Injured Knee Leads to Career as Semi-Pro Gamer

In 2017, Zach Emerick of Martinsburg had just finished his sophomore year at Penn State Altoona studying security risk analysis and was in the process of applying to the Pennsylvania State Police Academy.

While at a restaurant, he slipped and suffered a major knee injury which would require at least a year of inactivity to heal.

During his recovery, one of the few activities Zach enjoyed was playing the computer game Call of Duty.

According to Wikipedia, Call of Duty is a first-person shooter video game franchise published by Activision. Beginning in 2003, the game was first focused on war games set in World War II. Other versions have been set in modern times, the midst of the Cold War, futuristic worlds, and outer space. The most recent title, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, was released on Oct. 25, 2019.

A friend saw him playing and remarked that Zach was good enough to try Game Battles, the largest online destination for competitive console and PC gaming. So Zach gave it a go but not wholeheartedly.

According to Zach, serious gamers practice six to eight hours per day. Once he started putting in the time, Zach began moving up the ranks.

He would practice during the week either alone or with a team and then participate in tournaments on weekends.

Many tournaments can be entered without qualifying but most serious competitors qualify to get a better seed or a sponsorship.

A sponsor will usually pay for travel and accommodations along with tournament fees and incidentals in exchange for a team playing under the sponsor's name and wearing the sponsor's shirt.

"Once you've entered, you need four other people to compete. You can either get picked for a team or pick your own team. Most of the time I like to pick my own team," Zach said.

Just like any other competitive event, learning who would make a great team member comes from being in events and paying attention to the players.

In-person tournaments are hosted throughout the country and the world. Zach has competed in London, Washington, D.C., Dallas, Orlando, Fla., Chicago, Los Angeles, Seattle, and just happened to have a tournament in Las Vegas on his 21st birthday.

In the United States, most tournaments involve an average of 220 teams. The gaming starts on Friday with the championship match taking place on Sunday. Most matches consist of the best of three games or best of five games with a single elimination depending on the bracket.

Players must be 18 years old to compete. According to Zach, most players in the professional league are 21 or 22 years old with the oldest pro being about 28 years old.

Quick reflexes and reaction time are critical for players at the professional level which may account for such short professional career times.

According to Zach, male players dominate the tournaments. At this time, there are no female professional or top amateur players. However, female players have taken to creating content for streaming or YouTube.

Just like other events, prize money amounts differ depending on the size of the tournament and who is hosting and sponsoring. The Call of Duty World League awarded a total of $6 million in prize money during the 2019 season.

The franchise-based Call of Duty League, a professional esports league, was started in early 2020 with a $6 million prize pool.

Zach is working his way up the ladder not only as a competitor currently at the semi-pro level but as a coach as well.

At the 2019 Call of Duty Championship, Zach helped to coach

Zach was asked to join another team just one week before the championship but chose to stay with his team. The team he was on did not make the cut for the tournament but Zach wanted to stay involved.

One of the rules of the tournament is that you can't be a player and a coach.

The word was out that Zach was available to coach for the tournament and he was picked up for a team that included four former professional players.

Coaching involves scouting other teams and players, and developing game strategies among other responsibilities. Zach's team liked him so much that they shared some of their prize money with him.

Zach plays his best at the submachine gun role and has played this role his entire career. He has decided to play until he is no longer an asset to a team as a player but has carved out a spot for himself in the coaching arena.

Zach is the son of Scott and Jessica Emerick and the older brother of Dominik Emerick. He is a 2014 Central High School graduate.

If you'd like to follow Zach, his Play Station identification is Elusoryy.