How this 22 year old makes $1million a year playing video games

Matt Haag A.K.A Nadeshot

The world of competitive gaming, or e-sports, doesn't require the players to get up out of their seats. But that doesn't mean the players don't sweat. Or make a ton of money.
One of the biggest names in the e-sports realm right now is a 22-year-old named Matt Haag, who is better known as "Nadeshot." He's a master at "Call of Duty," and he's part of a team, called OpTic Gaming. He's even sponsored by Red Bull.
And just three years ago he was flipping burgers at a McDonald's, according to an excellent profile of Haag by the New York Times' Conor Dougherty.
But playing video games is serious work. He and his teammates practice for hours a day, Dougherty writes. Haag is monitored by a "sports technologist" to check out the effects of video gaming on his brain. And he has a nutritionist to help him plan healthy meals and to make sure that he's getting enough exercise, according to the Times.
That's not out of the ordinary when it comes to the competitive online gaming world, where there's big money to be made. A team of kids from Korea won $1 million for playing another popular game, "League of Legends." Millions of people around the world watched them do it.
And much like other gamers who have found fame via social media and sites like Twitch, which Amazon bought earlier this year for close to $1 billion , Haag makes money from video streams as well as sponsorship deals and tournament wins. In fact he'll probably make around $700,000 just from his YouTube site, the Times reports. And Major League Gaming  signed him to stream exclusively on their site. Together with the money he makes at tourneys and from his sponsorship, he's on track to making $1 million, the Times says.
Haag has more than 1 million followers on YouTube  and he`s getting better at what he loves doing everyday......hmmm...smart dude!!!.


source:business insider