A Northern Ireland lad whose mum once threw his games console in the bin is now playing Call of Duty professionally on the world esports circuit.

Dylan Henderson, 20, has been signed by ReKTGlobal's London franchise of the 2020 Call of Duty World League along with twins Bradley and Matthew Marshall.

The East Belfast man only started competing in February last year but has already worked in Vegas, travelled across America and is now in Dallas taking his opponents head on.

Dylan said on Twitter: "Honestly blows my mind everyday with the situation my life is in and how blessed I am to do this as a JOB. Can’t wait to get the season started, time for history."

His mum Heather told Belfast Live the whole family is incredibly proud of him.

She added: "His dad and I are both obviously delighted for him - his sisters as well. This last year has been a whirlwind for us all.

"I never saw the potential in gaming as a career a few years ago. Dylan was always adamant he wanted to be a professional gamer though I was always concerned about the time he spent gaming.

"There were numerous rows and I did actually throw his console in the bin years ago, but his dad gave it back to him.

"I have gone from shouting at him to get off it to sitting up half the night cheering him on at competitions.

"Dylan has travelled all over America, lived in Las Vegas for six months and now the icing on the cake is to play for UK team London Call of Duty.

"We can't wait for the home match!"

Becoming a named esports player is like being chosen by a Premiership football team in gaming circles.

Before Dylan’s signing with ReKTGlobal was announced on September 20, he played for Radix Esports, Team Sween, Brash Esports, and Team Reciprocity which finished 5-6th in the 2019 Call of Duty World League Championships.

Once his move has been approved by the league he will play for the London Call of Duty team in the flex role, which means he is a flexible player who can use any character in the game.

Dominic Sacco from the British Esports Association, which promotes gaming careers at a grass roots level, said he would like to see others following Dylan’s success.

The content director said: “People are starting to understand now that esports offer several career paths and several options for young people.

“There are not just the professional players out there that can earn five, six, even seven figures at the very top level - esports offer a variety of careers like traditional sports.

“There commentary positions, coaching, sales and marketing, journalism - it’s a whole ecosystem and it is growing.

“I would encourage anyone out there that doesn’t understand it or is not willing to accept this is a thing - to give it a chance.

“It is growing and it is here to stay.

“It’s very hard to reach that level and Dylan has separated himself from the others and made it through.

“I look forward to seeing more Ireland and UK talent emerging in the future.”

Call of Duty World League launched in 2015 and is the official esports league for Activision game.

This season the players will compete on PlayStation®4 in Call of Duty®: Black Ops 4 from developer Treyarch Studios.

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