Earlier this week, the inaugural Esports World Cup winners were crowned in Saudi Arabia. The event took place from July 3, 2024, to August 25, 2024, featuring 23 events in 22 different video game titles. One such champion was Luke Bennett, a 19-year-old from Worcestershire, England, who won £100,000 for winning the sim racing series, which was played using the simulator Rennsport.
After he returned home from the event, the racing champ spoke with BBC, stating his interest in trying to make a career in real-life motorsports next. “It’s just like racing a car in real life,” said Bennet. “But on a computer.”
Luke Bennett is a member of Team Redline, which is also part of the F1 team represented by Red Bull. He started his gaming career by messing around with his steering wheel on his desk for fun, but eventually started winning competitions and joining more high-end esports tournaments.
When commenting on the move to real-life motorsports, Bennet stated, “I see more and more people get a way in through sim racing now, and hopefully that does happen. I hope one day to get into the real world of motorsport.” If this sounds familiar, it is likely because of the recent video game movie adaptation of Gran Turismo.
In this 2023 sports biography, produced by PlayStation, viewers follow a highly sensationalized retelling of Jann Mardenborough. This British teenager managed to turn his love for playing Gran Turismo into becoming a professional race car driver. The main difference being he didn’t just play the game itself and decide to start racing, but had trained for several years prior to successfully go pro.
Since Bennett is only 19 years old, he still has plenty of time to do the same, but it likely won’t be anything like what he’s experienced playing Rennsport.
