Updated on December 13, 5:31 p.m. (GMT+8): Added BeryL’s Worlds 2022 skin anecdote and TenZ’s top 20 anime list.
Aside from playing competitively and winning professional matches, many esports players have another obsession: anime!
But who’s the biggest otaku? And which shows do they watch?
Do they own a big figure collection? Who is their waifu? We’ve done the research, and we can now answer all of these questions.
5 esports players who love watching anime as much as you do
- Karsa (League of Legends)
- BeryL (League of Legends)
- EternaLEnVy (Dota 2)
- TenZ (Valorant)
- Akosi Dogie (Mobile Legends)
Karsa (League of Legends)
There are many League of Legends players who are huge anime fans, but let’s talk about one of the biggest otakus based in China.
Jungler Hung “Karsa” Hai-Hsuan enjoys displaying his precious figures around his workstation. Saber Alter spotted!
Karsa also owns a special cabinet display full of his other loots featuring figures from titles like Date A Live and No Game No Life.
Karsa brought this same display case when he moved to China after joining the LPL team Royal Never Give Up (RNG) in 2017.
He seems to be a huge fan of the romantic comedy genre especially since his favorite series is Saekano: How to Raise a Boring Girlfriend. Karsa also recommends watching Kaguya-sama: Love Is War to his fans.
BeryL (League of Legends)
Another weaboo from the League of Legends scene is the two-time Worlds champion Cho “BeryL” Geon-hee.
BeryL plays a lot of HoYoverse’s role-playing game Genshin Impact next to League of Legends. He even spent US$7,000 on in-app purchases on Genshin Impact on the night of his Worlds 2020 championship win.
Prior to the creation of his DWG KIA Worlds 2020 skin, BeryL requested that his championship skin be “as close as possible” to the image and likeness of his ultimate waifu, Sasaki Saren from Princess Connect: Re Dive, according to a tweet by Ashley Kang.
After winning Worlds 2022 with DRX, BeryL again asked Riot if he could model his championship skin after Honkai Impact 3rd’s Elysia, to which they said yes. He is considering the LoL champion Ashe for his Worlds 2022 skin.
- What to expect when you become an esports pro, by Chawy
- 5 Attack on Titan facts only die-hard fans know
EternaLEnVy (Dota 2)
Jacky “EternalEnvy” Mao (or EE-sama as his fans would call him) is one of the earliest weeaboos in esports. This retired Dota 2 player is just passionate about anime, and even his own fans recognize the importance of anime in his life.
Much like the other esports personalities on this list, EternalEnvy owns a glass case of figures. We can feel that Kyubey figure staring at us, real-time.
EternalEnvy also goes on occasional Japan trips and brings home a lot of figures and souvenirs to add to his collection.
TenZ (Valorant)
If you’ve seen his social media profile photos and even the GIFs that he uses on Twitter sometimes, it should be obvious, Valorant pro player Tyson “TenZ” Ngo loves Hunter x Hunter’s Killua Zoldyck.
Killua is one of Hunter x Hunter’s protagonists alongside Gon Freecs, Kurapika, and Leorio. Killua might even be the reason why TenZ dyed his hair silver in 2020.
Aside from Hunter x Hunter, TenZ watches a lot of other shows too. TenZ and his girlfriend, Kyedae, once had matching profile pictures as Kyouko Hori and Miyamura Izumi from Horimiya.
TenZ also loves spending his money on merchandise. He was a Premier Fan badge holder at Anime Expo 2019 in Los Angeles, the biggest anime convention in North America.
Check out TenZ’s top 20 anime tier list here.
Akosi Dogie (Mobile Legends)
The Philippines’ number one Mobile Legends: Bang Bang streamer and pro player, Akosi Dogie, is arguably the biggest manga, and figure collector in the MLBB scene.
If you have been following Akosi Dogie’s vlogs, you already know about his expensive collection of figures. Just late last year he spent roughly US$10,000 (about PH₱500,000) on new One Piece figures, those giant ones that have their own backdrops and sometimes even light up for a full effect.
“It just feels so good,” said Akosi Dogie in his vlog. “I can now design my own room with anime stuff, no one’s going to stop me.”
His total figure spending totaled US$12,000 (PH₱600,000). The rarest item in Akosi Dogie’s collection would have to be Portgas D. Ace’s Burning Point figure, where only 300 stocks were made and he acquired model 001.
Akosi Dogie also allots some time on his vlogs to share his series and manga recommendations with his co-otakus.
Aside from One Piece, Akosi Dogie also loves Katekyo! Hitman Reborn and Bleach.
Find out where you can watch anime episodes on YouTube for free, who is Himeno in Chainsaw Man, and what we think of the Blue Lock anime.
Follow ONE Esports on Facebook for more anime news, guides, and highlights.
READ MORE: The 10 best shonen anime to watch with your nakamas
