"The cutest memory of Sam playing video games was when he was 3, and he started playing Mario Party. He always wanted to play the character Wario, but he couldn't pronounce it and when he tried to pronounce Wario it always came out "Oreo" and he constantly yelled Oreo instead of Wario during the game, and it was so funny I wouldn't correct him."

At first I thought that his idea of being a professional videogame player was unrealistic. I told Lasse that millions of youngsters around the world dream the same but only a handful actually turn it into a profession. Lasse had just started sea captain school and I had first wished that he would have continued to study there. Soon after beginning his studies, Lasse said that he might get on a sponsored team.

Then I realized that he's serious about going pro in Dota and he's apparently pretty good at it. Back then I thought that it's fine, he will have time to go to school when he's a bit older. From this point we as a family slowly started to get to know this videogame called "Dota 2". The more I learned about the game, the more I was convinced that Lasse might have a shot at turning this into a profession. I had followed him for years playing pitcher in Finnish baseball and I saw so many common factors in Dota: stress management, eye for the game and the will to win.

In the beginning of his career, I was nervous for him. I wasn't sure how he would handle the setbacks and disappointments, but now I'm nervous for everyone in his team!. Now I see professional gaming as a competitive sport like any other conventional sporting event. Nowadays I watch almost all of his games and I'm planning to go watch him play live in Moscow during Epicenter. I'm happy that my son has found a job he truly enjoys.

"I had asked Matt to apply for a sales or tech job at Best Buy’s gaming department. After all, he spent all of his time indoors, in front of his computer, virtually 24/7, playing video games, and going to high school online at home.

“No, Mom, I want to play video games,” was his response.

As it turned out, he was Matlife, and, on his own, had tried out for Team Liquid Academy and made it. Matt announced he was moving to LA within two weeks. Matt had passed their test, but Liquid had to pass mine; they did.

The best moment of watching my son become a pro gamer came only a few days after he helped lead TLA to a spot in the Challenger Series, and shortly after TL’s loss in the first game of the 2016 Spring Split. Matt called me to say, “Mom, I’ll be starting tomorrow.” I could feel his contained joy and excitement. He would be playing on the LCS stage. He wanted to go practice.



From home in Hawaii our family watched Matt play for the first time, and not just his gamer name, on the screen. A week later, I found the LCS Studio to be all Lights, Cameras, and Fun! I watched Liquid Matt earn his first win on the LCS stage. At the end of the high-five line, I reached out for a hug and heard, “Hi, Mom.”

I knew he’d do it!"

"Since his youngest age, I felt something very special about Maroun. I remember when he was a little boy and when his feet couldn't touch the floor, he was always surrounded and appreciated by older people cos he was so special—smart, energetic, and confident.

I believe in his skills and capabilities, and he always has an open heart and mind which leads him to undoubted success. I simply believe in him and I feel that I am the proudest mom in the world! I wish him all the luck in the world."

"Russel ("Twistzz"), my son, from the age of 5 was always interested in computers and games and wanted to do what the grown-ups were doing. His father and I played Quake for a couple years, and might I say I was pretty good at it back then! From there, Russel would start playing together with us and getting really into it and loving the fact we were doing it together as a family. Unfortunately, I stopped playing and just let the boys plays (father and son)—it was good bonding for them. As the years passed, Russel's love of playing games and being competitive grew. LANs were a monthly thing for him and his dad and was something he looked forward to. As he got older I started working more, and well, the computer become sort of like a babysitter—not something I am proud of.



In 2012, his father and I went our separate ways, ending a 14 year marriage, which left Russel very heartbroken and lost. He lived with his father for a short time while I was tying to get my life in order. Eventually, later that year, he moved in with me and my boyfriend at the time where I was hoping to give him a better life. Russel never had it easy with attending school; right from elementary to the end of middle school he was continuously picked on and bullied. Every day when I would take him to school I would pray that he was going to be okay and that I wouldn't get the phone calls from the school letting me know there was an incident. So many times, I would show up and he would have dry blood on his lips from someone punching him in the face and the starting of a black eye. A parent's worst fear coming true; the fear of sending him to school everyday became very overwhelming at times.

But Russel wouldn't let it get to him. He would still attend and I know deep down that he really didn't want to most days. It goes to show his strengths of being able to overcome life's struggled and not giving up. So when he became more interested in playing CS, I just let him be. He would laugh and enjoy himself and I didn't see a problem with that. He had found his place where he finally fit, a world that understood him, so to speak.



When Russel was in middle school, his father moved away and he had lost the one male in his life that knew and understood him. It really hit him and made him want to hide even more. My heart broke for him. I was slowly losing my son... the only time I heard him laugh and joke was when he was playing CS. As time went by, the more he played and the better he got at it. He eventually started playing for a local team and was really getting excited to where this could take him (a world I didn't know existed).

A few months into playing for his team, he got spotted up by a bigger organization, which wanted to sign him and move him to Las Vegas to live in a gaming house (?!?!). What? I was so uneducated in this world (esports) and I had a lot to learn. But as a parent, what was I to do? I wanted him to be happy and to let him grow. This was becoming a dream come true for him, any 16 year old's dream. So that's what we did; we went to Vegas together. While in Vegas, that's when I truly saw the light in his eyes again. Well, I came home leaving my son to follow his dreams. It really didn't completely sink in until I was back on the plane coming home, alone. Did I do the right thing? Will he really be okay, safe? I didn't know any of the answers, but he needed to do this in order to make himself happy again. And that's what mattered to me the most.

Through this whole adventure, we have become closer, not just as mom and son but friends too. I am so proud of the man he has become, he has followed his dreams without letting life's hurdles get in the way. I am proud to call him my son and will continue to be his biggest fan and supporter. Although I haven't made it to one of his live shows yet, I try to make sure I watch every match and cheer him on as if I was right there. It really is endless, what he can accomplish when he sets his mind to it. In less than a year he is finely playing for his favorite team, the team he wanted so badly to play for. Proud Mama! 😊"

"I’ll be honest, computers and games started for Steve when he was very young. 4 years old, computers and Atari. It was the only learning game at the time, something with 3 letter words, and he'd spend all his time punching answers into the computer.



Then you know, grade school happened and Nintendo and Sega became one of the main games for him. He was very big into Zelda. Now, we were down in Leesburg Virginia and every weekend downtown, Blockbuster used to have tournaments. Steve would sign up for fun; there was no money or anything involved it was mostly for the title. Now this one time, there was a Blockbuster tournament in Maryland. NBA JAM I think it was, and we drove down and we signed him up. Of course, he didn’t win. He played the game at home, but the thing was he only played the game on the same side of the court every single time. So when he went to the tournament, they put him on the opposite side of what he was used to. He ended up shooting baskets on the wrong side of the field.

Now, when he went into finance, he did come to me and talk about dropping his job and going into esports. At the time, when you think of gaming, I was like "how much money?" But in the end, it turned out to be very successful for him. Once he gets his mind set on something he really pushes forward. The only thing funny about all this is now he’s been so busy recently, we don’t see him anymore! "

"Happy Mothers Day, thanks for being the best mom ever!"

"It's always crazy to me when I think of how I got onto Team Liquid, but without the support of my Mom through thick and thin I wouldn't be where I am today, I am so grateful to have her in my life and so lucky that she is my mother. Thanks Mom for not only the opportunities you have laid out for me, but being there no matter what."

"So me and my mom have always been close. I remember her taking me to my first tournaments and paying for my entry even though we didn't have a lot of money. And she always had my back no matter what.

I think she realized early on that there was a lot of potential in Smash for me, not in terms of an esports career but also as a way to make friends and experience life. And I'm really happy she did. She was also so nice to the smashers I would bring over to practice with when I was in middle school, even if they were like 10 years older than I was.

She's had a huge impact in the Smash community and a lot of people don't realize it."