A teenage millionaire reveals that being a gaming star isn’t the “glamorous life” that people think FortniteJaden “Wolves” Ashman.
The Brit made headlines in 2019 when he became the youngest esports (esports for short) player ever to win $1 million, at just 15 years old.
Now 18, Jaden from Essex has shed light on the realities of gaming as a profession, saying it’s “not really a crazy life” as some might expect.
“People think you go around doing all that stuff, but you have to play most of the time, and that’s enough. I wouldn’t say it’s boring, but it’s not a glamorous life.”
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“You just play as much as you can. Obviously the best thing is that once every few months you go to an event, that’s probably the most fun part of it.
When I go to Fortnite events, I feel relaxed and feel good, people come up to me and ask for pictures and stuff, but no one is too pushy or anything like that. “It’s always a good experience,” he said.
The teenager is now a professional Red Bull player, participating in esports tournaments around the world.
He hasn’t finished first yet in a major event – his big win in 2019 saw the player come in second in the Duos category at the Fortnite World Cup.
The largest purchase he made from his earnings was a home for his mother. Since then he’s bought a few computers “here and there”, on top of consoles and taken some vacations.
“I wouldn’t say I save, but I don’t spend on things I don’t really need or just because,” she said.
“Just played”
Wolfiez quits school at 15 to focus on gaming, but reveals that he never intended his life to go this way.
“I don’t know where I’ll be now – I was smart in school but I didn’t really enjoy it,” he explained.
“I didn’t really have a goal of what I wanted to achieve when I was younger, and I didn’t have anything on my mind. So it just happened.”
The player also criticized Epic Games, the makers of Fortnite, for being “inconsistent” and “lazy” when it came to serving competitive players.
“Avid problem solver. Extreme social media junkie. Beer buff. Coffee guru. Internet geek. Travel ninja.”
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