Level up! The Esports and Gaming Show

This week on Level up! Nathan spoke to FIFA Esports megastar Donovan 'Tekkz' Hunt, a professional FIFA player who represents Fnatic.Ahead of the FIFA 22 eChampions League finals, Tekkz talks about feeling old aged just 20, wanting to add the eCL trophy to his collection having already won the ePremier League, wanting to emulate Liverpool's success in real-life, and how he decides how to play depending on which side of the bed he wakes up on! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Joining Nathan this week is Harlequins star Louis Lynagh!Louis is a huge gamer and loves Call of Duty, Football Manager, FIFA and more. They talk about the similarities of top sportspeople to top gamers and do a deep dive into the best gamers in the Quins squad.Louis was part of Harlequins Premiership winning team from last season, and scored twice late on in the final, and will be looking to repeat the feats from last year this time around as Quins eye another playoff spot.Watch Louis Lynagh for Harlequins vs Gloucester at Twickenham Stadium this Saturday 21 May for Big Summer Kick Off – a festival-themed rugby event with headline music act Craig David. Buy tickets here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week Nathan speaks with Daniel Ringland head of Valorant esports EMEA at Riot Games. They discuss what makes a good esport, how esports has grown over the last few years and where's next for Valorant esports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this week's episode Nathan speaks with Jukeyz days before he sets off on a US tour to compete against America's best Warzone players. They discuss the tour, Jukeyz's journey, American food whether US warzone lobbies are easier than EU lobbies! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week Nathan Speaks to UFC fighter Jack Shaw, They spoke about gaming, what it means to him and how he started his twitch channel. Jack Streams Warzone and GTA among others, they talk abouthow his streamer profile has grown and the comparison between traditional sports and esports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The ePremier League is the Premier League's official esports event, with the grand finals of the competition set to played on FIFA 22, taking place on March 26 and March 27, 2022, with the event live on various platforms, including Sky Sports, Twitch and more. Ahead of the event, Nathan Bliss sat down with some of the professional FIFA players who will be competing for ePremier League glory including former ePremier League winner Tom Leese (Excel and Tottenham), Liverpool's Diogo Mendes, Watford FC, Crystal Palace, Manchester City and Aston Villa Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jaden 'Wolfiez' Ashman, professional Fortnite player for Excel Esports, became the youngest player in the history of esports to win $1 million in 2019, following his second place in the 2019 Fortnite World Cup Duos event, aged just 15.Now aged 18, Wolfiez is one of the best professional Fortnite players in the world, with a huge fanbase and loyal following, so what's next for the Fortnite prodigy? Following in the footsteps of Liam 'Jukeyz' James, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Ben Stokes, Ryan Pessoa and more, Wolfiez has been officially confirmed as a Red Bull athlete. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Valve has just launched the Steamdeck, a piece of hardware that could change gaming forever. The Steamdeck is an all-in-one portable gaming device that can run AAA games on the go, with Valve calling it "the most powerful, full-featured gaming handheld in the world."Nathan Bliss and Matthew Aldus talk about the Steamdeck, go into the specs, discuss what it means for the gaming industry, what it could be used for, discuss right-to-repair and how Valve are taking a different approach to Apple, and why companies like Microsoft should be worried.Powered by a custom AMD APU, the Steamdeck is optimized for handheld gaming, featuring Zen 2 and RDNA 2 graphics which delivers more than enough performance to run the latest AAA games, and efficiently too. And, it's very affordable for the specs. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

EXCLUSIVE: After more than a decade, Fnatic will re-enter Halo esports to take part in the HCS (Halo Championship Series).Mirror Esports and Gaming Journalist Nathan Bliss spoke exclusively with Fnatic’s Chief Gaming Officer Patrik Sättermon and Fnatic’s Team Director and New Projects Lead Colin Johnson (CoJo) to discuss to find out why Fnatic decided to become a HCS partner, what this will mean for fans and what they can expect to see in the future.They also touched on Fnatic’s FIFA Esports lineup, featuring Tekkz and Diogo, talked about the esports industry in general and discussed esports recruitment. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We spoke to G2 Esports' visionary founder Carlos 'ocelote' Rodriguez about how he created his esports empire, his previous life as a professional esports player, how esports has grown in the last 20 years, launching G2 Esports' own record label and first song, an epic power metal track 'Our Way' and how he feels about the future of G2 Esports and the future of the industry as a whole. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For the first time in the history of the Formula 2 Championship series, former sim racer and F1 Esports driver Cem Bolukbasi will line up on the real-life Formula 2 Championship (F2) grid next season after signing with Charouz Racing System.Bolukbasi, who was competing in virtual races in the F1 Esports Series in 2017, 2018 and 2019, also winning the Formula Renault Esport Series, graduated into real-life single-seater racing in the 2019 GT4 European Championship. The Turkish driver then drove in two full seasons of GT4 racing in 2020 and 2021, winning twice in the Pro-Am category. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The most anticipated games of 2022! Nathan Bliss and Matthew Aldus take a look at some of the brand new games that are set to be released in 2022 on Xbox, PlayStation and PC. Nathan and Matt discuss the games that they are most excited to play, whilst also discussing some of the games that they're finding it hard to get excited about. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

EA have issued a BIG update regarding the ongoing FIFA 22 hacking scandal, which has seen big streamers and content creators like Bateson, NickRTFM and traders like FUTDonkey, having their accounts compromised by hackers. Nathan explains how the hackers takeover accounts, what EA have said so far and discuss the big update and the additional security changes that will be happening following the scandal Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nathan and Matt discuss the launch of Warzone Pacific and the new 'Caldera' map. They discuss what they think is good AND bad, talk about the games industry culture, amongst discussing the positive and negatives of the new map. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The best Call of Duty: Warzone professional esports player in the UK, and Red Bull Athlete, Liam 'Jukeyz' James, joined Nathan Bliss and Matthew Aldus/Rose to talk about his history with FPS games, how he became one of the best Call of Duty: Warzone players in the world, why he loves Battle Royale, joining London Royal Ravens, winning the $300K Europe World Series and FaZe Swagg’s Summer Invitational, and his plans for the future with Call of Duty: VanguardConnect with us on social media!TWITTERMatt: https://twitter.com/therealmiffyNathan: https://twitter.com/EsportsNathLevel up! Podcast: https://twitter.com/LevelUpPodTIKTOKMatt: https://www.tiktok.com/@therealmiffy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode Nathan speaks with producer Matt about WarZone Pacific! they discuss everything they've seen from vanguard, tip and pointers, Loadouts, any much more Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this week's episodes Nathan talks with Nic Madden (Senior Producer) and CJ Ramson (QA Lead Match AI) about all things Football Manager 2022.They discuss how the match engine works, animations, the task of production and lots more! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this Episode we're GIVING AWAY a brand new Blue Yeti USB microphone! Perfect for streaming, content creation and to just generally upgrade your sound this mic is a fantastic addition to your setup!Nathan and Matt also talk about The importance of audio and how it plays the most important role in any story Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In th is episode Nathan and Matt discuss loot boxes and why they have led to so much controversy. They discuss gambling and chance, spending money for an in-game experience and whether or not we need them at all. Where do loot boxes go from here? Well, we have some ideas. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this weeks episode and with the release of Call of duty: Vanguard drawing closer, Nathan and Matt talk about the state of cheating in gaming, why do people do it? and what exactly is classed as cheating? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week Nathan has the pleasure of talking with Lindsey Eckhouse, Mclaren's Director of Licensing, Ecommerce & esports. They discuss a brand new innovation for McLaren in the form of their 'Shadow Studio' at their technology centre. They discuss F1, Gaming and why esports is taking a spotlight right now.GIVEAWAY INFORMATIONDepending on the platform, the start of Vanguard’s second Beta weekend — from Thursday, 16th September at 6pm BST to Saturday, 18th September 6pm BST — is either an Open or Early Access Beta.We have10x Playstation codes5x Xbox codes 5x PC CodesTo Get your hands on one all you have to do is head to our twitter @leveluppodLike and share the pinned tweet, comment on that tweet what platform you’re onAnd lastly, Follow @levelupgamingPCCodes will be sent This Wednesday and Thursday depending what platform you’re playing onEntries will be valid until ThursdayWe are being sent the codes when they become available and after randomly selecting giveaway winners, we will the codes as we receive them this will likely be over Wednesday and Thursday.MUST BE AGED 18+ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this week's episode, Nathan talks to Gee Nelly, a prolific streamer and one of the biggest names out there. They discuss how she got started and how she became one of today's biggest and best streamers. They discuss community and how important it is to make connections.They also discuss content creation, getting the balance right and the future of the gaming industry. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode Nathan and Matt take a look at Call of Duty: Vanguard. They discuss brand new features such as reactive environments, new game modes like Champion Hill - and a potentially a solution to finally address cheating in Warzone with a brand new anti-cheat system. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode Nathan and Matt discuss what it's like being a PC owner after 15 years of being a mac user. Discussing everything Matt's learned in the first few weeks of owning his very first gaming PC. They also discuss upcoming plans for the podcast, expanding out to new platforms and an exciting collaboration with some amazing people. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this week's episode Nathan and his producer Matt talk about the free to play vs pay to play debate. As PES have announced a massive shift in their approach to make it make into the limelight, bringing a free to play football game with cross-play and a ton of other features. Could this be a FIFA killer? Probably not but it could be a brand new format for traditional sports games. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

n this week's episode, Nathan spoke to Miles Jacobson, Studio Director at Sports Interactive, and Tina Keech, Head of Research for Women’s Football at Sports interactive, to discuss Women's Football coming to Football Manager!The result of this landmark work will not be a standalone women’s football management simulation. Instead, women’s football will be fully incorporated into FM’s living, breathing world, with managers able to take control of either men’s or women’s clubs and move between them seamlessly. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this week's episode of Level up! Nathan spoke to Sam Rivera, Lead Gameplay Producer at EA Sports, to discuss the new gameplay features that fans can look forward to in FIFA 22.Sam discussed his favourite new features, explained how they've been able to improve the gameplay significantly, discussed skill moves, skill gaps, esports and why FIFA 22 has the best gameplay in EA Sports FIFA franchise history! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this week's episode, Nathan was joined by Joe Sutton, Director of Academy at Guild Esports, the esports organisation that is owned by David Beckham.Guild Esports recently launched the Guild Academy, a new online esports training subscription service that is open to players aged 11+, with members gaining access to training programmes, tournaments, gameplay analysis from Guild ‘experts’, as well as peer-to-peer coaching and advice.Joe, who has vast experience in football acadamies at Brentford, Arsenal and Manchester United, joined Guild Esports earlier this year. Joe told Nathan about his prior experience in football, his role at Guild Esports, how his experience in football academies will help him at the Guild Academy, the similarities and differences between esports and traditional sports, what he looks for in talented individuals, his own history with gaming and much more! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Lee told Nathan about the new features in F1 2021 (releasing on June 16th 2021) that he is most excited about, discussed the improvements to the driving physics and tyre model, how Codemasters are preparing for F1 2022 already, feedback from the F1 community, the power of the next gen consoles, creating a game during the pandemic, EA's acquisition, esports and much more! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode Nathan and his producer Matt take a look at their own gaming pasts and explore where gaming started for them and how it became such a big part of their lives. They discuss which games made an impact, the age of the internet, first consoles and a few 'off topic' subjects such as cut-scenes, do we need them? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this week's episode, Nathan was joined by content creator Marcus Cole, also known as PC Centric on YouTube. Marcus told Nathan why he started his YouTube channel, how long it took until he realised being a content creator could become a career and offered advice for any content creators starting out.Marcus also offered a few PC building tips for beginners, talked about some of the biggest mistakes that new PC builders make, discussed the PC parts shortage and much more! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this week's episode, Nathan was joined by Nicolas Estrup, VP of Product at BLAST.Counter-Strike has had nearly 20 years of competitive play beginning with the original Counter-Strike and is considered one of the most influential first-person shooters in history.Nicolas explained what Counter-Strike (CS:GO) is, why it's such a huge esports title and what makes a great CS:GO player.They also discussed gaming development, how some games can become more popular over time and also touched on the future of CS:GO as an esport and what the future looks like for BLAST. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this week's episode, Nathan is joined by Leah Revelle, content creator for SAF.They discussed Leah's history with gaming, how she decided to become a content creator, streaming FIFA, joining SAF after just two months of streaming, how she juggles full-time work in the day with streaming in the evening, and Leah offered advice for anyone who wants to become a content creator.They also discussed some of the challenges and double standards that Leah and other female content creators face when streaming and on social media and talked about how social media organisations and streaming platforms just aren't doing enough to combat sexism, racism and discrimination of all kinds. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this week's episode, Nathan spoke to Ryan Tveter, Managing Director USA at Veloce, the world's leading esports & racing growth platform.Ryan is himself an internationally accomplished racing driver, having participated in Formula Renault, Formula 3, GP3 and most recently raced for Trident in the 2019 FIA Formula 2 Championship.Ryan told Nathan about how Veloce are changing the esports landscape, being the world’s first esports organization to acquire a real-life sporting franchise in Extreme E and partnering with Alfa-Romeo, McLaren and Mercedes. Veloce have also played a major role in the launch of Lando Norris' Quadrant brand.They also discussed the unusual route he took to get into motorsport, the future of F1 esports and much more! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this week’s episode Nathan is joined by his producer Matt as they discuss all of their favourite moments from working on the podcast. Matt is a gaming novice and so they discuss their favourite moments, what they’ve learned over the year and their opinions on all the topics talked about over the last year. Enjoy! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this week's episode, Nathan is joined by content creator Aarava, who is also one-fifth of gaming and lifestyle brand QUADRANT, which was founded by McLaren Formula One driver Lando Norris, to preview the upcoming release of F1 2021.They discussed every bit of news that has already been revealed about the new F1 2021 game, including the brand new story mode named 'Braking Point', the brand new tracks and more.They also discussed EA's potential influence over the F1 gaming franchise, following their acquisition of Codemasters earlier this year and discussed what this could mean for future F1 games.Aarava also explained his involvement with QUADRANT, a gaming and lifestyle brand that was founded by McLaren Formula One driver Lando Norris, and revealed their goals and plans for the future. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this week's episode, Nathan caught up with content creator and prominent FIFA community member FUTDonk to review the ongoing FIFA 21 Ultimate Team TOTS (Team of the Season) promo, looking back on previous squad releases, SBC's, Objectives and looked ahead to the releases still to come.They also discussed Icon SBC's, their hopes for FIFA 22, if FIFA should move to a free-to-play model and much more! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this week’s episode, Nathan spoke to two key figures at SAF global gaming, Jon Jarvis (Esports Manager) and Craig Winfield (Partnerships Manager).FIFA Esports Team SAF Global Gaming was founded in 2018, and is now one of the largest FIFA communities in the world and one of the biggest British FIFA esports organisations, with a number of talented players on their roster.Recently, they announced that they are launching their own esports academy within FIFA esports, with a talented 15-year-old joining their academy as their first signing.Nathan talked with Jon and Craig about why SAF launched their esports academy, how they help players prepare for a career within FIFA esports, the support they give to their players, the organisation's growth and commercial strategy, and their lofty ambitions to become the biggest FIFA esports organisation in the world. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this week's episode, Nathan spoke to Jamie “vGooner” Bull, a professional NBA 2K player for Miami Heat's professional esports team Heat Check GamingGooner was recently selected in the 2021 NBA 2K League Draft to play for Heat Check Gaming.Jamie was also a member of the inaugural NBA 2K League draft class when he played for Pacers Gaming during the 2018 season, so he has previous experience competing in the league.They discussed how it felt to get picked by Heat Check Gaming, discussed how NBA 2K esports work and how he could have been an electrician instead. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this week's episode, Nathan spoke to Maximillian Schmidt, Head of Esports for League of Legends in Europe & MENA at Riot Games, following the conclusion of the League of Legends European Championship Spring 2021 playoffs.He told Nathan how and why League of Legends became the biggest esport in the world, also discussing Max's role at Riot Games.Max also explained what League of Legends is, revealed the number of people that play LOL around the world, the esports' prize money, viewership stats and more! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this week’s episode of Level up!, Nathan caught up with 2020/21 ePremier League Champion Shaun 'Shellzz' Springette, a professional FIFA player for Manchester City.Shellzz told Nathan how it felt to win the ePremier League title for his club Manchester City, they also discussed how the tournament went overall and revealed how he prepared for the tournament with the help of City’s mental performance coach.They also discussed Shellz's career so far and how he got into FIFA Esports, talked about his ambitions for the future and discussed the rise of gaming and esports in general. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this week's episode, Nathan spoke to David, also known as @Scudztv, the author of the viral FIFA Twitter thread about the 'true cost' of obtaining a 'dream' FIFA Ultimate Team.David told Nathan why he started the thread in the first place, also giving his honest reaction to EA's direct response to his tweeted calculations.David also revealed why the thread has led to him creating an open letter to EA about the Ultimate Team game mode, which has been signed by some big-name content creators, esports orgs and professional FIFA players. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this week's episode, Nathan spoke to Danny Taylor, an experienced professional FIFA player who will be representing Newcastle United at the 2021 ePremier League finals.Danny told Nathan about his career as a professional FIFA player so far, including the first FIFA he started competing on, his best moments so far, his hopes for the upcoming ePremier League and his ambitions for the future.They also discussed how FIFA and FIFA esports has changed over the years, looking at how the game and competitive esports scene has changed over the last 20 plus years. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this week's episode, Nathan chatted to Edgar Chekera, Mental performance coach for Man City Esports, who has also worked with Fnatic, AS Roma Esports, Hashtag United and Excel on across variety of esports and traditional sports including FIFA, Valorant, Fortnite, Rocket League and more.Edgar told Nathan about the different techniques he uses to help esports players improve their mental performance and how each esport needs unique approaches.We also talked about how mental performance in esports is overlooked, touched on how the stereotypes around esports are changing rapidly and discussed the similarities between esports and traditional sports in terms of mental performance.Edgar also revealed a few hints and tips that everyone can use to improve their performance when gaming casually with friends. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this week's episode, Nathan is joined by Christian Volk, Director of eFootball & Gaming at FIFA, the international governing body of association football.They discussed FIFA’s intentions for FIFAe in 2021 and an overview of what’s to come, why esports is important for FIFA and how it creates a new vertical in their ecosystem.They also touched on the convergence of sports and esports and what this means for FIFA, whilst also introducing the FIFAe Club World Cup, which is the first of this year’s FIFA-hosted esports tournaments42 teams will compete from across 6 dedicated global zones (based on geographical region) and a total prize pool of $245,000 (in addition to the $105,000 distributed after the online qualification) up for grabs. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this week's episode, Nathan is joined by FUT Content creator Donk, to discuss and review the latest FIFA 21 Ultimate Team promo, Future Stars.They discussed the promo teams, sbcs, objectives, players to miss out and also looked back on previous Future Stars promos.They also discussed and previewed potentially upcoming FUT promos including Winter Refresh, Shapeshifters, Fut Birthday, TOTS and more! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this week's episode, Nathan spoke to Steve Bromley, a User Researcher at Reach plc. Previously, Steve worked at PlayStation (Sony Interactive Entertainment), working on console games such as Horizon: Zero Dawn, No Man's Sky and more!Steve told Nathan about the role of a Gamers User Researcher and how they make games better. They also discussed how games get made, why it's fun to work in games, some of the misconceptions around working in games development, Cyberpunk 2077, No Mans Sky, getting employed in the gaming industry and his brand new book: How to be a Games User Researcher.How To Be A Games User Researcher, by Steve Bromley, is out now. Aimed at early-career UX researchers, it explains what working in games is really like, how to run reliable playtests, and how to develop the skills required to get a job running playtests professionally. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this week's episode of Level up! Nathan is joined by FIFA Pro + Coach Zelonius to discuss the FIFA 21 Ultimate Team TOTY Promo, including thoughts on the overall team, ratings, players to miss out, SBCs, objectives and moreZelonius also told Nathan about what he thinks needs to change with the EA's FIFA franchise, revealing to me how he's spent around £2000 on FIFA points since the start of FIFA 21 in order to compete as a professional FIFA player this year. He also opened £1000 worth of FIFA packs on behalf of someone else to try and pack a FIFA TOTY player, but didn't pack a single one.Included in an in-depth discussion, they talked about pack odds, the prices of FIFA points, content creators opening packs, an update on loot box regulation and much more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this week's episode, Nathan was joined by James Doherty, also known as TRL Limitless, a Sim Racer, YouTuber and F1 Esports Manager Alfa Romeo Orlen EsportsJames revealed some expert tips on how to become a better sim racer, including the difference between using a controller and a wheel, turning assists off, setup help, driving tips, how to improve your racing and more.They also discussed James' career so far, including how he started on YouTube, how he became a professional sim racer and what it's like to be the F1 esports manager for Alfa Romeo Orlen Esports.They also touched on the return of the F1 Virtual Grand Prix series and discussed the future of the F1 esports/sim racing industry. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this week's episode, Nathan spoke with Saul Ashon, Esports Executive at Manchester City, New York City FC and Melbourne City.They discussed Man City's esports strategy and how they want to become the biggest football club in esports. They also touched on esports player welfare, the growth of esports and the future of the industry too. They also discussed his role at Man City and what it entails, including details on how Saul manages their professional esports players to support their success. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nathan is joined by 2020 F1 Esports Pro Series Champion Jarno Opmeer, driver for Alfa Romeo Orlen Esports Team.Jarno gave Nathan his reaction to becoming 2020 F1 Esports Pro Series champion, reviews the season as a whole and how close the competition was this year. They also discussed Jarno's background and career, started in karting, formula racing and then esports, touching on his plans for the future.They also discussed the esports vs real-life racing comparison, including the similarities and differences, touching on the importance of the mental side of being an esports professional. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nathan is joined by award-winning journalist, presenter and stand-up comedian Ellie Gibson as well as British YouTuber Alastair Aiken, also known as Ali-A.They joined Nathan to discuss the weird and wonderful world of gaming language, after a study of British parents with children aged seven or older, undertaken by connectivity provider TalkTalk, shows that nearly three quarters (72%) admit to not understanding gaming jargon being used by their children, as terms such as ‘n00b’, ‘boosting’ and ‘camping’ become commonplace around the dinner table.We talked about some of the most common gaming jargon, explained their meanings and discussed our other favourite gaming words and abbreviations.Nathan also found out about how Ellie and Alastair's love of gaming began, their favourite games growing up, discussed the rise in popularity of gaming and esports and looked at the future of the industry too! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this Christmas special episode of Level up! Nathan is joined by his Daily Mirror/Reach plc colleague James Ide to talk about some of their favourite gaming hardware and software they've tried out this year, from racing rigs, controllers and headsets to some of their favourite Xbox, Playstation and Nintendo Switch games, we've got all bases covered so there's something for everyone in our Christmas gaming hardware and software episode. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Our special guest this week is Tom Leese, also known as Hashtag Tom, a professional FIFA player for Hashtag United and the 2020 ePremier League champion with Watford.Tom told Nathan about his early days playing FIFA, how he became a professional, joining Futwiz, moving to Hashtag United, how his career is intertwined with Tekkz, his thoughts on FIFA 21 and his experience of winning the ePremier League for Watford, the FIFA esports edition of the Premier League. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this week's episode of Level up, Nathan spoke to Matt Gallagher, presenter for WTF1, F1 esports and F1 TVMatt told Nathan about how his presenting career began, by making reaction videos in his kitchen and posting F1 game videos on Youtube.Matt then told Nathan about how WTF1 approached him to become their presenter, how he got involved in F1 esports, driving a real-life F1 car, interviewing Lewis Hamilton in his first week in the job and more. In 2020, Matt was a co-commentator for F1 TV, commentating on three F1 races and multiple F2 races, alongside Alex Jacques. We also spoke about how esports has become more mainstream than ever before, and discussed how esports could become a pathway to motorsport in the future. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this week's episode of Level up! We hear from Laura and Shahneila from Ukie, the trade association for the UK's games and interactive entertainment industry, about their incredible Digital Schoolhouse program.Digital Schoolhouse together with Nintendo UK, uses play-based learning to engage the next generation of pupils and teachers with the Computing curriculum. Digital Schoolhouse is delivered by the UK games industry trade body Ukie and is backed by the creative digital industries and government. Sponsors include PlayStation®, SEGA, Ubisoft and Outright Games. Together with Nintendo Switch, the Digital Schoolhouse Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Team Battle, their very own esports competition, reached over 10,000 pupils and 1000 teams in schools & colleges across the UK in the last academic year. Laura and Shahneila told Nathan about the benefits this program brings for both students and teachers, helping to prepare students for careers in esports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

To celebrate the launch of Football Manager 2021, we've got a FM21 release special episode for you this week, with Sports Interactive gaffer and studio Director Miles Jacobson, and Match AI Team producer Nicholas Madden both joining Nathan on the show.Miles told me about the massive challenge that faced him and everyone at Sports Interactive to develop a brand new Football Manager game during a global pandemic, but incredibly they did that and some, by giving us a raft of new features, including the introduction of xG, the impact of covid-19 on the football world, changing the transfer market, new ways of interacting with players and more. Miles talks us through all that, with a few interesting stories along the way too.Nicholas then told Nathan about the changes to the Match engine for FM21, including improvements to Decision-Making, Defensive Awareness, Attacking in the Final Third, Central Play and Goalkeeper Intelligence. Nic also discussed the challenges of building a living, breathing match engine, also giving a few hints and tips for FM21. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this special episode, Nathan is joined by Tottenham Hotspur and England star Dele Alli!The Spurs midfielder told Nathan about how his love for gaming started with Mario Kart, his favourite games to play and stream right now, the best and worst footballers at both FIFA and Fortnite, why he joined EXCEL ESPORTS as a global ambassador and there was even time to touch on the Bounty chocolate bar. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this week’s episode Nathan was joined by Mike Miller of Double Clutch UK to give us the complete beginners guide to NBA 2K21.Mike told us about the best way to start playing the game, also explaining all the different game modes on NBA 2K21, including The Neighbourhood, which is a mode that seems to be a cross between GTA and Tony Hawk pro skater, with some basketball thrown in.Mike also talked about the MyTeam mode within NBA 2k21, something which has a lot of similarities to the FIFA Ultimate Team game mode, talked about player positions, gave us some gameplay hints and tips and talked about the esports scene too. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

To celebrate the release of the brand new next-gen consoles, we've got a very special next-gen console episode of Level up for you this week.In this special episode of Level up, Nathan's Reach plc colleagues James Ide and JC Sutton joined him to discuss the brand new Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5 next-gen consoles. James has been testing out the new Xbox Series X and the Xbox Series S, whilst JC has been reviewing the PlayStation 5.They discussed these new next-generation consoles in great detail, including comparing the two in terms of design, gameplay experience, features, loading times, controllers, games, pricing and more! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this week’s episode is joined by Dr Baro Hyun, professor of esports business at Keio University and the founder of an esports advisory practice as a Tokyo-based big four consulting firm. He’s also the author of a brand new book, Demystifying Esports,He told Nathan about the business of esports and why esports is a great investment opportunity. They also spoke about the popularity of esports and gaming in the Republic of Korea, discussed PC bangs, how the industry in the Republic of Korea compares to the UK and what the future of the industry worldwide could look like.They also spoke about his brand new book, Demystifying Esports and why he wrote it, whilst also touching on the increasing importance of gaming in cultures around the world. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this week’s episode Nathan teamed up with fellow FIFA fans and Reach plc colleagues Josh Challies and George Smith, to talk about the five major changes that you need to be aware of in FIFA 21, ahead of the FUT Champions Weekend League.They discussed the changes to defending, dribbling, tackling, passing, crossing and more in FIFA 21, discussing overpowered mechanics and general hints and tips, to give you an advantage when playing FIFA 21 online ahead of the FUT Champions Weekend League. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this week’s episode Nathan was joined by the world’s fastest gamer, James Baldwin, now a GT3 driver for Jenson Button’s British GT Championship team.James joined Nathan to discuss his amazing story, including his junior karting career and why he had to stop. James also spoke about his journey into sim racing and how it progressed into him being crowned as the world’s fastest gamer. They then spoke about his real-life racing experience, joining Jenson Button's GT3 team, how his season has gone so far in the British GT Championship, the transferable skills between sim racing and real life racing, and also discussed the rise of esports as a whole and the positive impact it could have on the motorsports industry. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this week’s episode Nathan spoke to 2018 FIFA eWorld Cup Champion and FIFA esports superstar Msdossary.He told Nathan about his history with FIFA gaming titles, when he first developed a competitive spirit, how he handled his first major FIFA esports event, why a winning mentality is so important, the important of his fans, his FIFA eWorld Cup win in 2018, his FIFA eWorld Cup Final appearance in 2019, his rivalry with Tekkz, his favourite FIFA game of all time, his thoughts on FIFA 20, his initial impressions of FIFA 21 and what fans can expect from him this season. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this week's episode Nathan is joined by his Reach colleagues Josh Williams and David Hughes, Football Scouting Writers and hosts of The Blood Red Series 'analysing Anfield'.Josh and Dave told Nathan about their gaming history with titles such as Championship Manager, Football Manager, PES and FIFA, they also discussed whether playing these football management simulation games had any impact on them wanting to be football scouting writers, we also discussed the old PES titles, talked about current FIFA titles and ended the chat with a special quiz around FIFA 21 ratings. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this week’s episode I caught up with Brandon Smith and Richard Buckley, the iconic FIFA esports commentary duo, who have become known as the voices of FIFA esports.They told Nathan about how their FIFA esports commentary journey began three-and-a-half years ago, how they feel about being described as the Martin Tyler and Gary Neville of FIFA esports, what commentating on FIFA esports is like compared to professional football, various commentary styles, their favourite commentary moments, working with Ian Wright and Joleon Lescott, the future of esports and so much more! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this week’s episode I caught up with professional FIFA player Jas Singh, previously of Team Envy and West Ham United, ahead of the new FIFA esports season. He told me about how he became a professional FIFA player, what it was like to represent Chelsea and West Ham , his thoughts on FIFA 20, his early thoughts on FIFA 21 ahead of release and his big ambitions in FIFA esports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nathan is joined by prominent FIFA content creator and FUT trader FUTDonk to discuss the newly-revealed FIFA 21 Ultimate Team Top 100 player ratings. They discuss the biggest rating controversies, including Jadon Sancho losing five pace, the things they are looking forward to in FIFA 21 and more! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this week’s episode Nathan spoke to identical twins Bradley and Matthew Marshall, also known as Wuskin and Skrapz, two of the best professional Call of Duty players in the world.Last weekend they competed in the inaugural Call of Duty League Playoffs & Championship Weekend as part of the only British team, London Royal Ravens, with the tournament having a prize pool of $4,600,000. They eventually finished in fourth place out of twelve teams, earning the team of five players $450,000, with Bradley and Matthew taking home around $90,000 each.Nathan found out how these two brothers from Manchester honed their skills on Call of Duty for over 14 years to become two of the best in the business, how they had to steal their grandad's wifi to keep playing, why they had to move to the USA full-time, what they miss about home, the future of Call of Duty esports and much, much more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this week’s episode Nathan spoke to Darren, Lead Games Designer at Pixel Toys. Pixel Toys are an independent games studio in Leamington Spa who have developed multiple award winning gaming titles. Darren previously worked at Codemasters, the UK’s leading publisher of racing games.Darren told us about the role of a games designer, what his role involves day-to-day, how the public perception of a games designer is different to what he actually does, how he first got into games development, his biggest challenges, his career path so far, advice for people who want to work in games development, the future of gaming and much more! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this week’s episode I spoke to Scrub Killa and Noly, professional Rocket league esports players at Guild Esports, the esports organisation that is co-owned by David Beckham.They told me about how they got into Rocket League, how long it took them to get to pro level, we discuss Rocket League as an esport, how they deal with fame, why they signed for Guild Esports, the pull of David Beckham, the importance of nutrition and well being, their Rocket League Championship Series hopes and much more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this week’s episode I spoke to Kieran Holmes-Darby - Co-Founder & Chief Gaming Officer at EXCEL Esports, one of the biggest British Esports organisations, who are also one of ten founding partners of the LEC, Europe’s most-watched esports leagueKeiran told us about Excel Esports’ huge growth, from a conversation in a pub in 2014 to one of the biggest esports organisations in Britain, with a huge global presence. We discussed their early days with Call of Duty Esports, their current League of Legends Esports offering and moving into Fortnite with the statement signing of Fortnite prodigy Jaden "Wolfiez" Ashman, The youngest gamer to earn $1 million in esports winnings. We also discussed Excel Esports’ big plans for the future, how the esports industry has changed since their inception and looking ahead to the future of esports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this week’s episode, Nathan spoke to Ryan Pessoa, Professional FIFA player for Manchester City.They discussed his journey into FIFA esports, how he accidentally qualified for his first ever FIFA esports event, his experience with Hashtag United, signing for Manchester City, his thoughts on FIFA 20, looking ahead to FIFA 21, Football Manager and his future aspirations. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this week’s episode Nathan spoke to FUTWIZ Dan, the co-founder and CEO of Futwiz, the hugely popular FIFA Community Database website. Dan is also the Team Manager for their professional FIFA esports organisation, Team FUTWIZ.They discussed the creation of the Futwiz website and how it quickly grew into one of the biggest FIFA community website's there is. They also discussed Team Futwiz, the signing of players, their current roster, their FIFA esports academy player, Dan's previous experience as an esports pro, his future plans for the whole Futwiz brand and much more besides. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this week’s episode Nathan spoke to Alex, also known as FIFA Analyst, a content creator and streamer whose content has seen massive growth over the past few months, in part due to the unique individual FIFA analysis sessions that he offers.He told Nathan about when he first started making videos and how he became a content creator, leaving his job as a car salesman to focus on his content and streaming full-time, his FIFA analysis sessions, we discuss some of the nasty comments he’s received, the future of his channel, his thoughts on FIFA 20 and more! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this week's episode Nathan is joined by Britain’s first ever professional gamer, Sujoy Roy, who became one of the best players in the world on first person shooter game Quake, more than 20 years ago.Sujoy talked about his journey from banking to esports, what it was like as a professional gamer without YouTube and Twitch, his early TV appearances, how esports has evolved over the years, the mentality of an elite esports professional, the exciting future of esports and his new venture at an esports betting company. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this week's episode Nathan was joined by Zelonius, a professional FIFA player/coach at AS Roma Esports.They discussed how he went from being a teacher to becoming a full-time professional FIFA player, how his life changed when he signed for FUTWIZ in 2017, his career at AS Roma Esports as a player/coach, how he transitioned into a coaching role, his thoughts on FIFA 20, how FIFA esports can be improved and his plans for the future. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this week's episode of Level Up! Nathan is joined by Cojo, also known as Colin Johnson, Senior team director at Fnatic, one of the biggest esports organisations in the world. Fnatic have won more than 200 championships across 30 different games including League of legends, CS:GO, DOTA 2 and FIFA. We talked to CoJo about his unique role at Fnatic, how he manages and scouts the best esports talent, how FIFA can be improved as an esport, looking ahead to the future of esports and we also discuss the story of how Fnatic finally landed the best FIFA esports player in the world in Tekkz. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nathan chats to Enzo Serre, a professional FIFA esports coach at Tundra Esports who has worked with some of the best professional FIFA esports players in the world including Tekkz and MsDossary. They talked about the role of a FIFA esports coach, how he became one, his coaching philosophy, breaking the META, skill gaps, how he helped Tekkz dominate the FIFA esports scene, his thoughts on FIFA 20 and the future of FIFA esports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today we're joined by Paul "Redeye" Chaloner, an esports legend who has more than a decade of experience in the industry in roles such as host, commentator, presenter, voice over artist and many more.We discuss the history of esports, how to spell it, sim racing, FIFA, prize money and the future of the industry. We also discuss Paul's brand new book, 'This is Esports (and How to Spell It): An Insider’s Guide to the World of Pro Gaming'. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nathan is joined by Aarav Amin, also known as Aarava, one of the world's most prominent F1 content creators and also an Ambassador for Alfa Romeo F1 Esports. They talk about Aarava's career in content creation to-date, discuss recent esports controversies, the future of F1 esports and a bit of FIFA too. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In part two, Nathan and Marcus talk to Football Manager's own PR Manager Tom Davidson about FM20, how real clubs use their database for scouting and take a look at how the game has evolved over the years. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In part one, Nathan and Marcus talk to Football Manager's own PR Manager Tom Davidson about FM20, how the game has become so popular and the emotional connection players have to the game. They also discuss what's in store for the future and how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the game. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nathan and Marcus discuss ultimate team trading with trading expert FUT Donk. They talk about how he got into the FUT trading space and how it has changed over the last few years along with some great tips. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Thank you for checking out the trailer for our brand new podcast! We're excited to share the latest news in Esports and gaming by talking with a range of special guests and exploring the online community! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices