The esports industry, already valued in the billions, is expected to grow even more in the future. Featuring leagues for all the most popular games, including Overwatch, League of Legends and Call of Duty, they combine exciting games, real skill and amazing matches.
Esports tournaments have given rise to professional gamers; a group of digital natives making money with just their PC and love for their favourite game.
Skrill has partnered with QLASH, a European esports team, to support some of the most talented youngsters in the industry.
Skrill helps players around the world manage their money – in-game purchases are quick and easy, and you can send funds to other players instantly.
Meet some of QLASH’s brightest stars below and find out how they became professional esports players.
Kevin (20, Italy)
From Messina in Italy, Kevin is known in-game as CrimiKevin.
Playing since the age of four, he started with FPS (first-person shooter) games. He eventually graduated to the barnstorming battle arena game Fortnite, hooked by its bright colours, immersive maps and friendly community.
Since then, his hard work and competitive streak have taken him to new heights as Italy’s number one player, the number two player in Europe, and the number 16 player in the world.
Together with his teammates at QLASH he holds the world’s longest consecutive win record: 46 wins in a row!
Julian (23, Germany)
Julian, from Munich, is one of QLASH’s most successful StarCraft 2 players.
Starting out at age 16 after spotting StarCraft 2 in a gaming magazine, he sought advice on competitive gaming from a fellow player. Within a year, he found himself at the Grandmaster rank of the game.
Julian’s ranked fourth at the World Championship Series in Montreal and Austin, and third at the HomeStory Cup XIII. Last year, he qualified for the official Blizzcon 2018 championship.
Diego (20, Italy)
Diego, from Varese, Italy, has been playing esports competitively for the last five years.
Introduced to video games by his brother, he started with the classic FIFA ’97 when he was only six years old and has since become one of the world’s best competitive FIFA players.
Diego won the Italian Championship for FIFA ’18 and FIFA’16 and was the FIFA ’14 vice-champion. He won the Live League Grand Final for three years in a row from 2014 to 2017.
This year he finished fourth in the Spanish LaLiga Championship, bringing him to the attention of gamers all across Europe.
Bogdan (20, Ukraine)
Nicknamed ‘HellraiseR’, Bogdan is 20 and comes from Chernihiv in Ukraine. He became a full time gamer last year but has played StarCraft since he was only six years old.
Motivated by a love for the world of StarCraft, he managed to hit pro-gamer status within five years of playing StarCraft 2.
One of QLASH’s newest pro team members, he’s already ranked one of the best players in Ukraine, and soon hopes to take on the rest of the world.
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