Fortnite gamer's mum becomes pro herself

The mum of one of the world's best professional Fortnite players has signed a contract with a gaming organisation to develop her own career.

Anne Fish, 58, has managed her son Benjy "Benjyfishy" Fish, since he went professional three years ago.

The British gamer says she began playing the game in February to improve her understanding.

She quickly amassed a large following online and has now signed a paid contract with an esports firm.

"I never thought in a million years that I would ever be playing Fortnite or streaming online or ever be in a position to be able to be signed by an organisation, so it's really exciting," she said.

Anne streams her games on Twitch to her 430,000 followers and puts out videos of her matches to her growing YouTube fanbase of 165,000.

"Next step is a million," she says, speaking from the same room in which she streams to her fans, with her collection of owls, stuffed toys and teddy bears on display, next to her shiny 100,000 YouTube subscribers award.

Anne will now be paid per month by esports and gaming influencer organisation Galaxy Racer.

Details weren't given about the contract, but Anne will now be paid for videos of herself playing and talking to fans on various social networks.

Anne says she hadn't picked up a controller since playing her on her eldest son's Nintendo 64 about 15 years ago before she tried Fortnite.

"I was really bad at first. I just sort of camped and hid from other players in case I got killed.

"Slowly, you know, I started to get better. My reflexes aren't as good as young players, so I have to be more strategic. I thought it'd be really cool to see if I could get to champions division as a solo, which I did.

"I've been doing various competitions but not yet won any cash cups and I've got a long way to go, but I'm trying."

Galaxy Racer CEO, Paul Roy, explained why the company has signed her: "We are thrilled to announce mamabenjyfishy as the newest addition to Galaxy Racer's content creator team.

"Having proved her Fortnite skills at our recent tournament, The Aubameyang Cup, her years of experience in the industry, including managing Benjyfishy, and a shared passion for nurturing greater inclusivity within gaming and esports, we are proud to welcome Anne into the Galaxy Racer family."

Anne's son Benjy says "it's pretty mad" that his mum is now a signed gamer.

"Yeah I mean it's pretty weird because obviously back in the day I always wanted to be a gamer, and the fact that my mum is now like technically a pro game streamer is pretty sick.

"I never would have thought this could happen three years ago. If you had told me that I wouldn't believe it - it's pretty mad."

Benjyfishy is ranked as one of the top 10 players in the world by multiple websites and was one of a handful of British players to make it to the Fortnite World Cup in New York in 2019.

He says he's given his mum a few tips but that he mainly "lets her get on with it" in the room next door to where he plays in high-level tournaments for thousands of pounds in prize money.

Anne said she dreams of being good enough to challenge her son in the battle arena but says it would be a mountain to climb.

"It would be super good if I could compete against him at a World Cup or something, but there is such a skill gap between the likes of Benjy and myself that I don't think I could ever quite make it to that level. But I'll try!"