Today we sat down with Rinqed aka Matthew Payne.
What is your gamer tag and how did you get the name?
Rinqed – I’ve had this name ever since some old friends of mine on XBOX decided to start a clan with our usernames ending in “…inqed” and it’s basically stuck since then.
What age did you start playing games and what’s the first game you remember playing?
5 years old – Sonic on the Mega Drive
What made you decide to pursue a role in Esports?
I’ve always been very interested in gaming but after competing in various Overwatch competitions and getting thrashed, I decided it wasn’t worth playing competitively but I wanted to stay in the industry so I moved into Tournament Admin roles for the last year and a half.
What’s your all time favourite game?
Skyrim
What is a typical day like for you?
Since I’m currently unemployed, most of my days at present are spent jobhunting and chasing up old applications and then most evenings I’m running a tournament of one form or another.
What do you like to do when you aren’t gaming or working in gaming?
I’m a very keen chess player, having started playing at the age of 7 and qualified for the English National Junior Team at the age of 11 and still play in tournaments regularly to this day. I also enjoy racket sports and before COVID-19, was playing table tennis and badminton once a week.
Can you give any advice to anyone looking to start working in the Esports industry?
Get as much experience as you can by trying to attend live events like Insomnia where you can speak to people already in the industry and then you can build up a list of contacts who might be able to present you with later opportunities (that’s how I got involved with NUEL – I met the NUEL League Ops Director at my first Insomnia as a volunteer since we were both working on Overwatch and then when he was looking for NUEL admins for the next university year he got in touch with me)
Any shout-outs?
No
Quick Fire Round!!!
1. PC or Console?
PC
2. Prime or Netflix?
Both
3. Cat or Dog?
Cat
4. Star Trek or Star Wars?
Star Wars
5. Coffee or Tea?
Tea
6. Android or iOS?
Android
7. Facebook or Twitter?
8. Instagram or Snapchat ?
Snapchat
9. Pepsi or Coke?
Coke
10. Brown or White Bread?
White Bread
11. Ghost Busters or Goosebumps
Ghost Busters
12. South Wales or North Wales
South Wales
13. Ice or Fire
Fire
14. Football or Rugby
Football
15. Twitch or Youtube
Twitch
