Though 26 is a remarkably young age at which to retire in traditional sports, in esports it's the norm. In Activision's Call of Duty League, the average competitor is around 22 years old, according to league data. In Blizzard Entertainment's Overwatch League, the average player is about 20 years old. In both leagues, players retire extremely young compared to traditional sports. While only six players have retired from the Call of Duty League since it was launched in 2020, the median age is 26.

Almost 70,000 gamers are set to crowd Los Angeles Convention Center for the annual E3 expo, a highlight on the video game calendar. Some of the top attractions are esports, with competitions throughout the week attracting fans in droves. Fernando Lewis knew he was good at video games like Madden NFL and NBA 2K, but he wanted a better barometer of his skills. He signed up for some tournaments, but it wasn't easy to get regular competition in between them. Then he found Play One Up.