Photo: Boombox

▲ Isaac "Boombox" Charles of the Philadelphia Fusion.

When you think of your favorite esports star, you usually don't think of them competing in a small town tournament for a couple hundred dollars, if that. However, this very scenario is what gave many professional players their start.

Professional Overwatch player for the Philadephia Fusion, Isaac “Boombox” Charles, is no different and, recently, he decided to give back.

A couple weeks ago, Boombox made a contribution towards a tournament’s prize pool that enabled him to learn the ropes of the esports industry.

It wasn’t in Overwatch, though.

Boombox, a former professional Starcraft II player, decided to donate funds to the epic.LAN Starcraft II tournament prize pool, which currently stands at £1,750 plus tickets to an upcoming event.

Even though Boombox has transitioned over to a new competitive scene, Starcraft II will always hold a special place in his heart.

“Starcraft will always be special for me. Improving myself and my skills is my joy and it was the first game I tried to become the best in. I worked my way up from never playing a pc game before to being one of the highest on the ladder and winning UK events,” said Boombox.

When Boombox was 17-years-old, he attended and won the epic14 event which was held by the same tournament organizers currently running the event he recently donated to.

For him, this was an easy decision after he received a little inspiration.

“I saw a friend's tweet saying he'd donate if he won some of the prize pool towards lower placed finishes to help incentivize more people participating. I thought it was a cool idea, so I wanted to help to incentivize it even more as UK SC2 tournaments helped me grow and to love esports and to really go for it and pursue it more,” said Boombox.

Out of the spotlight

Photo: ENUK

▲ Boombox back in 2015 after winning the epic14 tournament.



After receiving the donation, epic.LAN founder, Jon Winkle posted on the tournament's website thanking the former champion for his generosity.

"Isaac didn't actually want any credit for his kind gesture but I felt it was such a nice thing to do. It's so heartwarming to see people remembering where they started their esports careers after moving on to bigger things, we really should make a fuss about what he's done for the SC2 players at this event,” said Winkle.

Boombox could have easily shared what he did online to his thousands of followers on social media but that’s just not who he is.

“I don’t usually do things for recognition or attention. If I see an opportunity where I think I can help grow something I like and am thankful for, then I’ll do it whether it is big or small,” said Boombox.

While he doesn’t have any plans to contribute funds to other tournaments in the future, for Boombox, it was just a small token of appreciation to a circuit that made him who he is today.