Even A Fire Couldn't Stop This Apex Legends Pro
"Apex Legends" fans are a dedicated bunch, but one pro player showed just how far that passion can go when he managed to continue playing — and even won the round — while his house was potentially on fire.
Nathan "Nafen" Nguyen of NRG was in the final ring of the first match of the Box Fight Championship when the fiery events unfolded. Nguyen's team was up against 100 Thieves when a fire alarm started going off. Though Nguyen wasn't on camera, viewers and other players could hear the alarm ringing through his microphone as he clutched up the match against an enemy Seer. All the while, the viewer chat commented on the fact that it sounded like Nafen's house was burning.
In a clip of the match, Nafen can be heard shouting "My house is on fire!" After finishing the match, he dashed off to check on his home, during which one of his teammates can be heard saying they'd prefer to play without a fire alarm blaring in the background. All in all, it seemed the threat of a fiery blaze was secondary to bringing in the win. Luckily for Nafen, the danger wasn't all that serious.
Nguyen's house was in fact not on fire
While NRG was waiting for the next match to start, Nguyen returned to report there was not a fire in the house after all. Instead, it was his 15-year-old sister's cooking that had caused the alarm to go off. The fire alarm started back up between matches, but once again, it seems there was no actual fire happening — just a younger sister trying her best in the kitchen.
Despite winning during a potential fire, NRG did not maintain that spirit all the way through the championship. At the end of the tournament, NRG placed third with 65 points, losing out to Cloud9 and Space Station, both of which got 67 points (per HisandHersLive). The championship had a $3,000 prize pool, so it's likely that NRG walked away with at least some money for the headache.
Although no one was injured in this incident, this stands as just another reminder that playing games professionally from your own home might be more dangerous than people expect. An earthquake interrupted a Twitch Rivals match earlier this year, while another pro gamer was struck by lightning while playing in 2020.