A Regina teen returned home with a world championship under his belt.
Not for hockey, but Halo.
Nineteen year old Mat Fiorante and his team, Counter Logic Gaming, won the Halo World Championships in Hollywood last weekend.
The team took home $1 million in prize money, giving Fiorante a $250,000 split of the winnings.
He was more excited about the championship ring he and his teammates won, which are manufactured by the same company that makes national football championship rings.
Fiorante also brought the Halo World Championship trophy home with him. It hasn’t left his side since it was awarded to him on stage.
Due to its size, Fiorante had to carry it through customs on his flight back to Regina. It now sits proudly on his desk beside the gaming equipment that took him there in the first place.
The Halo champion has been playing competitively for 14 years. He practices anywhere from four to eight hours a day, and live-streams his games on his Twitch channel, pulling in on average anywhere from 500 to 1000 viewers a session.
Closer to competitions, he and his team, who live in different places all across North America, practice together over the internet.
“Our practice sessions are 70% playing the game, 30% discussing strategy,” Fiorante said.
He said people don’t take professional gaming seriously, despite the work that goes into it.
“I think you should actually take it seriously. It’s really going to be an actual thing and it’s not taken lightly. A lot of people were like ‘you’re just playing video games, it’s a joke’, but then you look at how many hours and actual practice we put into it, and then you look at the money… it’s a huge thing.”