Hamilton teenager lights the way for New Zealand eSports

For Quin Korebrits, 2016 was a game-changing year as he made the jump across to Australia to play League of Legends as a career. 

At the age of just 17, Korebrits ended the year with the Chiefs, one of the most successful eSports teams in Oceania.

Earlier, he had been given the chance to showcase his skill on the biggest stage in Oceania, when the team Dire Wolves signed him at the start of 2016.

“During the offseason I was occasionally subbing in for Dire Wolves during their scrims,” Korebrits said. 

“After some pleasing performances over the scrim sets, they offered me my first professional contract. 

“I was also hanging out with their players and they thought that I was a good fit for the team.” 

Further change was ahead as Korebrits, whose in-game name is “Raes”, took every chance to kickstart his career in eSports. 

After just six months with Dire Wolves, Korebrits switched to The Chiefs, Australia’s most successful League of Legends team based in Sydney. With them  he picked up his first Oceanic Pro League title.

The career move did not come without sacrifices, as Korebrits had to leave home at a young age for the unknown. 

“At first it was pretty hard to move away from the only city I’ve lived in my whole life. I was leaving behind my family and friends to go into a team environment, which was a big step,” he said.

“However, everything turned out great and I felt welcomed into the house by my teammates and they did their best to support my move.”

With eSports only just settling in New Zealand, Korebrits always had the support of fellow gamers and, after some discussion, his family.

“My friends were mostly gamers who I played with frequently, so their support was there 100% of the time.

“My parents were sceptical at first, as would any parent be after telling them that you’ve been offered to go overseas and play games professionally.”

After he explained more about the career choice, his parents were fully behind him along with the rest of his family. 

Korebrits got his start playing League of Legends competitively in New Zealand, before an established eSports league was around, competing at local tournaments around Hamilton and Auckland.

With the New Zealand high school eSports league getting under way, Korebrits believes that it is a good start in to making eSports more accepted.

“It is a good step in regards to making eSports ‘normal’, just like any other extra-curricular activity.

“Right now I feel as though it’s at its infancy and as a result not many great players would be involved in it. Having said that, it does provide a good environment for those that are serious about eSports to improve.”

With professional eSports still developing, Korebrits is fighting to stay in for as long as he can.

“I love doing what I do, just like every other professional player. I hope to win the World Championship one day.” 

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