Esports is competitive computer gaming and is a huge global industry. Upon joining Queen’s in 2015, Joseph joined the esports society, his first time on a competitive team. He competed under the Queen’s name in the UK college league for the game League of Legends, where players assume the role of a ‘champion’ with unique abilities and battle against a team of other players or computer-controlled champions. 

Joseph went on to win three back to back collegiate tournaments, while being undefeated, in addition to every major tournament in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, over three years on a non-university-based UK/Irish team. 

Joseph said: “Video games have been a passion of mine since an early age and I've always been competitive, so naturally these intertwined. When I was 17 my friend introduced me to the world of e-sports and upon joining Queen’s I got invited to the Queen's Gaming Society where I was able to represent the University. Playing on a team was a very fun experience and helped me develop such skills as teamwork and communication.”  

Joseph is one of the most successful eSports athletes to come out of the university and when asked about Queen’s role in his career, Joseph said: “Queen’s gave me the fantastic opportunity to join my first team which was a critical part of my success and overall ambition.” 

Joseph decided to take a year out from his studies after his third year, to pursue a professional career as an esports player. During this time, he went on to be recognised as one of the best players in Europe, joined a professional team and participated in a professional level league. 

He also began a stream as a side project where he live streams game footage and offers advice to viewers. His stream accumulated 100,000 viewers in a short time period and peaked at 1,044 concurrent viewers.  

Joseph later returned to Queen’s to finish his studies and graduate with his BSc Computer Science. 

Talking about his future plans, Joseph said: “Recently I've been in contact with the CEO for Munster Rugby Gaming which is now the largest esports organisation in Ireland. I’m hoping to return to the streaming career now that I've graduated but I'm also looking into jobs as either a software developer or as a data analyst/scientist.” 

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