Competitive gaming and esports is a huge global business, worth some $2 billion a year and growing. It is estimated that around 600 million people a year engage with esports in some way, either as a fan or professionally. As a developed country with good tech infrastructure for decades now, there are plenty of top-tier pro gamers and esports contenders from Canada. But who are the very best?
A high school dropout turned Overwatch professional and then biggest streamer in the world. A legendary FPS gamer turned shrewd businessman and entrepreneur. A Canadian poker player who is one of the greatest online players ever. And, finally, the king of a new generation of Canadian esports stars. These are four of the greatest Canadian pro gamers of all time, and how they came to dominate their field.
xQc Has Had a Varied but Hugely Successful Career
It’s difficult to discuss Canadian pro gamers without mentioning Félix “xQc” Lengyel. Although he is now known for high stakes gambling and variety streaming as much as gaming, the multimillionaire streaming star got his start from pro gaming.
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xQc originally came up in the scene as a professional Overwatch player. He competed with the Dallas Fuel in the much-hyped inaugural season of Blizzard’s Overwatch League.
His aggressive tank play and mechanical skill in game, combined with his awkward, controversial humor, quickly saw him rise to popularity on streaming service Twitch. Although his career ended in a controversial ban, he used that popularity to transition into full time streaming. He is now a multimillionaire and one of the most viewed online streamers of all time.
Daniel Negreanu is One of the Poker Greats
While poker isn’t the first thing people think of when discussing esports, online poker is definitely a competitive game played digitally. And this person has won millions at it.
Daniel Negreanu, born in Toronto, is not only Canada’s most famous and winningest poker player but also one of the most recognized players in the history of the game.
Given the nickname “Kid Poker” after crushing several big tournaments at a young age in the late 90s, Negreanu has since won six World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelets, two World Poker Tour titles and made tens of millions for himself in tournament winnings. He was inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame in 2016.
On top of all that, Negreanu is now also somewhat of a social media star. He is one of the biggest poker content creators, with 600,000 followers on YouTube. There he documents his high-flying lifestyle, gives out online poker tips and vlogs himself at tournaments playing for hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Shroud Turned Legendary Mechanics into a Career
While xQc is a certainly a talented gamer, the most famous Canadian for pure skilled gameplay is definitely Michael “Shroud” Grzesiek. Born in Mississauga, Ontario, Shroud built his reputation as a pro player in FPS Counter: Strike Global Offensive.
Competing for top American team Cloud9, Shroud participated in dozens of top tournaments and was eventually made team captain. His esports career highlight was in 2017, when he led C9 to first place in the biggest CS:GO competition, the ESL Pro League Season 4. The win solidified Shroud’s reputation as one of the most mechanically gifted FPS players of his generation.
His mystique only grew when he chose that year to retire from CS:GO esports, bowing out on the high of winning the game’s biggest title. However, his unerring aim and ice-cold, focused gameplay across basically any FPS title he picked up, ensured he stayed a big star on Twitch. In a demonstration of his skills, after four years away from the professional stage Shroud joined Valorant pro team Sentinels in 2022. Although he held his own in several top tournaments, his competitive fire just wasn’t there and he retired after just five events with the team.
Since becoming a multimillionaire streamer, Shroud has turned his money into various business ventures. He is the co-founder and owner of a PC building company called MAINGEAR, was big investor in a game development studio and is apparently looking to start his own esports organization. He moved away from Canada in 2021 to live in a $9.5 million Los Angeles mansion.
Tyson “TenZ” Ngo is The New Wave of Esports
Although once called “Kid Poker”, Negreanu is now in his 50s. Shroud has long retired from the esports scene, and xQc is very unlikely to pick up the pad professionally again. That means the future of Canadian gaming excellence lies with young stars like Tyson “TenZ” Ngo, one of the brightest stars in competitive Valorant.
As if illustrating that point, Tenz joined top Valorant team Sentinels in 2021, where he briefly played with Shroud before his retirement. With Tenz as a key member on the roster, Sentinels won:
- Four North America Challengers tournaments in 2021
- Valorant Masters Berlin 2021
- Masters Reykjavik 2023
- AfreecaTV Valorant League 2023
- Valorant Masters Madrid 2024
Although now on hiatus from esports to focus on his own streaming career, from 2021 to 2024 Tenz and Sentinels went on a legendary run, setting the standard for competitive Valorant moving forward.