Rising up within the FGC: How two younger prodigies grew to become combating sport legends

It’s no secret that North America struggles in nearly each esport. As aggressive gaming has taken the worldwide stage, the area has been left behind. This makes the story of combating sport heavyweights, NoahTheProdigy and KingReyJr, an anomaly.

These NA prodigies had been competing in tournaments in opposition to adults once they had been nonetheless in elementary college. Each additionally grew up as one in every of three siblings, with their fathers getting as concerned as they may to assist them obtain their desires regardless of making an attempt to lift two different kids on the identical time.

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Of their respective combating video games, they’re carrying NA on their again as full-time professional gamers, managing to show combating video games into their job earlier than they turned 20.

NoahTheProdigy had the best NA placement at each Capcom Cup 11 and EWC for Avenue Fighter 6, and KingReyJr is the best ranked NA participant on the Tekken 8’s 2025 World Tour. They’re altering the storyline of their complete area.

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However, after sitting down with and speaking to them, it’s clear that there’s much more separating these two than the sport they compete in. Simply because they each grew up within the combating sport neighborhood doesn’t imply they’ve the identical story.

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NoahTheProdigy determined being a Avenue Fighter professional was the one choice

NoahTheProdigy has been making headlines since he was in grade college. Coming into his first match at seven years outdated, he’s been competing for over a decade. And, based on him, being a Avenue Fighter professional was his solely plan. He wouldn’t have accepted the rest.

“I by no means had a backup plan. That is 100%. You probably have a backup plan, which means your plan A isn’t adequate and also you’re not assured sufficient,” he stated.

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“Solely b*tches quit. In the event you quit, you’re a b*tch.”

Noah’s strategy is a brazen one, and one which hardly ever works out in esports. No backup plans, no compromises, only a full dedication to competing and getting higher. However hardly ever doesn’t essentially imply by no means.

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His father totally supported him on this journey, encouraging him to focus much less on college and extra on Avenue Fighter.

As a substitute of homework, Noah was finding out the Avenue Fighter GOATs. His father Moises inspired him to chase his desires and by no means quit on them, it doesn’t matter what anybody instructed him.

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“I defined to [Noah] ‘There’s gonna be crowds yelling and all that and all you do is tune ’em out and simply focus.’ You simply have to show your child what’s proper, unsuitable. Noah, when he loses, you understand what I say to him? ‘That is what it’s known as, son. You are taking a licking and carry on ticking,’” Moises stated in an interview with Large Bomb all the way in which again in 2011.

NoahTheProdigy

Noah’s father acquired a custom-printed shirt simply to cheer his son on at tournaments when he was youthful

Even earlier than esports was a possible profession path, Noah’s father supported him. When it did grow to be an actual chance, his father supported him much more, shopping for him a brand new PC setup throughout 2020’s lockdowns so he had a superb setup to play on and make content material.

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Moises’ never-back-down mentality caught with Noah, even via more durable instances when he needed to work no matter job he may get to remain afloat and show he was severe about Avenue Fighter.

“I used to be working some sh*tty-ass jobs, I ain’t gonna lie. However I all the time knew that it was gonna work out.”

From there, Noah grinded till he lastly acquired signed with Twisted Minds in 2024 and was in a position to flip his dream right into a full-time job at 19. Now, he’s looking for out easy methods to put North America on high of Avenue Fighter.

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“I wouldn’t say I’m the perfect. This enterprise is simply laborious. It’s laborious to win. I imply, Japan is so sturdy, I believe as of proper now they’re simply higher than us. They gained Avenue Fighter League. They positioned manner increased than us within the Esports World Cup. They gained Capcom Cup,” Noah defined.

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“America has an ego, they usually don’t know easy methods to management it. That’s why we don’t get higher.”

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Although Noah talks a number of trash and repeatedly calls folks out, he tries to maintain issues surface-level and focus his criticisms on his and his rivals’ shared occupation, Avenue Fighter. The trash speak is simply a part of his persona, and he’s loads nicer in individual than you’d suppose from scrolling his Twitter timeline.

Noah cheering on some Avenue Fighter gamers between his swimming pools matches at Combo Breaker 2025

“I’m a very nice man. I solely speak sh*t on Twitter as a result of it’s filled with b*tches. I imply, they don’t perceive me as a result of, like, they’ve school tuitions arrange. They don’t perceive my background and what I got here from,” he defined.

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Whereas Noah has ambitions of successful the largest occasions on the planet, he already feels a deep sense of satisfaction in what he’s been in a position to obtain and utilizing his abilities to uplift himself, his household, and his neighborhood.

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“I’m already a legend in life with the place I come from and the place I’ve been. If I begin shedding now, I’m nonetheless a legend in my hood. That’s all I care about.”

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KingReyJr was making reads in Tekken earlier than he may learn books

KingReyJr was competing in tournaments even sooner than Noah was, going to his first Tekken match when he was 5. Nonetheless, his journey began even earlier, at solely two and a half years outdated, when his father seen one thing really particular.

KingReySr, Rey’s father, would host Tekken 5 classes in his house, and Junior would pull up a chair and watch. He was barely sufficiently old to talk however was already analyzing the sport deeper than anybody thought.

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KingReySr recording his son’s match in opposition to E1P1C, one in every of Chicago’s finest Tekken gamers, at Scrims Gaming Middle

Older Tekken titles have a joke character known as Mokujin that mimics the strikes of a random character on the roster, and that moveset modifications each single spherical. The problem is determining which character you bought caught with. Within the case of the unique Tekken 5, it might have been 32 totally different characters.

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Earlier than he was even in Kindergarten, KingReyJr may work out who round 80% of the solid was from their animations alone.

“Mokujin popped up on the display, he began transferring, and Junior pointed on the display,” KingReySr instructed me. “He stated, ‘That’s Steve Fox!’ We had been blown away with the truth that he knew who it was simply primarily based on the motion. I had by no means sat down and taught him the names of the characters.”

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KingReySr took this as an indication that he needed to educate his son easy methods to play Tekken, that there was expertise there he wished to refine. He then entered his son in his very first match at 5 years outdated. Now, he’s a world-class participant at simply 19.

After years of dedication, competing full-time in Tekken has grow to be KingReyJr’s first actual job.

“By no means labored a ‘professional’ job. Vitality is the primary official job I’ve really had,” Rey instructed me. Even at 19, he’s acquired extra time beneath his belt than most combating sport professionals.

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“I’ve simply grown into it, I used to be born into this and raised in it. I’ve been part of the FGC for 14, occurring 15 years, I used to be actually molded and formed by it,” KingReyJr defined.

However, not like Noah’s dad and mom, having good grades was a should for Rey Sr. The second KingReyJr’s grades dropped, Tekken was over. And even then, he needed to show he was nonetheless placing effort into bettering within the sport, particularly contemplating his dad was paying for him to journey worldwide.

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“I’ve all the time seen it as an funding in [my son’s] future. Granted, there all the time wanted to be issues in place like retaining his grades up, doing nicely at school,” Rey’s father defined. “After which, on high of that, displaying that he’s all the time making an attempt to enhance. It didn’t make sense for me to place him in occasions the place he wasn’t regularly making an attempt to enhance his sport and get higher.”

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I requested KingReyJr if he felt like being within the FGC modified his life, however he doesn’t actually know of every other way of life. He’s been within the FGC from the very starting.

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“I sort of don’t know the rest. I used to be rising within the FGC my complete life. That is sort of the one factor that I do know. However, I imply, I’m pleased with the place I got here from, pleased with how I grew as much as be the place I’m right now,” he defined.

“I’ve been prepared for one thing like this for what appears like my complete life. Even at VS Preventing 2024 – trigger that was my first time making it to High 8 at a giant match ever – I nonetheless managed to get second.”

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VS Preventing is one in every of Europe’s greatest competitions, and KingReyJr’s 2024 efficiency is probably going a giant a part of what landed him his sponsorship with Vitality. A North American participant demolishing a European main was nearly extraordinary on the time, particularly since Fergus, one in every of Europe’s finest rivals, performs the identical character as Rey.

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I instructed him I’d count on gamers over there to know easy methods to play in opposition to him due to that, and Rey had this to say in reply:

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“They don’t know easy methods to play in opposition to me.”

KingReyJr and NoahTheProdigy might have the same background, however they’re two very totally different folks. Nonetheless, there are two distinct similarities: Each males labored extremely laborious to get the place they’re, and their fathers did every thing they may to help that journey. There’s no “appropriate” strategy to be a dad or mum, however that is about as shut because it will get.

The subsequent finest combating sport gamers on the planet are in all probability hitting their first Evo this yr due to months of begging their dad and mom to pay for it.

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NoahTheProdigy’s journey with Avenue Fighter and KingReyJr’s journey with Tekken haven’t solely given them careers most individuals can solely dream about, however these experiences have additionally molded them into males their fathers might be pleased with.

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