eSports: Meet Poacher, Roma’s new 17-year-old FIFA signing

When did you first start playing FIFA?

“I started playing FIFA when I was four years old. My brother was about five or six, and he got me into watching football and playing some of the older FIFAs. From there, I started to play casually on the computer. Around the FIFA 07 era, I got an Xbox 360 for Christmas, and I started playing Ultimate Team in FIFA 09. That’s when I started to play against online opponents.

"In FIFA 14, I was an average divisions player on Ultimate Team, but then I decided to sign up for Gfinity, an online website for tournaments. I entered one of them and got battered, but I decided to keep on entering them, however often they occurred. From there, six months later, I qualified for an event: one of the Gfinity Play Like a Legend events. I managed to come second in that one event, and then from there I kept on competing online, qualifying for a few events. Three years later, FIFA 17 is here and this is where I’m at.”

Describe your style of play…

“I’d like to think that I’m a versatile player. One day I play really quick, but one day I can play really slow. If the 4-1-2-1-2 counter-attack is working for me, I stick to that, but also, if 4-2-3-1 slow possession style is working for me, I can also use that. I often change teams every week, so I can play pretty much any style of play I need to.”

What is your preferred formation to play with on FIFA?

“It’s either 4-1-2-1-2(2) or 4-2-3-1 narrow. 4-1-2-1-2 (2) is what most professional players use because it’s so effective, and the 4-2-3-1 counteracts that formation just because it’s so wide.”

At what point did you realise that you could become a professional FIFA gamer?

“I’ve always known that competitive FIFA was a thing, but I never got myself involved with it until I started to play in Gfnity tournaments. When I qualified for my first event, that’s when I realised that maybe I could make a career out of this.”

When did you make your professional debut

“My first event was Play Like a Legend: Season 3 in FIFA 15. It was a difficult tournament, even though a lot of players got banned. I ended up qualifying at around 20th place when it was really only supposed to be the top 15 players, but I managed to come in second, beating Ty Walton in the quarter-finals.”

How often do you train and what is your training regimen like?

“At the start of this FIFA, I played around 12-15 hours a day for the first week. Once I get used to the game, it definitely slows down a bit to around 4 hours per day. Now, you have the Weekend League where it’s around 10-15 games per day on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. During the week, I play about three games a day, and on the weekend I play 10-15 games a day.”

Do you have a pre-match ritual or any unique superstitions?

“No. I know a lot of people do, but I’ve never really tended to believe or participate in that kind of stuff.”

What is your biggest professional achievement in your career thus far?

“It would have to be my first professional event, just because I came in second place. In other events after that, I’ve made it to the quarter-finals, but it’d have to be the Play Like a Legend: Season 3 event from FIFA 15.”

What do you like to do in your spare time?

“I used to play football in real life quite a bit, but I don’t really do that much anymore. Apart from FIFA, I mainly just play other games to be honest. I like to play Rocket League, Call of Duty and Overwatch as well.”

Who are your role models in the FIFA community?

“In general, I’ve always watched YouTubers like KSI growing up. In terms of competitive FIFA, I’ve always known about Gorilla, Tass and Ty Walton when I started playing Gfinity, so I’d have to say them.”

If you could give one piece of advice to FIFA players seeking to improve their games, what would it be?

“It would be playing against better opponents: that’s how I got better. I was an average Division One player - I wouldn’t win Division One every time, but when I started playing Gfinity, I was playing some of the world’s top players in cups practically every day, which is what made me better.”

Favourite Roma player (past or present)?

“Francesco Totti, definitely. Obviously, being English and supporting an Italian club is quite unheard of, but my brother supported Roma for quite a few years from a young age. His favourite player was Totti, and he was so involved with Roma that my parents actually gave him the nickname ‘Totti’ when he was younger, so I’d have to say Totti.’”

Favourite Roma player to use on FIFA and why?

“Mohamed Salah. In Ultimate Team, he has a few special cards and he’s honestly up there with Neymar and Ronaldo. His left foot is so good, and he’s 5’9”, which is the perfect height for an attacking player. He’s just really good on the game.”

How did you react when you first heard of Roma’s interest?

“Obviously it was a slow procedure, but when we started talking to them, it was definitely interesting to see that an Italian club was getting involved with eSports, I was really excited, because as a professional player, at least one of your goals is to sign for a club. I just got really excited because it’s been one of the goals I have as a professional player.”

Why did you sign for Roma?

“My brother used to support them, so that’s obviously one reason. Also, it’s such a big, well-known club in world football.”

How does it feel to be one of Roma’s first official eSports signings?

“I’m signing with Nicolò ‘Insa’ and Aman as well, but it feels good. Coming out to Italy and meeting the players is really exciting for sure.”

What are some of your goals you hope to achieve this year with Roma?

“I don’t like to predict long-term goals, but I want to qualify for the FIWC (FIFA Interactive World Cup) 2017, and hopefully place high or even win the FIWC event this year.”

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