I used to compete as a semi-professional Call of Duty player during Infinite Warfare, World War 2, and Black Ops 4. I was known for my role as an intelligent and turret-like Main AR player, holding down critical positions on the map and rotating early to secure advantageous positions. When I was approached to join a decent team, I was starting my second year of college. Since I had always dreamed of making a living by playing video games, I decided to drop out of college, believing I could always return to it. I knew the prime age to become a Pro in the Call of Duty scene is between 18 and 21. If I didn't secure a contract with a Pro Team offering a salary, paid hotel stays, flights, and other benefits by my 21st birthday, I knew I would have to let go of my dream due to the significant time commitment required to compete at a high level.

My daily schedule involved waking up at 2:30 am to get to work by 3 am, leaving work by 12 pm, and working 40 hours a week to be home by 1 pm. I'd take a 45-minute power nap and then shoot 1000 bots to warm up before scrims, which started around 3-4 pm. We would play two full map and game mode team scrims, except on Sundays when MLG held online tournaments. These tournaments provided cash rewards and offered pro points that determined seeding for online and LAN events. Higher seeding allowed teams to have the first choice in map vetoes and picks for series, potentially leading to a more favorable bracket placement for future events. As a result, I spent a minimum of 4-6 hours each day playing and another hour reviewing previous VODs to identify areas for improvement and develop new strategies. Competing at this level required sacrificing a significant amount of energy, mental focus, sleep, and social relationships. Continuing to compete beyond the optimal age range could jeopardize future career opportunities and personal relationships. I kept my promise to myself and retired from competitive Call of Duty at 21. My father once told me, "You're given two things in life for free in this world, that's your name and your word. If you don't stay true to your word, your name and words will cease to exist." This is a principle I live by. After retiring, I became a leading salesperson for a company within two years, and I am currently in my third year as a Financial Planning Advisor at the age of 27.

The last major LAN event I attended was CWL Las Vegas with Rectify Esports, where we were the 33rd seed out of 272 teams. To be considered a semi-pro or top amateur, it is necessary to place at least T68 at multiple major LAN events throughout a season and have a contract with a team or organization that provides financial support for representing their brand at LAN events and online.

Proof down below
- https://gyazo.com/f0600a6be730d862f148b16c277403a6
- https://gyazo.com/71a1722f8fadf5ffb6784e6e94b7bda4

Photo evidence could be falsified, so check out these "Best of20__" Montages
Best of 2017 - https://youtu.be/8FyTnidiqmU?si=nUTUvTg4A2eiCi7z
Best of 2018 - https://youtu.be/EPLPdZue2ug?si=vWxrJatjVnrALd44
Best of 2020 - https://youtu.be/n6TfDGtYJsU?si=yz9rVtpQrfmr8Zli

Now that I'm considered a Boomer in gaming, I just play video games for fun now but I do still do enjoy playing ranked/comp playlist's so GL & GG

PC SPECS

CPU - AMD Ryzen 9 7950X 16-Core/32-Thread
GPU - MSI GeForce RTX 4090 SUPRIM LIQUID
MOTHERBOARD - GIGABYTE X670E AORUS Master
MEMORY - G.Skill Trident Z5 NEO RGB Series (AMD Expo) 64GB DDR5 6000
SSDS - Samsung 990 PRO 2TB, Samsung 980 PRO 2TB & WD_BLACK SN850X 4TB

PC SET-UP

MONITORS - Dough 32" OLED Gorilla Glass 4K @ 240Hz / 1080p @ 480Hz, LG UltraGear 27" OLED 1440p 240Hz & ASUS ROG Swift 27" IPS 1440p 240Hz
HEADSET - Astro A50 Wireless Headset
KEYBOARD - Wooting 60HE+
MICES - Logitech G Pro X Superlight 2, Razer Viper V2 Pro (8k Dongle) & Pulsar X2H Mini (4k Dongle)
MOUSEPAD - Lethal Gaming Gear Saturn Pro XXL Soft
CHAIR - Herman Miller X Logitech G Embody w/ an Atlas Headrest
CONTROLLERS - Scuf Envision Pro, Scuf Infinity 4PS Pro & PS5 DualSense Edge
MIC - Elgato Wave 3