Esports World Cup champion takes goal at actual racing world

Over the course of eight weeks, tons of of contestants competed in a number of occasions, with hundreds of thousands of kilos in prizes being received – however this wasn’t any sporting occasion.

Luke Bennett will return from the inaugural Esports World Cup in Saudi Arabia as a world champion.

Not solely that, however the 19-year-old from Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, additionally acquired a good-looking reward of £100,000 after taking the highest prize in sim racing (brief for simulated racing).

“It is so surreal,” Luke instructed BBC Newsbeat. However now he desires the possibility to comprehend that dream in motorsport.

Luke is a member of the Redline workforce, a division of the Purple Bull F1 workforce, which counts Belgian-Dutch racing driver Max Verstappen amongst its alumni.

“It is identical to real-life racing,” Luke mentioned of sim racing. “However on a pc.”

The workforce has been round for greater than 20 years, however Luke says individuals are nonetheless shocked when he talks about what he does.

He mentioned folks have been shocked when he instructed them concerning the prize cash concerned.

“It reveals that it is getting larger and that it may be a profession for some folks.”

Staff Redline dominated the Esports World Cup, by no means falling outdoors the highest 4 within the occasion’s finals.

“It has been a tough few months,” Luke mentioned. “Day by day—apply, apply, apply.

“Now all the burden has been lifted off our shoulders.”

Luke is not simply quick on the digital monitor. He says his profession can also be taking off.

“I began driving with only a £100 steering wheel on my desk and had some enjoyable with it,” he mentioned.

Earlier than lengthy, different contestants seen his potential, and his mother and father helped him purchase a greater simulator.

“That’s when issues actually took off,” he mentioned.

“I joined the Redline workforce and it’s been progressing ever since, till now.”

Esports competitions are nonetheless “fairly area of interest and fairly new,” he mentioned.

“It wasn’t lengthy earlier than all these prizes began being handed out and all these massive tournaments began, so there weren’t numerous tales about folks making it alongside the best way.”

On this sense, he’s a pioneer, admitting that the “future is a little bit unsure” for esports champions.

Regardless of the uncertainty, the business has been given one other increase final month with the announcement that it’ll begin subsequent 12 months There can even be Olympic eSports competitions.

Just like the Esports World Cup, the Olympics can even be held in Saudi Arabia as a part of a 12-year partnership between Saudi Arabia and the Worldwide Olympic Committee.

Forward of the World Cup, gamers, broadcasters and followers have been divided over the choice to host the match within the Arab nation, which additionally funds the prize cash, due to the nation’s file on human rights.

Homosexuality is unlawful in Saudi Arabia and has been criticized for its stance on LGBT relationships and lack of girls’s rights.

Critics denounced this as a “sporting shuffle” however organizers defended the choice. Inform Newsbeat nobody will face discrimination on the occasion.

Luke says the nation is “a extremely cool surroundings” for the occasion and now goals to win extra races and make it to the Olympics – which he says will probably be “unimaginable”.

“I really feel a little bit bizarre calling myself an Olympian as a result of I actually do not feel like an Olympian,” he mentioned.

“However it will be a extremely cool factor.

“The dream remains to be the identical – we could also be world champions, however there’s all the time extra.

“We wish to be world champions in every thing, so we’ll preserve going.”

If Luke could be a pioneer in on-line esports careers, there’s no cause why he can’t be a pioneer in offline esports.

“I hope to get into the actual world of motorsport someday,” he mentioned.

“I see increasingly folks moving into sim racing now and hopefully that may occur.

“If not, I nonetheless have loads of time to determine what I wish to do as a result of I am nonetheless solely 19.”

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