One Canadian father is sparking controversy for supporting his sonâs eSports career, going as far as pulling him out of school so he could dedicate more time to video games.
Dave Herzog, a 49-year-old entrepreneur from Sudbury, Canada, has been âbreedingâ his son, Jordan, for an eSports career for over a decade. A longtime gamer himself, Dave claims that he put a gaming controller in his sonâs hands when he was just three years old, and it didnât take long for him to show that he had a true gift for gaming. By age seven, he was already a skilled Halo player, and at age 10 he was already dominating local gamers that Dave himself had put him in contact with. But it was when Jordan won his first Halo tournament, which earned him $2,000 worth of gaming apparel, that Dave Herzog realized his son could make a career out of it.
Dave Herzog took Jordan out of school last year, over the initial protests of his mother, and doesnât regret his decision one bit. In fact, after Jordan qualified for this yearâs main Fortnite tournament, he emailed his old school to let them know how much money Jordan stands to make if he places well enough. There was some controversy surrounding his decision, with people accusing him of child abuse, but he claims itâs only a matter of perception. If it was sports or piano, people would be fine with it, but because itâs video games, itâs abuse, he says.
Crimz has so far earned around $60,000 from gaming, which his father plans to invest on his behalf, but this is only the beginning. Dave believes his son has the chance to build a lucrative career for himself, one that comes with fame, pride, and earnings that could one day reach into the millions.