At 79 years old, Abbe Borg, also known by his gaming handle, “DieHardBirdie”, is the oldest esports champion in the world. But before Lenovo recruited him to play at DreamHack 2017, he had never really heard about competitive gaming.
“I was in some commercials in Sweden,” he tells USA Today. “That’s how Lenovo found me. Their first question was if I was interested in playing games – esports games. And I said, ‘Alright. I’m curious. I’ll do it if they will.’”
The game was Counter-Strike: Global Offensive – A first-person shooter which sees opposing teams of five players take turns attacking and defending, winning a point if they achieve their objective without being stopped, or if they eliminate all five of the opposing players. The first team to 16 points wins.
Borg earned his nickname, “DieHardBirdie”, while training with his teammates. He has a unique ability to mimic birds by whistling – a sound his opponents often hear when he takes aim.
Their team came to be called the Silver Snipers, and though they didn’t win in 2017, they garnered the affection of fans and eventually won the seniors tournament in DreamHack 2019.
But Borg hasn’t been idle since then. Building on the momentum he gained in 2019, he’s recently begun putting together another team of seniors, called The Golden Snipers, and plans on competing next year.
OGL.tv announced a special event in June 2022 where The Golden Snipers will compete against Japan’s first-ever all-senior team, The Matagi Snipers. “If the Covid situation is unchanged, there will be some questions about travel,” Borg says. “But if everything is okay, then we’ll fly to Dallas. Let’s dance!”
As the world’s oldest esports champion, Borg admires Japan for putting together their first senior team with 14 members. He feels like this competition is a way to legitimize senior esports competitions and show the world they are all young at heart – anything is possible. He wants to inspire and encourage the world to pay more attention to seniors and gaming, and work to bridge the generational gap. “It’s possible, I think,” he says. “I hope more elderly people will be watching esports and try to play. We need to wake up their spirits, and ask them to find some guts to try and play, to find some support from their family, their children and grandchildren.”
Borg believes it would be impossible to get into gaming as a senior from the ground up without support. The older generation might be interested in games but are just too shy to try on their own. He says his grandchildren are his biggest inspiration and loves to watch how they play. And thanks to gaming, he was able to stay in touch while separated from his family due to pandemic-related travel restrictions.
“Nobody knows about this, but I think about my health,” he explains. “This game helps me. My fingers go very fast now. I used to have pain in my fingers, but that’s no more. My coordination between my hands and eyes is very good. My reflexes are faster than ever. I feel good. And I find after playing, I’m not tired. It’s not about winning and losing. But this game helps me.”
Borg, however, is very quick to point out that senior gaming is growing. “Just now, there are senior teams everywhere: Germany, Russia, Ukraine, Portugal, Sweden, Finland,” he explains. “It’s growing.”
While being young has its natural advantages in esports, Borg has learned that age and experience play a role too. “Patience, patience, patience,” he repeats. “I can be careful, and watchful. Whatever I do, I have to follow through to the end. For me, time is no limit.” As a professional artist, he knows craftsmanship can’t be rushed, and neither can a good game. He plays carefully and deliberately. That patience is something you learn with maturity.
It comes as no surprise to Borg that kids might dream of being a professional gamer, streamer, or esports competitor. But he’s very realistic. “If a kid wants to be a gamer, you should ask again in five years,” he says before noting that streaming full-time is a lot of work. He’s seen some streamers go for 10 -15 hours. “It’s too much,” he says. “If a kid tells a teacher they want to be a professional gamer, sure that’s great. But ask them again in a few years.”
Despite his concerns over long gaming sessions, Borg is proof that gaming doesn’t have to be unhealthy or negative. And he isn’t concerned with the idea that video games promote violence or bring out the worst in people. “Games are mostly positive,” he says. “Some people talk about the violence, but there’s more violence in real life than in the game. If someone doesn’t like violence, there are so many [other kinds of] games.
“I can only answer for myself, but I feel good. I have fun. The people I play against aren’t my enemy, they are just my opponents. The end is the end.”
Ever since he was first inducted into the world of esports and gaming, he has become a regular player, too. Through Counter-Strike, Borg has found a new means of acquiring skills, overcoming obstacles, and connecting with people. Right now, he’s eager to get back into competing, but he isn’t nervous.
“Maybe a week before, I’ll be nervous,” he laughs. For now, he isn’t overthinking it. He hasn’t even been able to begin training in earnest while he waits to recover from a cataract removal. “I plan to begin training in two weeks,” Borg continues. “Before, I couldn’t see anything but shadows. Everything was grey. I’m just thinking about being okay. And in two weeks I can play.”
In the meantime, he’s had plenty of time to think about his last tournaments. “Communication is key,” he reflects. “There are five members on a team. Each member is thinking differently. But we have to be like a fist, working together like five fingers.”
According to Borg, watching himself play Counter-Strike has become a good way of correcting his mistakes. “I’m watching. I prefer to play. But I watch…,” he says. “And I watch my games too. I can see what kinds of mistakes I make. You know, I’ve been killed so many times, I have to see what I did wrong. It’s very important to play against someone who is better. This gives you a chance to be better.”
While he’s already dropping ice-cold wisdom, Borg offers some more words of advice to anyone who wants to play Counter-Strike for the first time. “Just calm down,” he says. “Be cool. You’re just playing. You’ll have fun… that’s it, I’m doing this without stress. Sometimes and I do a stupid movement and I’m killed and I say, ‘Oh shit’.”
Borg believes the narrative of the generational gap is changing thanks to gaming and hopes to see it continue to change as more people pick up games and engage with them in a healthy and positive way.
Written by Rett Weissenfels on behalf of GLHF.
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