Ninja, the professional gamer whose real name is Tyler Blevins, has become the first professional gamer to appear on the cover of ESPN The Magazine. The sports publication is featuring him on the cover of its special gaming edition.
Blevins tweeted on September 18: "So excited to the first professional gamer to be featured on @espn the Magazine."
Ninja broke into mainstream news in 2018 when he played Fortnite, the hugely popular online shooter game, with the rapper Drake. The Canadian rapper's participation, along with that of Travis Scott, Kylie Jenner's boyfriend, helped push Ninja's Fortnite livestream to 630,000 concurrent views on the streaming platform Twitch, smashing the previous record of 388,000.
Breaking the Twitch Record Again
At a charity event several months later in Las Vegas, Ninja broke the record again, racking up 667,000 concurrent views.
The ESPN profile, titled "Living the Stream," was written by general editor Elaine Teng, who recounted Blevins's statistics one by one. She wrote that Ninja had achieved what no other gamer had before: mainstream fame, and that with 11 million Twitch followers and climbing, he commands an audience few can dream of. She added that in April, he logged the most social media interactions in the entire sports world, beating out the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Shaquille O'Neal and Neymar.
Earnings and Sponsorships
Ninja reportedly earns $500,000 a month, over half of which comes from subscriptions to his Twitch channel, not including sponsorships with Uber Eats, Samsung and Red Bull. He has 11 million Twitch followers and nearly 20 million YouTube subscribers.
Past Controversies
Blevins's rise to fame and fortune has not been without controversy. In March 2018, he apologised for using the N-word while rapping along to Logic's song "44 More."
In August, Blevins revealed that he doesn't stream with female gamers, out of respect for his wife and fellow gamer Jessica "Jghgosty" Blevins, in order to protect her from any speculation that could arise if something he said to a female gamer were misconstrued. "If I have one conversation with one female streamer where we're playing with one another, and even if there's a hint of flirting, that is going to be taken and going to be put on every single video and be clickbait forever," he said in a Polygon interview. His decision has drawn criticism, with critics arguing Blevins is sidestepping the harsh reality faced by female gamers and streamers.
A Schedule Built Around Streaming
The ESPN article portrays Blevins as a man committed to streaming. "When I'm not streaming, I have time to reflect on all the growth, and I don't like that. I'd rather just be home playing," he said. "I'm like, 'I haven't played a celebrity in a while. I haven't done something big in a while. Is it because I'm slowing down?' When I'm home, there's no time to think about that."
According to the article, Blevins streams 12 hours a day and doesn't take a day off. He treats gaming like a professional sport. "When I die, I get so upset," he said. "You can play every single day, you're not practicing. You die, and oh well, you go onto the next game. When you're practicing, you're taking every single match seriously, so you don't have an excuse when you die. You're like, 'I should have rotated here, I should have pushed there, I should have backed off.' A lot of people don't do that."
Other Stories in the Gaming Issue
Other articles in ESPN's gaming issue cover less positive aspects of esports. One focuses on Jacksonville gunman David Katz, the Madden gamer who shot and killed two people and wounded ten more at a Madden NFL tournament, offering what the magazine calls an "inside look" at the shooting and what it means for esports.
