eSports News by Content Engine AI

“‘You like watching other people fight?’ – Damn straight I like watching other people fight. I like when other people get hurt, or hurt me, you get punched, kicked. You’re doing it for the love.”

That’s what Naoki Ishiguro, father of pro gamer Keita “Shockwave” Ishiguro, told his eldest son. “If you’re really into this sport, your whole life – and this is a pretty unique case- you can still be an average guy, you can still pick up a pipe or pick up a hammer and do something similar – it’s something in your brain that inspires you.”

Shockwave, who has won more than 100 professional tournaments, is one of the hottest players in the increasingly popular esports industry. Players in the scene that incorporates video games, competitions and prizes rake in thousands of dollars per competition, and many manage to reach a lofty level of stardom. The scenes success and notoriety is thought to be largely due to a relative lack of organized promotion and marketing. In an industry where visibility has become increasingly important for the success of professional gamers, the competition world is still made up of competitors in the traditional sense, detached from the trendy insatiable attention-seeking crowds of internet gaming.

Ishiguro’s son Keita plays the game “Counter-Strike: Global Offensive”, an extremely popular first-person shooter, and boasts a massive following among both the older generation (the game was played on arcade machines in arcades) and young enthusiasts who were the first to embrace esports as entertainment, supporting tournaments like the Overwatch League, the Dota 2 Championship Series, and even the League of Legends World Championship. Keita Ishiguro gained the attention of esports superstars and publicists, who convinced Shockwave to enter the scene of pro gaming. Shockwave, who prefers to remain anonymous, is now making headlines with his unexpectedly fierce competition for his own amateur league event, which has sparked a series of break-out matches.

The younger Ishiguro, who has focused his professional career on the lesser-known franchise Overwatch, is talented and determined and draws large crowds despite only playing through Xbox Live matches. He was able to lure former professional gamer Jameson Riley into joining his team to compete against 19 other competitors for a $20,000 prize – one of the biggest cash prizes seen in the field. Riley, who competed in the inaugural season of the League of Legends Championship Series tournament last year, and the Overwatch Pro League over the summer, and managed to tie for first place in the competition, was chosen as his mentor. He had been a sport commentator on the popular Japanese television program “Who Wanted To Be A Computer Wizard,” which highlights the very achievements that Keita Ishiguro has now branched out into.

The two, each with their own unique perspectives, stand side by side as men who have made their dreams a reality. Keita Ishiguro is able to live his youth despite the expectation that his child has little chance of such success. Jameson Riley, on the other hand, is living through the competition of all of his professional ambitions – one that he will one day return to on behalf of the world’s younger up-and-coming professional gamers.

This story is part of our contributor series. The views expressed are the author’s own and not necessarily shared by 2tor.

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