For every piece of drama in UK esports, there’s a positive story that demonstrates esports can be a true force for good.
Sean “imstilldadaddy” Dench’s story is one of the latter.
As captain for Team Infused’s Street Fighter V team, he has been playing in the Gfinity Elite Series this split.
But before he made it to a high level in competitive Street Fighter, back when he was younger, Sean spent two years in prison.
“I was young and stupid, I didn’t know what I was doing,” he told BBC Three.
“I had a scrap and got arrested and got put on remand for GBH with intent. If I was found guilty, I could have got anything from five to ten years in prison.
“I promised myself when I got out I would never do anything like that again. I played a lot of computer games – and it actually changed my life around.
“When Street Fighter was remade again, I just loved it, I remembered my childhood when I used to play the game.”
“I promised myself when I got out I would never do anything like that again. I played a lot of computer games – and it actually changed my life around.”
His passion for the game brought him to the world of esports.
“I could never imagine this would happen to me. It’s amazing,” he added.
Sean also broke down after reading out a heartfelt message he wrote to his supporters in the video clip. It includes his thoughts and feelings towards his parents, and mentions some personal things he’s going through.
Here’s to you Sean, you’re an example of how esports can be a positive, and also huge props to BBC for covering this.
You can watch the full clip below:
Shaun ‘@ImstillDadaddy‘ Dench, captain of team Infused on how he went from prison to pro esports player #BBCesports pic.twitter.com/Gl9Qsq58Ku
— BBC Three (@bbcthree) August 25, 2017
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Dom is an award-winning writer and finalist of the Esports Journalist of the Year 2023 award. He graduated from Bournemouth University with a 2:1 degree in Multi-Media Journalism in 2007.
As a long-time gamer having first picked up the NES controller in the late ’80s, he has written for a range of publications including GamesTM, Nintendo Official Magazine, industry publication MCV and others. He worked as head of content for the British Esports Federation up until February 2021, when he stepped back to work full-time on Esports News UK and offer esports consultancy and freelance services. Note: Dom still produces the British Esports newsletter on a freelance basis, so our coverage of British Esports is always kept simple – usually just covering the occasional press release – because of this conflict of interest.
