From piano player to pro gamer at the age of 8

Joseph Deen, only aged 8, is the youngest-ever paid Fortnite player, after signing with Team 33 in December last year.

The Californian esports team invited him to their headquarters to give him a $33,000 (£23,600) signing-on bonus, and high-speed computer system, reports the BBC.

"I felt amazing when I got offered the contract," Joseph told the BBC. "I've thought about being a professional gamer a lot, but no-one took me seriously until Team 33 came along."

Joseph has been playing Fortnite since he was four years old and was first noticed by the fledgling esports team 18 months ago.

"One of my scouts got in touch and said 'I've got to know this kid called Joseph and he is insanely good'," explained Tyler Gallagher, Team 33's chief executive and co-founder.

"So they started playing one v one matches as much as they could every day. After a while, my scout said 'you've got to sign this kid. If we don't, someone else will!'."

According to the esportsearnings.com website, only two of the top 10 highest-earning Fortnite players are over 18.

The first, and so far only, Fortnite World Cup was won by then 16-year-old Kyle "Bugha" Giersdorf, who walked away with $3m (£2.2m) in 2019.

For Joseph who was just getting into the game at the time, it was a moment of inspiration.

"My dream is to be like Bugha and play like him. I look up to him because no-one took him seriously until he won the World Cup and I feel the same, as no-one took me seriously until I was signed by Team 33."

But, according to the world's major age certification bodies, Joseph is too young to play Fortnite.

The game first came out in 2017 and is rated PEGI 12 or ESRB "teen" certification for frequent mild violence.

Joseph's mum Gigi says this isn't something that worries her, and she lets him play Fortnite for two or three hours a day after school, and more at weekends.

"I've looked at the game and I don't think we're doing anything wrong. He's a balanced child and comes from a good family and he's not affected by it," she told the BBC.

As well as gaming, Gigi says Joseph enjoys playing the piano, which both he and his team also say could be a secret to his success.

"Playing the piano helped me a lot with the keyboard and mouse. As soon as I started playing on PC I was already really good at Fortnite," said Joseph.

"I'm good at everything in the game but I'm really good at building and editing my builds and I love doing trick shots. I'm pretty dope at them."

Gigi says her son's signing-on bonus has been put into a savings account for him when he's older.

His ambition to be a gaming superstar is also something for which he will have to wait.

Fortnite's cash cup competitions aren't open to anyone under 13 years old, so he can only enter tournaments that have no prize money attached.