PRESSZONE
Michael ‘ODEE’ O’Dell has been announced as the Great Britain Esports Team Manager at British Esports Federation. ODEE, industry titan who works with Scan Computers as the Director of Esports and Gaming, tells us all about his journey to gaming greatness.
A: ODEE: For me, I’m extremely proud. To get this opportunity to do this is just WOAH - to go from competitive gaming to possibly leading the team at the Olympics as a manager is just inspiring. Like I said, I’ve always wanted to be the best at something, I’m wanting to bring home that gold medal.
A: ODEE: No, i can honestly say no. If you told me 26 years ago I would have laughed. I guess for me, all I was looking for was a replacement for sport. Competitive gaming became a therapy for me.
ODEE started his esports journey over 20 years ago, previously having been a dedicated sportsman for Cricket, American Football and Football. An ACL injury ultimately caused ODEE to switch gears and strive to be the best at competitive gaming. ODEE has said that he never could have predicted how far his career in gaming and esports would go and the heights he would reach within the industry.
A: ODEE: There wasn’t a one moment but I know why I did it. As a teenager, I always wanted to be the best in the world at something. I didn’t know what it was going to be but I knew that’s what I wanted. When I started to play competitive gaming, I set my mind to being the best at it. Competitive gaming wasn’t my first attempt, I tried football and other things first until I found Battlefield 1942.
ODEE has spoken fondly about how, as a teenager, his dream in life was to be ‘the best in the world at something’. At that point he hadn’t settled on what it was going to be, just that he will be the very best at it. Despite the injury cutting his sport career short, that didn’t stop him from moving onto the very next thing to dominate at - competitive gaming. During his career in competitive gaming, he has played in several teams at the highest level for games like Quake 3 and Battlefield 1942, representing his country for many of these moments
A: ODEE: The first online game was Doom, played it peer-to-peer with my best mate. He lived in the posh house so he had internet, though we played with 300 ping. That experience with my mate set up why I loved competitive gaming.
In a memory that many can relate to, ODEE reminisced about how he could only play games at his best friends house because he was the only one who had internet at the time. They would play Doom, peer-to-peer, together and even though they “played with 300 ping” it was that experience with his friend that kickstarted his love of competitive gaming. This sense of community, camaraderie and competitive spirit is at the heart of all gamers and ODEE carries this passion with him too.
A: ODEE: Lots and lots of lessons, it’s probably why I’m excited for this role. I’ve learned a lot over the time and I’m excited to teach them - I know I can help them win. Probably too many lessons to list now but my motto managing is “You’ve got to learn how to lose”. So it’s not until you learn how to lose, and get that feeling of losing a big game that you know what it means to win. That feeling of winning is a much better feeling, so lose once and then fight to never feel that way again.
In 2003 ODEE founded Team Dignitas, with the rest of his Battlefield 1942 team, who then went on to become the best team in the world at that title. An incredible feat in and of itself, however they didn’t stop there! During his time with Team Dignitas, ODEE managed over 750 players, expanding into other games, overseeing more than one hundred champions, many of whom became World Champions. ODEE talks about how, over the course of his career, he’s learnt too much to list in one sitting however, he offers to share some wisdom that’s carried him through his competitive career. ODEE encourages that winner mindset by valuing the lessons that losing can give you. Once you’ve learned how bad losing feels, you won’t know how to fight to win. Any inspiring gamer should take that information to heart, nothing guarantees a loss streak more than getting dragged under mentally by the losing.
A: ODEE: My biggest bit of advice is that it doesn’t matter what side of it that you’re looking to get into, esports or casual, just get involved and make as much noise as possible without being annoying. Go to events, get online, talk to other people who are invested. Remember you can’t catch a bus if you never try to get on it
Attitudes about gaming as a career have changed dramatically over the years, it’s now widely accepted as a career option for many students, with the introduction of esports courses at universities and colleges. It can still be quite daunting to start a gaming career, if you are invested in kick-starting one then ODEE has recommended getting as involved as possible in the industry. Make sure you’re at events, streaming and reaching out to as many people as you can for advice - just make sure to be polite and patient while you do so!
A: ODEE: So out of the 50+ games I’ve managed, if I could pick any of them to compete in it would be League of Legends. A lot of my FPS friends will probably be saying what, but that game tests my brain power more than any FPS game, so yeah if I could compete professionally in any game it would be that one. It’s probably why I still play it, in hopes I can go pro [laughs]
A: ODEE: Honestly, the first big order that I was involved in that came in from a University. Selling fantastic tech to a university for the first time was my proudest moment.
ODEE became the Director of Esports and Gaming in 2023 at Scan Computers, a former Team Dignitas sponsor. ODEE has been involved in amazing work, supporting the development of esports in education, during his time here at Scan. October 2023 was an excellent month for ODEE, he was awarded an honorary Doctorate in Business Administration for his work supporting esports in education. Additionally, during the same month he was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Esports Awards. ODEE prides himself in furthering the opportunities available to students in esports and competitive gaming, it’s what he loves most about his work here at Scan.
A: ODEE: There are so many to talk about. My favourite trend that changed gaming and esports was the introduction of league of legends. The relationship between esports tournaments and RIOT helped to make esports what it is and is still super popular today.
A: My prediction would be around coaching, with technology I’ve always wanted to see eye tracking, hand coordination, breathing and heart monitor data as part of esports training and tournaments. It would be amazing to have those stats as a coach and also for esports education for team managers choosing team members. It’s going to happen, it has to.
When we look back at the growth seen within the gaming industry, there’s been so much that would have seemed impossible only a decade earlier. The future is very bright for the gaming and esports industry, the efforts made by ODEE and the esports team here at Scan Computers, we know that the esports students of tomorrow have all they need to achieve greatness.