An Ulster Xbox fan who quit his job and sold his belongings to play in a
major TV tournament has won a $30,000 contract and become one of the UK's
first full-time professional gamers.
Jason Holmes, from Seaforde, Co Down, took the dramatic step in order to "
make his dream come true" and travel to the Championship Gaming Series in
Birmingham.
For 10 days, the 23-year-old was one of hundreds of
gamers from across the UK involved in an intense gaming interview.
Players showed off their skills in tournaments featuring a number of games
including Project Gotham Racing 3 - in which Jason is regarded as a
specialist.
After a nerve-wracking final in London, Jason - who is
known by the alias Neo Jake - was selected as one of the top 20 gamers and
asked to join the Birmingham Salvo team.
He has now won a $30,000
contract to play professionally around the world.
"It is a
dream come true," he told the Belfast Telegraph.
"I have
played constantly for four years and I still can't believe it.
"
I had to sell what I had to hand, which happened to be 130 DVDs, five Xbox
controllers, eight Xbox 360 games and I had to sell my mountain bike, that I
bought for £1,000, for £100 because it was all the pawn shop would pay.
"In the end, I managed to scrape together just enough to travel.
"The risk was worth it, the whole experience was really intense, I
didn't get much sleep but I am really excited about the future."
The players were whittled down from a few hundred to only 40 in Birmingham.
They then travelled to London where Sky television filmed a series of shows
featuring the hopefuls.
In November, Jason will travel to Los
Angeles to compete at the World Final.
"I am going there to
win. I am really looking forward to competing against other world-class
gamers," he said.
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