A British 15-year-old who won over $1 million in a video-game competition said he will use his winnings to buy a house for his mother.
Jaden Ashman and his Dutch partner, David Jong, came in second place for the duo division at the Fortnite World Cup in Queens, New York, over the weekend, The BBC reported Monday.
Ashman has also signed a deal for about $59,000 with a gaming team called Lazcarus since he qualified for the Cup.
WATCH:
British teenager Jaden Ashman wins more than a million dollars coming second alongside Dutch teammate in #fortniteworldcup
[Tap to expand] https://t.co/fFf9kuPLXa pic.twitter.com/tOh8PQCyMh
— BBC News (UK) (@BBCNews) July 28, 2019
“I’m lost for words,” Ashman told The Sun. “My Twitter has been blowing up and I’ve had a load of messages from friends. I’m definitely going to buy a house, but I haven’t got a clue where. And some Gucci shoes. I might buy a car for my mum too, as she drives a little Fiat 500.”
He added that even though he is only in Year 10, he “will try to push to quit school.” (RELATED: Herm Edwards Thinks Current Athletes Are Weak Because They Play Video Games)
Ashman’s mom, Lisa Dallman, told The Sun she had been “quite against Jaden and his gaming. … He’s only 15 and his schoolwork was a priority to me. It’s not been easy. We’ve had our differences.”
“I’ve thrown out an Xbox and snapped a headset because I’ve got calls from school saying he is falling asleep in class,” Dallman added.
“Jaden is very academic and I want him to do well,” Dallman said. “I didn’t realize how big this all was. I thought he could play video games but needed to concentrate on school work. The turning point was when he got through to the World Cup.”
“I’ll buy my mum a house.”
British teenager Jaden Ashman, who won nearly £1M in the Fortnite World Cup, on what he’ll do with his prize #r4today https://t.co/gYcBAM9lJy pic.twitter.com/8UlWmcr9fv
— BBC Radio 4 Today (@BBCr4today) July 29, 2019
Ashman now says he plans to become a professional video-game player. He started playing Fortnite when it came out in 2017 and now spends up to 10 hours per day playing the game. (REPORTER: Academic Study Claims Video Games Harm Women And LGBT People With ‘Techno-masculinity’)
“At the start, my [mom] was against me playing Fortnite,” Ashman explained to The Sun, “but I’ve proved to her that I wasn’t wasting the hours each day in my bedroom playing instead of doing my homework. I’m not planning on getting this money and just quitting. I’ve still got a full career of gaming ahead of me.”
A 16-year-old U.S. teenager won first place in the solo division and took home $3 million Sunday. All qualifiers were guaranteed to take home about $48,876.00.
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