The emerging competitive field of eSports has a uniquely low barrier of entry in terms of required physical ability; those on both ends of the age spectrum do not need to be athletic in order to dominate whatever game they play. From a7-year-old winning aPokemontournamentto Kyle “Bugha” Giersdorf winning theFortniteWorld Cup at 16 years of age, it appears that the future of the industry is in the youth. Much like traditional sports, teams have taken to scouting younger players to mold them into the next generation of superstars.
With this in mind, Team 33’s marquee signing of 8-year-old Joseph “33 Gosu” Deen to itsFortniteroster remains surprising nonetheless, especially considering what was included in the deal. As part of the signing, Deen received a high-performance gaming setup worth $5,000 and a signing bonus of $33,000. Team 33 reportedly scouted Deen for the past two years before signing him.
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In a press release, Deen stated that the move was “a dream come true”, saying: “While many other teams didn’t take me seriously due to my young age, Team 33 scouted me through Fornite [sic] games and let me train and learn with them daily. I couldn’t be happier today to become an official member of the team.” Other young professional gamers include 13-year-oldJoão “Snowzin” Vinicius of BOOM’sCS:GOsquadand 16-year-old Kyle “Mongraal” Jackson of FaZe Clan Europe’sFortniteroster. “We are beyond excited to have Joseph on our exclusive Team 33 roster,” said Team 33 co-founder Tyler Gallagher.
Despite the historic nature of the signing, there are concerns surrounding Deen being underage. FaZe Clan previously ran into a similar situation when itsignedFortnitepro H1ghSky1last year, who could not enter tournaments due to being 12 years old at the time which is under the age minimum of 13 years. His Twitch and Twitter accounts were suspended, but are now back up as of this time of publication due to have turned 13 since the incident.
While Team 33 could utilize child entertainer laws as a loophole, it is unlikely that the new organization has put much thought into this approach considering FaZe Clan’s controversy. Information regarding that issue came out during the dispute betweenFaZe and Turner “Tfue” Tenney, which has since been settled out of court. Team 33’s setup is also rather lean, with no-one including Deen being listed on team rosters. It remains unlikely if Deen will compete inFortnitetournaments considering his young age.
Most of the information regarding the group is about its House 33 headquarters in Los Angeles. It is listed as “an award-winning property designed for gamers, entrepreneurs, and music artists” that has hosted the likes of Drake, Post Malone, andTravis Scott. The team is currently forming rosters for other titles includingCall of Duty,League of Legends, andCS:GO.
