Four of New Zealand's best Call of Duty players want to beat America at their own game. But first they have to take on Australia.
The foursome, who compete under the name Uproar.Ignition, are heading to the Australian Cyber League competition in Brisbane this weekend with just one aim: to win.
"There are a lot of good teams, but we're really confident that we can do it," says Guy Worthington, a 19-year-old student from Auckland who is Uproar.Ignition's longest-serving member.
After coming fourth in 2013, and second last year, they're hoping to walk away with the trophy for competing in team events of the violent military game Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare.
Games last for 10 minutes and teams play five games against each other. Winners are determined by the number of kills they get - averaging between 25-45 a game.
Winning in Brisbane would be a major step on the road to one of the world's biggest Call of Duty competitions, the MLG COD Championships, held in Los Angeles in October with a main prize of $US250,000. Teams are accepted on a points system earned through tournaments.
For the Brisbane competition, 19-year-old Rotorua student Nathan Munro-Ireland says the foursome - also including Auckland-based 19-year-old Ryan Wallath and 16-year-old Jack Richards - have been training up to 11 hours a day over the past month.
They'll spend six hours a day playing together, then five more on their own.
Worthington, a student also aged 19, says he's become an excellent "multi-tasker," cramming in study and two jobs around his gaming time.
Overseas, the world's best Call of Duty players earn a living from just playing the game, winning competitions, building a following through their social media channels, live streaming their games and earning sponsorships. Some competitions have prize money of up to US$1 million.
That's just a dream in New Zealand, says Munro-Ireland, but it's one they're hoping they can make come true. He says an average win from a New Zealand Call of Duty competition is about $200 - but they'll share in about $3500 of earnings if they win this weekend in Brisbane.
"It's more like a hobby that we're really into at the moment," he says. "My parents started accepting it when my flights were getting paid for."
* For more information and to follow Uproar.Ignition's progress over the weekend, head to www.uproarnation.com.