’s impact on games, while higher quality studies now show that gaming has a negligible effect.
Regulating violent games did not seem to decrease aggression in real-life, so parents should not worry about children making enemies online.
Some politicians have blamed video games for real-life violence such as the mass shootings that occurred in the US.
After a shooting incident in America in 2019, Donald Trump stated that America must’stop glorifying violence by playing gruesome, grisly video games.