As a rule, I’m not really into acting all amazed when it turns out an older citizen is incredible at a modern video game. It comes off as patronising, given that video games should be enjoyed by everyone.
So yeah, it’s very impressive that Twitch Streamer GrndPaGaming is incredible at Apex Legends, but it’s even more impressive that he’s an ex-navy diver and cancer survivor who just happens to absolute dominate at Respawn’s popular battle royale.
Check him out in action below:
This elderly adventurer is making quite a name for himself on Twitch, with over 150,000 followers to his name. In his bio, the 66-year-old grandfather reveals he served 20 years in the navy, but now spends his time with cooking, collecting sea shells, cooking, and blasting youngsters away in gloriously violent online games.
GrndPa writes:
Married twice, I have a daughter and two grandchildren. I am an amateur astronomer and I collect sea shells from all over the world. I also love to cook.
If you happen to be reading this GrndPaGaming, it’d be swell if you could adopt me as your grandson. You can teach me how not to suck at Apex Legends, and we can go collecting sea shells together and stuff. I’m really not joking, I wanna make that clear.
While his mad skills on Apex Legends are what have drawn people’s attention lately, he’s no slouch, and can often be found playing games like World of Tanks, Fallout 4, Battlefield 1, DOOM, and The Witcher 3.
Never one to turn down a game of The Witcher 3, I would happily spend a week playing through CD Projekt RED’s RPG masterpiece with this guy. Am I coming on too strong?
Despite the fact that he clearly knows his way around Apex better than most of us, he does ask that people don’t judge his skills too much, as a cancer survivor he’s been left certain disadvantages.
He explains in his bio:
I am now a seven-year prostate cancer survivor and I’m now suffering from the side effects of the meds I need to take and the radiation treatments I went through. I am disabled due to an injury I sustained while working. I have a plate in my neck which at times causes me great pain. Then there is a bum right hand with no feeling in the thumb and forefinger. From the shoulders down I have no feeling so the use of mouse and keyboard are sub par at best, and yes, I am a train wreck of a 66-year-old man. So, cut me some slack on the ‘he is a crappy player’
If you ever find yourself in a game of Apex Legends with this outstanding human being, make sure you do cut him slack. Otherwise, you might just find his 150,000 subscribers ready to jump to his defence (plus me).
Game on, GrndPaGaming. You’re genuinely brilliant.
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Ewan Moore is a journalist at UNILAD Gaming who still quite hasn’t gotten out of his mid 00’s emo phase. After graduating from the University of Portsmouth in 2015 with a BA in Journalism & Media Studies (thanks for asking), he went on to do some freelance words for various places, including Kotaku, Den of Geek, and TheSixthAxis, before landing a full time gig at UNILAD in 2016.