Balancing Fortnite esports and studies
Balancing studies with a career, as a professional esports player or content creator, is not without its challenges. Both Benjy "benjyfishy" Fish and Martin "MrSavage" Foss Andersen have faced difficulties when it comes to combining education with the intense schedule of tournaments and the hours of practice needed to stay at the top.
This article originally appeared in the book Build It Like benjyfishy & MrSavage: The Unofficial Fortnite Esports Guide for Players and Parents, written by benjyfishy’s mother Anne Fish and me.
Martin doing homework. Photo credit MrSavage.
Martin and school
Johnny: ‘Growing up, Martin attended a private Montessori primary school in Norway. Montessori schools offer an open and curiosity-driven approach to teaching, which suited Martin very well. However, at thirteen Martin changed schools to attend the same local school as his older brother, but he didn’t seem to settle into the more traditional classroom style of education. In December 2017, some months after Fortnite was launched, we decided as a family to apply for a place at a new Montessori school for Martin. Fortunately, he was accepted, however his place would not be available until the next school year. In the meantime, we had decided that he should be home schooled which gave him a bit more leisure time for playing football (soccer) and gaming.’
“At the start, when I was playing Fortnite, I was home schooled because I was switching schools. There was a six-month period where I was searching for a new school. That was very good timing because I got to grind Fortnite for like half a year. So that kind of boosted me up to one of the top players.”
Growing challenges
Johnny: ‘My wife, Solfrid, and I were completely unaware of Martin’s progress in competitive Fortnite until around the time he came second in the online Fortnite Winter Royale EU Qualifiers in November 2018. Things took off rapidly after the Winter Royale and Martin received a handful of offers from top-tier esports organisations around the world. After two months of negotiations Martin ended up choosing NRG in January 2019.’
Johnny: ‘We found the challenge of combining school and competitive esports was increasing at home. Martin was visibly more tired after the long hours of combining full-time schooling with playing Fortnite in the evenings. Both my wife and I had to negotiate with Martin about his bedtime, we also suggested that he should try to spend more time with his friends IRL instead of online. We stressed the importance of maintaining a balance of physical exercise versus sitting in front of the computer.
It was undeniably clear to us that gaming was very important to Martin, and that he had made a community of friends online who he valued very much. We didn’t have a recipe for how to handle the situation; we had to learn through discussion and compromise.’
Family agreement
Johnny: ‘The discussions resulted in some informal rules, but as Martin’s popularity grew and he signed the contract with NRG, the family needed more formal rules in place.
We set up a family agreement with two pages of various ground rules. Now this may sound strict, but the rules were there first and foremost to discuss and handle expectations from both sides: Martin and his schooling, his gaming and other activities on one side, and the family as a unity on the other side.
We made sure the family agreement stood in line with our values. We had points about purpose (gaming should always be fun), balance (schooling, time off, family life), sleep (minimum eight and a half hours per night) and physical exercise (two days per week). We then implemented these into weekly plans, adjusting when necessary.’
Montessori school
Johnny: ‘We kept the new Montessori school updated about Martin’s advancements within esports and his growing commitments. It turned out that the school was really flexible with Martin’s esports career while still honouring the mandatory requirements, by the quite strict school system in Norway.
Working closely with his school we were able to reduce Martin’s hours. This gave him time to practise and participate in both online and LAN tournaments, the latter requiring travelling for as much as two weeks at a time. If he had played in an evening tournament, Martin was often permitted to start his school day later the following morning. During this period, Martin attended school on average about two and a half days per week. He also had sessions prepared for him to attend at home, facilitated by the school’s team of teachers, with my wife and I providing additional support.’
Full-time esports player
Johnny: ‘Martin finished mandatory schooling in June 2020 and we, as a family, decided shortly after that he should take at least one year’s leave of absence to become a fulltime esports player. Martin has said that he may continue his education later, but at what schools and in which form he didn’t know. After all, few teenagers know for sure what future career they want to pursue.
One could say that Martin was partly home schooled during his last Montessori years, but with professional guidance, as it was only made possible through an extraordinary effort by his schoolteachers. Martin, my wife and I will always be grateful for that.’
“Both Benjy and Martin were fourteen years old when the 2018 Fortnite Winter Royale Tournament took place and they were allowed to play the qualifiers but not the finals according to Epic Games’ rules at the time. In February 2019 Epic Games changed the rules to allow thirteen-year-olds to compete all the way to the finals. According to the rules for FNCS chapter 2 season 7 (July - October 2021) a player must still meet that age requirement to play any FNCS match. Make sure to check Epic Games’ rules and guidelines library before every tournament.”
Benjy's education
Anne: ‘I had always prioritised Benjy’s education over everything else. Benjy had attended independent prep schools in Surrey, UK from the ages of three to thirteen. The schools had provided a lot of opportunities for Benjy including encouraging his sporting ambitions.
At thirteen, Benjy took the Common Entrance (CE) exam to progress into his chosen senior school with places highly contested. Benjy would sit exams for the core subjects, Maths, English and the Sciences. Additionally, he sat exams in History, Geography, Religious Studies, French and Spanish. Benjy needed to achieve at least 70 – 80 per cent in each of these assessments if he was to pass. Not only were there exams to sit, but also a pre-test and interview stage of admissions.’
Benjy focused on playing. Photo credit benjyfishy.
Acing exams
Anne: ‘Getting Benjy to do any revision was extremely difficult and involved relentless nagging from my side. After a lot of cajoling, Benjy did manage to put in the necessary revision work, ahead of his CE exam week. I wanted to make sure I was doing all I could to ensure Benjy passed these exams. I firmly believed that when armed with a good education, Benjy would have a strong foundation to build his future, offering him more choices in life.
Even though he didn’t particularly like school, and preferred to be gaming, this school was where all his friends were going, and I knew he wouldn’t have wanted to miss out. It was a huge relief to finally find out that the work had paid off, and partly due to his natural aptitude and intelligence, Benjy had passed all of his exams.'
Top tips
Make your school homework your priority.
Write a schedule of tournaments (with dates and times) and plan your studies around these.
Set yourself a daily gaming time-limit and try to stick to it.
Go to bed at a sensible time.
Exercise regularly and try to eat healthily.
Take breaks and have some leisure time when you can relax.
Do not procrastinate and make sure you focus when studying.
Benjy home schooling
Anne: ‘The more time Benjy was playing Fortnite, the less time he was spending on his schoolwork. Several tier one esports organisations had contacted Benjy, wanting to sign him, and I knew he couldn’t manage a full-time education with a full-time gaming career.
After Benjy qualified for the World Cup in 2019, I tried to work with his school to allow him time to be able to practise and compete at a competitive level. We explored several options including reducing hours to just the core subjects or taking time out from studies. At the time, Benjy’s school already offered these options to their golf and tennis academies, who take time out each term to participate in bootcamps and tournaments. The fact that esports tournaments are played late into the evening (especially if Benjy is playing in North American tournaments), often not finishing until the early hours, meant that continuing school was not realistically possible. I then made the difficult decision to home school Benjy and organised tutors to come in to teach lessons.
Home schooling is not going to be a suitable option for everyone, and the decision needs to be considered carefully. However, it can give players the flexibility needed to balance studies with both practice and tournament schedules.'
Benjy getting tutored. Photo credit NRG.
Life’s too short… seize the moment
Anne: ‘So many students take a gap year before embarking on either a university course or training scheme but why does it have to be at the age of eighteen? Why not earlier? Life is too short and you ultimately spend all your time working to earn an income. If you have the opportunity to make a career out of something you enjoy then go for it otherwise you will always be wondering what if....’
Education does not have an expiration date
Anne: ‘I don’t think that education is something fixed or that you have to do exams when you are sixteen or eighteen, as there is nothing stopping you continuing your studies at a later stage. I believe that we continue to have opportunities to learn throughout our lifetime.’
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Interested in learning more about MrSavage but also his duo partner benjyfishy and how they built their career? Check out the book Build It Like benjyfishy & MrSavage with a wealth of useful information both for players and parents alike.
