Luke Cowan-Dickie once occupied top spot in the Call of Duty war-based video game's global rankings, and his interest in gaming is as strong as ever – and it may even provide him with business opportunities after his rugby career.
The Exeter hooker raised £1,000 last month for the Exeter Chiefs Foundation charity after putting on a 24-hour gaming stream on Twitch which attracted over 3,000 viewers, although he has had as many as 12,000 tune in.
He has recently signed for the British-based gaming team Bulldog Esports as a streamer/content creator, and answered a few questions about his gaming interests.
Have you got any business plans in gaming?
I've just got on board with Bulldog Esports, which is the next stage in my gaming career. An Esports team is about professional gamers competing at the highest level. I'm a streamer/content creator for them, but not a pro player at the moment, because hopefully I've got a few more years left in rugby.
How much time do you spend on gaming a day, and what's its fascination?
Quite a bit – about three hours a night – and then on Saturday, during lockdown, maybe a bit more. During the season I find it de-stressing because it takes you away from rugby, and gives you a break by giving you a different focus.
Has it helped you to problem-solve, to think out of the box – or is it just great escapism?
“It's probably more escapism. You are talking to people on-stream, and I had 3,000 viewers on the Twitch app when I did the 24-hour fundraising recently. So, we chat, and I play with and against them. I really enjoyed it.”
Where are you now in the Call of Duty rankings – still number one?
Not any more. Back in the day I had a lot of time on my hands when I was injured, so I played much more – sometimes I'd play through the night – but, I didn't have a girlfriend then, and it's much harder to do that now.
