In 2009, after wrapping up his playing career in Somerset County Cricket Club, Justin Langer was appointed assistant coach of the Australian Test team. Three years later, he began a senior role with Western Australia. And just six years after that, Langer found himself at the top of the ladder as the head coach of the national team.

The transition from a player to a coach is a classic Australian sporting story. Legendary Collingwood skipper Nathan Buckley joined the Magpies’ coaching staff just three years after retiring as a player. Almost every NRL head coach used to compete in first grade as well, including top names like Wayne Bennett and Ricky Stuart. And now, we’re beginning to see Australian esports players follow the same career arc.

Andrew Haws, known to the Overwatch community as Rqt, pulls double duty as the general manager of the Australian national team that will be competing in Blizzard’s 2018 Overwatch World Cup, as well as the coach of Melbourne-based ORDER.

Esports coaches aren’t exactly like Nathan Buckley, who has played AFL longer than some of his players have been alive. Because esports is so young, coaches tend to be around the same age as their team, or a little older. But like traditional sports coaches, they all have an advanced understanding of the game, and the leadership skills to impart their game plan to their team.

“Coaching suits my strengths,” explains Haws, who traces his strong foundation in strategy and leadership all the way back to his World of Warcraft days, where he was a highly rated competitive PvE player among Australia’s best guilds.