It’s no secret that North America struggles in nearly each esport. As aggressive gaming has taken the worldwide stage, the area has been left behind. This makes the story of combating recreation heavyweights, NoahTheProdigy and KingReyJr, an anomaly.
These NA prodigies had been competing in tournaments towards adults after they had been nonetheless in elementary faculty. Each additionally grew up as certainly one of three siblings, with their fathers getting as concerned as they might to assist them obtain their desires regardless of attempting to lift two different kids on the identical time.
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Of their respective combating video games, they’re carrying NA on their again as full-time professional gamers, managing to show combating video games into their job earlier than they turned 20.
NoahTheProdigy had the very best NA placement at each Capcom Cup 11 and EWC for Avenue Fighter 6, and KingReyJr is the very best ranked NA participant on the Tekken 8’s 2025 World Tour. They’re altering the storyline of their complete area.
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However, after sitting down with and speaking to them, it’s clear that there’s much more separating these two than the sport they compete in. Simply because they each grew up within the combating recreation neighborhood doesn’t imply they’ve the identical story.
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NoahTheProdigy determined being a Avenue Fighter professional was the one choice
NoahTheProdigy has been making headlines since he was in grade faculty. Getting into his first match at seven years previous, he’s been competing for over a decade. And, in accordance with him, being a Avenue Fighter professional was his solely plan. He wouldn’t have accepted the rest.
“I by no means had a backup plan. That is 100%. In case you have a backup plan, which means your plan A isn’t ok and also you’re not assured sufficient,” he stated.
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“Solely b*tches hand over. In the event you hand over, you’re a b*tch.”
Noah’s strategy is a brazen one, and one which hardly ever works out in esports. No backup plans, no compromises, only a full dedication to competing and getting higher. However hardly ever doesn’t essentially imply by no means.
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His father absolutely supported him on this journey, encouraging him to focus much less on faculty and extra on Avenue Fighter.
As a substitute of homework, Noah was finding out the Avenue Fighter GOATs. His father Moises inspired him to chase his desires and by no means hand over on them, it doesn’t matter what anybody advised him.
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“I defined to [Noah] ‘There’s gonna be crowds yelling and all that and all you do is tune ’em out and simply focus.’ You simply have to show your child what’s proper, flawed. Noah, when he loses, you already know what I say to him? ‘That is what it’s referred to as, son. You’re taking a licking and carry on ticking,’” Moises stated in an interview with Large Bomb all the way in which again in 2011.
NoahTheProdigyNoah’s father bought a custom-printed shirt simply to cheer his son on at tournaments when he was youthful
Even earlier than esports was a possible profession path, Noah’s father supported him. When it did develop into an actual risk, his father supported him much more, shopping for him a brand new PC setup throughout 2020’s lockdowns so he had a great setup to play on and make content material.
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Moises’ never-back-down mentality caught with Noah, even by way of more durable instances when he needed to work no matter job he might get to remain afloat and show he was severe about Avenue Fighter.
“I used to be working some sh*tty-ass jobs, I ain’t gonna lie. However I all the time knew that it was gonna work out.”
From there, Noah grinded till he lastly bought signed with Twisted Minds in 2024 and was in a position to flip his dream right into a full-time job at 19. Now, he’s looking for out the way to put North America on prime of Avenue Fighter.
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“I wouldn’t say I’m the perfect. This enterprise is simply exhausting. It’s exhausting to win. I imply, Japan is so robust, I feel as of proper now they’re simply higher than us. They gained Avenue Fighter League. They positioned manner larger than us within the Esports World Cup. They gained Capcom Cup,” Noah defined.
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“America has an ego, they usually don’t know the way to management it. That’s why we don’t get higher.”
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Although Noah talks numerous trash and often calls individuals out, he tries to maintain issues surface-level and focus his criticisms on his and his rivals’ shared occupation, Avenue Fighter. The trash discuss is simply a part of his character, and he’s so much nicer in particular person than you’d suppose from scrolling his Twitter timeline.
Noah cheering on some Avenue Fighter gamers between his swimming pools matches at Combo Breaker 2025“I’m a very nice man. I solely discuss sh*t on Twitter as a result of it’s filled with b*tches. I imply, they don’t perceive me as a result of, like, they’ve faculty tuitions arrange. They don’t perceive my background and what I got here from,” he defined.
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Whereas Noah has ambitions of profitable the largest occasions on this planet, he already feels a deep sense of satisfaction in what he’s been in a position to obtain and utilizing his expertise to uplift himself, his household, and his neighborhood.
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“I’m already a legend in life with the place I come from and the place I’ve been. If I begin shedding now, I’m nonetheless a legend in my hood. That’s all I care about.”
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KingReyJr was making reads in Tekken earlier than he might learn books
KingReyJr was competing in tournaments even sooner than Noah was, going to his first Tekken match when he was 5. Nevertheless, his journey began even earlier, at solely two and a half years previous, when his father observed one thing actually particular.
KingReySr, Rey’s father, would host Tekken 5 periods in his house, and Junior would pull up a chair and watch. He was barely sufficiently old to talk however was already analyzing the sport deeper than anybody thought.
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KingReySr recording his son’s match towards E1P1C, certainly one of Chicago’s greatest Tekken gamers, at Scrims Gaming MiddleOlder Tekken titles have a joke character referred to as Mokujin that mimics the strikes of a random character on the roster, and that moveset modifications each single spherical. The problem is determining which character you bought caught with. Within the case of the unique Tekken 5, it will have been 32 totally different characters.
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Earlier than he was even in Kindergarten, KingReyJr might work out who round 80% of the solid was from their animations alone.
“Mokujin popped up on the display screen, he began shifting, and Junior pointed on the display screen,” KingReySr advised me. “He stated, ‘That’s Steve Fox!’ We had been blown away with the truth that he knew who it was simply based mostly on the motion. I had by no means sat down and taught him the names of the characters.”
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KingReySr took this as an indication that he needed to train his son the way to play Tekken, that there was expertise there he wished to refine. He then entered his son in his very first match at 5 years previous. Now, he’s a world-class participant at simply 19.
After years of dedication, competing full-time in Tekken has develop into KingReyJr’s first actual job.
“By no means labored a ‘reliable’ job. Vitality is the primary official job I’ve really had,” Rey advised me. Even at 19, he’s bought extra time beneath his belt than most combating recreation execs.
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“I’ve simply grown into it, I used to be born into this and raised in it. I’ve been part of the FGC for 14, occurring 15 years, I used to be actually molded and formed by it,” KingReyJr defined.
However, in contrast to Noah’s dad and mom, having good grades was a should for Rey Sr. The second KingReyJr’s grades dropped, Tekken was over. And even then, he needed to show he was nonetheless placing effort into bettering within the recreation, particularly contemplating his dad was paying for him to journey worldwide.
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“I’ve all the time seen it as an funding in [my son’s] future. Granted, there all the time wanted to be issues in place like holding his grades up, doing nicely in class,” Rey’s father defined. “After which, on prime of that, exhibiting that he’s all the time attempting to enhance. It didn’t make sense for me to place him in occasions the place he wasn’t frequently attempting to enhance his recreation and get higher.”
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I requested KingReyJr if he felt like being within the FGC modified his life, however he doesn’t actually know of another way of life. He’s been within the FGC from the very starting.
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“I sort of don’t know the rest. I used to be rising within the FGC my complete life. That is sort of the one factor that I do know. However, I imply, I’m proud of the place I got here from, proud of how I grew as much as be the place I’m immediately,” he defined.
“I’ve been prepared for one thing like this for what looks like my complete life. Even at VS Combating 2024 – trigger that was my first time making it to High 8 at an enormous match ever – I nonetheless managed to get second.”
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VS Combating is certainly one of Europe’s largest competitions, and KingReyJr’s 2024 efficiency is probably going an enormous a part of what landed him his sponsorship with Vitality. A North American participant demolishing a European main was nearly unparalleled on the time, particularly since Fergus, certainly one of Europe’s greatest rivals, performs the identical character as Rey.
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I advised him I’d count on gamers over there to know the way to play towards him due to that, and Rey had this to say in reply:
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“They don’t know the way to play towards me.”
KingReyJr and NoahTheProdigy might have an identical background, however they’re two very totally different individuals. Nevertheless, there are two distinct similarities: Each males labored extremely exhausting to get the place they’re, and their fathers did every little thing they might to assist that journey. There’s no “right” technique to be a mum or dad, however that is about as shut because it will get.
The following greatest combating recreation gamers on this planet are most likely hitting their first Evo this yr because of months of begging their dad and mom to pay for it.
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NoahTheProdigy’s journey with Avenue Fighter and KingReyJr’s journey with Tekken haven’t solely given them careers most individuals can solely dream about, however these experiences have additionally molded them into males their fathers may be happy with.
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