Source: Samsung / Samsung Mobile
Mobile gaming has come a long way from just playing games like Solitaire, and Candy Crush on your smartphones. We caught up with Team Galaxy member and professional Fortnite Battle Royale player Ali “Myth” Kabbani spoke on how Samsung’s Galaxy Note20 Ultra is changing the mobile gaming landscape as well as his start in professional gaming.
Myth first started streaming on Twitch in 2016, his game of choice at the time was Paragon before Epic Games decided to pull the plug on its online shooter in April 2018. Myth then decided to give Fornite Battle Royale a try near the end of 2017, and his popularity began to rise, gaining over 200,000 followers on Twitch. By the end of the same year, his numbers increased astoundingly to over 3.2 million. That also could be the moment that he described to us when his parents realized that playing video games professionally is actually a thing.
Speaking on the exact moment when he decided that he wanted to be a professional gamer, Myth describes having a conversation with his mom. Still, she really didn’t quite really grasp how serious he was about taking that step.
“I remember there were multiple times where I told my mom,” Myth says, “you know, that I wanted to compete and I wanted to- to start competing in games and get involved in that community. And she was always like, “Oh, yeah? Okay. You know, as long as you keep your grades up, honey, you know. Just keep those grades up.”
It wasn’t until when his streaming numbers started to rise that he knew that professional gaming was indeed the route he wanted to go. He told Hip-Hop Wired, “things got more and more serious, and it [professional gaming] started, you know, I started dedicating a bit more time to it.”
Myth finally decided it was time to bring the family together to discuss his plans ahead of his high school graduation. He revealed his mom didn’t take the news very well, but it was the encouragement of his five other siblings, which gave him the boost he needed.
“I had, I grew up with like five other siblings in the household, or the, yeah, five other siblings in the household,” Myth states. “So, they’ve all went through the process of college, of school, and they saw how dedicated I was about gaming, and they know how long I’ve been gaming and how well I’ve been doing it. So, they sort of were, they were there, and they were like, yeah, you know, do it. Like, we went through the process. We’re drowning in debt. Like if you could make something out of it, or if you think you even have the opportunity to make something out of it, like go for it, and try it out. You know. What do you have to lose?”
His parents eventually came around with the help of his siblings, and they saw his streaming numbers first hand following him signing with TSM.
“I remember one day like I brought my parents into my room and showed them like my Twitch stats one day for like the month, and they were like, you know, and- and, they- they were like, “Holy shit.” And uh, and at that point, they were like, “Okay, yeah. This- this dude’s official. Like this is actually a thing.” (laughs). And like up until that point, my mom was like, “I thought he was video games, but he was talking to people, like not doing anything much. I didn’t know he was making money or making anything of it.”
Now the rest is history. As a member of Team Galaxy, Myth had the honor of showing off the Galaxy Note20 Ultra’s powerful gaming capability while showing off the phablet’s ability to run Microsoft’s new baby Xbox Game Pass Ultimate which is currently still in its beta phase.
Source: Samsung / Samsung Mobile
Thanks to Samsung’s partnership with Microsoft, it gives the Korean tech giant a leg up on the competition by featuring it on its device, and the Note20 Ultra is the best smartphone to debut the new gaming streaming service. Samsung hopes this will now usher in a wave of gamers using smartphones, preferably their devices to game anywhere. We asked Myth if he ever envisioned himself gaming extensively on his smartphone and as expected being a hardcore gamer he never really saw that happening
“To be, to be honest, like I think, um, definitely not,” Myth says. “I mean, I remember, it really wasn’t that long ago. Like maybe like four to six years ago, right, you know, how you used to like go try and put on like, You got any games on your phone? And you pull out Angry Birds , and you’re like, Oh my gosh. But there was a difference between having a game on your phone and then like gaming on your phone, right?
Myth goes on to point out that being able to play triple-A titles instantly on the Galaxy Note20 Ultra is a gamechanger.
“I never thought it would get to the point of having full-fledged titles, you know, like triple-A titles on your phone that you could play, you know, from anywhere you want. So, that’s- that’s my point. So, definitely, no, I didn’t, I never, seen this getting to- to the point that it’s at today, for sure.”
As for his initial reaction to when he first witnessed Xbox Game Pass in action and being chosen to unveil it, he couldn’t believe what he saw in the palm of his hands.
“I remember just thinking to myself like, “Is this real?” (laughs). Because I couldn’t, I didn’t, it was hard for me to imagine trying to tell my 10-year-old or 12-year-old self exactly what I’m doing right now. Like I don’t think past me would believe in what exactly is going on. So,that’s how I felt about it, if I had to go back a few years and explain to a younger version of me how you’re able to play games nowadays, I just straight up wouldn’t believe you. I’d be like, “Yeah, okay, bro, cut it out. Like, you’re joking. You’re joking, right? Like, I could play years on my- on my phone, yeah, on my couch, or on my bed, maybe while I’m using the bathroom?”
Source: Bernard Smalls / @PhotosByBeanz
Myth even sees being able to play games through Xbox Game Pass on your Note20 Ultra and other devices in the future as the perfect tool for professional gamers to use to keep their skills sharp.
“I think console gamers specifically will be able to take advantage of this a lot and have the ability to basically, you know, play from anywhere like you see me do when I put the Note20 on the Bluetooth controller, and I was able to play from anywhere. Uh, being able to like, you know, just pull something up and out and then scout for information or gain information about the game while you’re on the go or whatever, or show your friends something is gonna be huge. And as this technology gets better and better and better and better, it’s only gonna make it a more viable option, and it’s definitely gonna head down that route, I think.”
Of course, we had close things out by asking Myth what games he was looking forward to playing on Xbox Game Pass, not named Fortnite. He quickly responded Halo: Infinite, unfortunately, we will have to wait till next year to play Master Chief’s next adventure.
You can follow Myth on Twitch, YouTube, Twitter, and Instagram.
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Photo: Samsung / Samsung Mobile
