Referee Tobias Jacob
In the heat of the games, referee Tobias Jacob, 23, from Frankfurt a.M., Germany found a couple of minutes for a quick interview.
Asked how he actually became a referee, he had to admit, with a grin on his face, that he was not such an expert gamer himself. So being a referee was almost the logical way of keeping with the best without being one of the best.
The college student, who is in his final year of Business Studies and Sinology has travelled the world as a referee since 2004 and estimates that his part time job as a referee takes him to far off places up to 10 times a year. Amongst others, he has been to China, the USA, South Korea, Singapore and many parts of Europe to pursue his mission as an e-sports referee.
When he has completed his course of studies, he intends to take on a job in the games industry, possibly in China. But one thing is for certain: he will not want to give up being a referee too soon and hopes that he will be able to continue travelling the world “laying down the rules” for a long time to come. “I know referees that are 50 years old! So why not me?” he said. So we’ll try to interview him again at the World Cyber Games in 2038!
