West Sussex man is named best esports commentator
With 3 million followers across social platforms, a West Sussex games commentator has been given top honours at an awards ceremony in Los Angeles.
Brandon Smith, 27 was born in Chichester and lives in Bognor. For seven years, he’s been an esports commentator for the EAFC (previously named FIFA) titles. Esports is a term used for professional video game competitions that take place all around the world. Players near the top end of their esports game can make in the region of £5,000 to £10,000 per month.
This month, Brandon snapped up the award for the Esports Commentator Of The Year at the esports awards. Most recently, he also commentated on the eChampions League alongside Ruud Gullit.
Speaking on how he got into it, Brandon Smith said: "I always wanted to get into broadcasting in football. I used to go down to Bognor Regis games to commentate voluntarily and for Brighton games, I’d have access to the media area and do updates during games for my own use.
“I decided to study Journalism and I’d always played FIFA (now EAFC). It was in my first year of university that a friend recommended I should commentate on a FIFA league from my university bedroom, I’d run the broadcast parts of it too.
"In the same year, EA Sports (the game developer of FIFA) were looking for their next two commentators. Me and my friend entered the competition and ended up winning it. We didn’t expect anything from it, but everything got very busy and it became my job."
Commenting on receiving the award, the Bognor man said: “This award means the world to me, it’s a real career milestone. It’s more than just a game.”