COD pro-Shotzzy recalls ‘humbling’ journey to gaming stardom
Call of Duty pro-Anthony “Shotzzy” Cuevas-Castro became the youngest and first-ever multi-FPS World Champion at just 19-year-old. The feat followed his switch from Halo 5 tournament to Call of Duty league.
In an interview with Dexerto to celebrate National Hispanic Heritage Month from September 15 to October 15, Shotzzy said he was proud to be a gaming content creator.
“Having people come in my chat and say I’m glad you stream because it helps me with whatever I am going through, and I get that pretty often. So the fact that I can do that is really humbling to me,” he said.
His rise to popularity began with cheap PC and peripherals. He said his main advice to streamers is to “stream with whatever you have in front of you.”
Gaming career
Now 21-year-old, Shotzzy began his esports career in Halo World Champion, winning the tournament in 2018 at only 16-year-old. The following year, he transitioned to play COD: Black Ops 4 and became famous for his performance in search and destroy. Not long after, he found himself in COD: League with Dallas Empire.
The young gamer had a seamless transition, winning two Major COD: League titles during his rookie year with the team. He wrapped up his rookie career by claiming the World Championship title.
Dallas Empire merged with Envy Gaming to form OpTic Texas. Shotzzy was included on the lineup to play COD: Vanguard alongside Indervir “iLLeY” Dhaliwal, Seth “Scump” Abner, and Brandon “Dashy” Otell. This composition brought the newly-founded team the Major 1 title. However, they fail to maintain the feat in the following year’s major.
OpTic Texas then decided to switch from COD: Vanguard to Modern Warfare. There have been rumors the team might overhaul its roster, but Shotzzy and co. remains in Texas to this day.
Shotzzy grew up with his five brothers. Unlike other Hispanic families, Shotzzy said that his mother gave him the freedom to pick his path and had faith in his gaming career.
“It’s cool to see people come in my chat and say I come from a Hispanic family, and they don’t really understand because of their background. So I kind of relate to that in a way, and it’s cool for kids to see if he can do it, why can’t I do it,” he said, as quoted by Dexerto.
“I never experienced that or the really strict stuff they experienced. If my mom was strict and I couldn’t game, I wouldn’t be where I am today.”
Shotzzy’s stepdad was unsure at first but would understand and gave the liberty for him in his career. When asked about his decision to become a professional gamer, Shotzzy expressed his confidence that it was the right path.
“No, just because what they have done is really good for the community, and I want to do the same thing they have done, producing content. I want to be a good example to the CoD community, and I look forward to creating content and getting some wins along the way,” he added.
