Yahoo News UK Gaming Professionals Take On The World
One of the UK's top professional computer gaming teams has been competing at a major international tournament in Paris.
To the members of Team Dignitas, playing computer games is not just a hobby, it is how they earn a living.
Playing at the Electronic Sports World Cup (ESWC) in the French capital is just one of a number of international events on the group's impressive itinerary.
David Treacy, 28, better known by his player name 'Zaccubus', joined the team six years ago as a full-time gamer.
He says when people ask him what he does for a living their reaction is often one of surprise.
"It doesn't really roll off the tongue very well, there are a lot of shocking reactions but when you bring it down to it, it's just playing games incredibly well," he said.
A career like Mr Treacy's usually begins when a particularly skilled player gets spotted at a live event and picked up by a pro team.
The group's manager Michael 'Odee' O'Dell , who runs the team from his converted garage in Surrey, describes himself as the Sir Alex Ferguson of gaming.
"Sometimes there are people in their bedrooms who don't even know they're world class, and it's my job to find them," he explained.
He says there is nothing like watching his boys compete at events like the ESWC.
"When my players are in a big, big final, the only way I can describe it is similar to my wife having a baby. It's the same feeling."
UK-based professional players earn most of their income through tournaments and sponsorship.
Annual earnings can typically be anywhere between £20,000 and £50,000, but only if the player is winning competitions regularly.
That is in stark contrast to the six-figure salaries received by top players in countries like South Korea, where gaming is near enough a national sport.
But with increasingly keen sponsors and UK fans, perhaps one day in the not-too-distant future, Britain's cyber sportsmen and women will start to receive similar money and status to today's Premier League football stars.
