Would you like to give up work to play games?

David “Zaccubus” Treacy is one of the gaming industry’s hottest stars, and the 23-year-old has recently signed for Team Dignitas- one of the world’s leading gaming clans.

Dignitas compete in gaming competitions all over the world, and have teams to play everything from Tony Hawk to Unreal Tournament. They are sponsored by leading technology companies wsuch as Intel and Creative, and use the latest technology to make their gamers the best.

As a teenager David was determined to avoid the grind of a normal 9-5 job, so he decided to become the best at his favourite games.

“I wanted to do something different with my life. I enjoyed playing games so I just took Unreal Tournament 2003 and just caned it for ages,” he said.

“I just wanted to be the best at it, and was so determined I would play for hours and hours everyday. After a while I started playing in competitions, and then got picked up by Team Dignitas.”

So what do you need in order to give up work and tour the world, going head to head with the best gamers around?

“Well I suppose professional gamers do have some natural talent, which is a combination of speed, hand eye co-ordination and the ability to second guess opponent's actions,” David said.

“Next you need good hardware. All the systems we use have Intel quad core technology, so slow gaming will never be the cause of your defeats.

“The more practice the better, and of course you have to love the games you’re playing, or there is no way you can reach the level of professionals.”

At the moment David is preparing for a major tournament in the New Year where he will be competing for Dignitas by playing Unreal Tournament 3. His preparation means a strict regime of playing UT3 for up to five hours everyday, something that would turn the stomach of even hardened gamers, however, he's enjoying the challenge. 

“I love UT3 as it’s where it all started for me, but I hate it at the same time…especially when I lose.”