Aussie rocker Shannon Noll to captain Esports team at major gaming event

What about who?! Shannon Noll has announced he will captain an Esports team at a major event next month, and he’s hunting for other “unexpected celebrity gamers” to join him

AUSTRALIAN rocker Shannon Noll is making a move into Esports.

Noll, the chart-topper behind hits including Lift, Drive, What About Me and Shine, will captain an Esports team, named the Motley Squad, at a major gaming tournament next month.

“I was a gamer as a young bloke,” Noll told Confidential at the PAX gaming convention in Melbourne today. “I want to educate people on the diversity of people who game these days. It’s not just your typical kid with four inch thick glasses sitting at home with his pimply friends. It’s so much bigger.”

Noll is at PAX to announce his plans to assemble a team of “unexpected celebrity gamers.” To prepare for the task, the rocker will be coached by gaming legend FaZe Hazz.

Shannon Noll at the PAX gaming convention in Melbourne

Shannon Noll and gaming legend FaZe Hazz at PAX in Melbourne

How does Noll see his Esports captain role; as a organiser, psychologist and waterboy?

“All of the above,” he said, laughing. “We’ve got Hazz to train us all. He’s a big deal in the gaming world. We’re putting together a few people to show it’s not who you think that are gaming. It’s doctors, lawyers, anyone.”

The Motley Squad will compete at the Lenovo’s Legion of Champions Series IV competition, one of Asia’s biggest e-sports tournaments, in November.

Lenovo’s Matt Codrington, said Noll fits the profile of unexpected gamer. “There is no typical gamer stereotype – what connects them is their shared passion for gaming,” Mr Codrington said.

Noll said his introduction to gaming was Bond 007. “That was the game that got me back in the day,” he said. “Dad used to get at me for playing it all the time. ‘That bloody Intendo!’ He couldn’t pronounce it.”

Noll said his relationship with gaming today is through his kids.

“My young bloke is into it,” Noll said. “Something came up the other day on the news about Mexico. And he says, ‘My friend is from Mexico.’ And I’m like, ‘How the hell? He’s never been to Mexico.’

“But he games with a kid from Mexico. So suddenly, my son is an authority on everything Mexican.”