When Benjyfishy left school to become a Fortnite star, he was 15. A similar path is now being pursued by a Japanese boy who is even younger.
Which boy is being talked about? Tarou is from Japan and is 12 years old. He has been playing since he was 3. By the 2nd grade, he was already competing against professional players. His social media channel, which he started in 2020, where the boy mainly posts Fortnite content, already has 230,000 subscribers.
This is not where it ends. According to a report on scmp.com, Tarou wants to become an esports star and compete in the Fortnite World Cup. In order to have a chance there, the boy must expand his training program: “The top players in these competitions are constantly improving. If I want to catch up or surpass them, it’s not enough to train less than 10 hours a day.”
Therefore, Tarou announced on his channel that he does not want to attend further school: “I want to create a lifestyle that allows me to pursue esports seriously while having enough time for sleep, exercise, and learning.”
Training > School
How do his parents react? They support his decision and are convinced that he has the potential to reach the top of the world. His father is quoted as follows:
“Traditional athletes train about five hours a day, but in gaming, players can train 13 to 14 hours. The top contenders on the Asian server typically practice 10 to 12 hours a day, consistently over five or six years. If he had to go to school every day, he would be exhausted after classes. It would be impossible to guarantee the focused training time he needs.”
According to scmp.com, Japan actually has a nine-year compulsory education. However, it is not known whether Tarou will receive any form of homeschooling. Tarou’s school is said to have agreed to the plan after a year-long discussion.
Thus, the boy is now following in the footsteps of Benjy David “Benjyfishy” Fish, who embarked on a similar path in 2019 to become a Fortnite pro. “Benjyfishy” was 15 at the time. Looking back, that was probably the right decision: Mom took a 15-year-old out of school so he could have more time for Fortnite – 6 years later he is successful, but in a different shooter
