Jamil Shoujah

I watched Nadeshot grow from a professional Call of Duty player into one of the biggest personalities in esports. I saw him become a Red Bull athlete, something that, at the time, felt almost surreal to me. Here was someone being recognized alongside athletes from traditional sports because of what he had accomplished through gaming.

That changed the way I looked at esports. But the part of his story that stayed with me the most came afterward.

Nadeshot eventually stepped away from competitive Call of Duty and left OpTic. Instead of disappearing from esports, he took everything he had learned from competition, content creation, community and branding and built something of his own: 100 Thieves.

Watching 100 Thieves grow was when my fascination with esports became something much deeper.

It wasn’t simply an esports team. It combined competition, creators, storytelling, apparel and gaming culture into one identity. I started supporting 100 Thieves in 2018, and I’ve followed the organization ever since.

What inspired me about Nadeshot’s journey was never just the trophies. It was the idea that someone could love video games, build a community around that passion, and eventually turn it into something much larger than themselves.

At the same time, my own path was taking shape.

I loved gaming, but professionally I chose Computer Science. For a while, those felt like two completely separate worlds: one was what I was studying and building my career around; the other was something I loved.

Eventually, those worlds collided.

The kid who once watched Nadeshot compete for OpTic, celebrated the rise of 100 Thieves, and wondered what it would be like to be part of the esports industry eventually found himself working inside that industry.

Years later, I became the Lead Arabic Talent Manager for the Esports World Cup, working with players, talent, production teams and some of the biggest esports titles in the world.

That is probably why esports will always mean more to me than simply playing video games.

I got to experience it first as a fan, then as a computer scientist, and eventually as someone helping make the show happen behind the scenes.

And in a strange way, part of that journey traces all the way back to watching Nadeshot play Call of Duty for OpTic Gaming and realizing: