Former Paradise mayoral candidate Kurtis Coombs has been keeping busy as a realtor, then moving to ad sales, but all the while managing a professional eSports team that could win a $650,000 prize this weekend.
Coombs is the co-owner of Team Rival, a group of six gamers who primarily focus on Smite, a fantasy/fighting game similar to League of Legends and Overwatch. The team is in Atlanta, Georgia, this weekend, competing at Hi-Rez Expo, one of the largest gaming tournaments in North America.
On Saturday, Coombs’ team will have its second match in the tournament, against a team co-owned by Shaquille O’Neal.
Coombs co-founded Team Rival with Tyler West from Fresno, California, in 2015. The team is now among the top-ranked teams in North America in the Smite community, and comes into this weekend’s competition as the Number 1 ranked team. Should Coombs’ team be successful, they’ll walk away with $650,000.
Coombs has always been a gamer, and signed his first professional gaming contract in 2008 — the year before he put his name forward to become the mayor of Paradise.
Coombs, then age 19, tied incumbent Ralph Wiseman in that race. Per election rules, their names were put into a bucket and Wiseman’s name was drawn, allowing him to keep the mayor’s seat.
Coombs says his focus on eSports has been a lot of work, but it’s paying off.
“At the start, I was doing this non-stop,” he said.
“I had no social life. I had nothing, to be honest. The only activity I got outside was ultimate Frisbee and I played that three nights a week.”
His partnership with West allowed him to go back to work full-time, while still maintaining an active role with the team.
Coombs says in order to have success the gaming team has to be treated like a small business. The players work as individual contractors, money is generated through subscriptions to online streaming done by the players, and sponsors come on board to lend support to the team as they chase huge grand prizes at tournaments like Hi-Rez.
Teams can generate between $8,000 and $80,000 per month from online subscriptions and sponsorships.
Team Rival has recruited team members from across North America and Europe to be a part of the team. Coombs says thanks to the online nature of the business, players don’t have to be in the same place to make connections. Team Rival meets face-to-face only when major tournaments take place.
Coombs says Newfoundland and Labrador has a chance to be a leader in the eSports community.
“There’s a real opportunity in Newfoundland, especially with the gaming culture we have, where we could start a trend in Canada. We could be trailblazers for eSports, in my opinion. I think we have a great community for it.”
HRX runs until Monday. The Smite tournament will conclude on Sunday, when Team Rival may have a shot at the top prize.
Twitter: DavidMaherNL
