FIFA might be full of British talent, but for every Gorilla, Tass and Tekkz, there are a dozen other hopeful players and rising stars looking to make a name for themselves. For 21-year-old Owen Venn, his story his more unique.
After breaking his leg, he couldn’t return to real football, so turned to the video game instead. He quit university a year ago to try to make esports his full-time job, and after playing for Method in the Gfinity Elite Series, he’s now qualified for the ePremier League finals, where he will be representing Southampton FC.
We ask Owen about his ambitions and thoughts going into the finals.
Please tell us a bit about yourself, your background and how you got into FIFA and esports.
I’m a 21-year-old professional FIFA player who has been doing this for a year now after leaving uni to pursue esports as a full-time career.
So I have been playing video games from a very young age, starting from playing on the Game Boy to then adventuring into console video games, thanks to my older brother Ryan who introduced me to games such as Call Of Duty and the idea of playing online.
I always used to play the old-school FIFA games on my PSP where I would play the career mode, but once I discovered online FIFA I instantly fell in love with it. As I got older and the more I played, I found out about esports back in 2014 through Call Of Duty.
When EA decided to back FIFA esports and we saw the prize pools increase, with more events being held, I decided to give FIFA a real go on FIFA 18. I wasn’t enjoying university and it was always a dream to have a career in gaming in some sort of way, so this was the step I took. At the start, balancing uni and FIFA was hard – then decided to drop out of university in January 2018 and haven’t looked back since.
“I’m very confident going into the ePremier League finals. I believe in my ability, having just qualified for the eChampions League last weekend.”
Before you broke your leg, what kind of trajectory did you foresee for your career? Did you ever think you’d get involved with pro gaming back then?
I actually broke my leg the same time I found out about esports, so it sort of went hand in hand.
I first started to look into competitive Call Of Duty, but didn’t really take it too serious. I just used that time to find out what the competitive gaming experience was like and how much it relates to my competitive nature in sports, such as football and going to the gym, where I found that wanting to better yourself was a common theme.
So maybe if I didn’t break my leg I wouldn’t have had that experience, but I always felt my path in video games was going to end with me having a job in the industry in some sort of way.
Ironically, one week after breaking my leg (and not knowing how to use the crutches at all), I decided to travel to London by train to watch a Call Of Duty event being held by Gfinity.
Speaking of Gfinity, they’re the tournament operator of the ePremier League. What are your thoughts on this tournament? How do you think it can grow in the future?
For me I feel that the ePremier League is one of the biggest things to happen in the FIFA scene. Finally, I feel we can relate what we do to the real world – and people are understanding the relation FIFA esports has to real football.
With the backing of football clubs, it will only help the scene grow, as it will hopefully see some football fans become FIFA esports fans in the near future. I think it will grow year by year, because the ePremier League will learn something new each year and improve.
“I feel that the ePremier League is one of the biggest things to happen in the FIFA scene. People are understanding the relation FIFA esports has to real football.”
How do you think you’ll do in the finals?
I’m very confident going into the finals. I believe in my ability, having just qualified for the eChampions League last weekend.
I’m very sure of my ability but I have to take it game by game and adapt to whatever situation I get myself into. But I plan on getting far.
What are your longer-term aims and ambitions in esports?
My plans are to win an event and really get my name out there as a household name.
I want to be the best in the world but I also want to build a fanbase where I can connect with my fans, help them improve and take them on my journey to becoming the best.
Thanks Owen, is there anything else you’d like to add?
Check out my YouTube (Method Venny) where I upload my FUT Champions rewards, gameplay and more, and my Twitter, here.
