At 22, Middleton competes professionally for his Sydney-based gaming team Legacy Esports in the Oceanic Pro League (OPL) which extends across Australia and New Zealand.

"I wanted to finish high school first, but I graduated with the ambition of becoming a professional League of Legends player," he says.

"I set myself a goal and decided that I needed to not only establish myself on the leader boards but also get out there and get involved.”

Middleton lives and trains with his team mates in the Legacy Esports gaming house in Sydney, practising with the team for two three-hour sessions each day. Alongside this training, he also works on his mental and physical fitness in order to stay at the top of his game.

"It's a mentally straining sport because it demands such keen focus for such long periods of time, so your preparation and training needs to extend beyond just playing the game," he says.

"It's actually super crucial to get away from the game at times and clear your head, even if it's just going for a walk, because burnout is a big issue in pro gaming – sometimes playing too much League is actually a bad move."

When it comes to gaming hardware, he says the choice of monitor is critical – not just in terms of combating eye strain but also for staying on top of the action in an intensive fast-moving game where split-second decisions can mean the difference between victory and defeat.

When choosing monitors, factors like refresh rates, response times and input lag are key for professional esport players.

"When you've trained so hard, you can't afford for your hardware to let you down," he says. "So you need a monitor that can keep up and give you a razor sharp, smooth picture with accurate colours.

"There's so much happening in a game like League of Legends which you need to take in all at once, especially when you're in the middle of huge fights with lots of explosions and colours, so you really need a clean view of the world or you can miss things."

While Middleton uses flat screen monitors to play, he says curved monitors are also popular – particularly with people who live-stream games and want a double or triple-monitor set-up, so they can interact with their audience while they play.

Under the bonnet, the choice of graphics card is key for a gaming rig but Middleton says it is important to select every component with care. For example, opting for a fast solid-state drive helps ensure fast loading, less interruption and high responsiveness.

"Gaming is about reflexes and precision, so your gaming rig needs to respond just as quickly as you do," he says. "That means every component in there needs to be working just as hard as you are."

After finishing high school, Middleton spent a year travelling the US and South Korea to train with the best and forge contacts within the gaming community.

His hard work paid off when he got his big break in the OPL here, rather than needing to relocate like many local athletes who want to compete on the world stage.

The OPL finals headlined last year's inaugural Melbourne Esports Open held at the Olympic Park football stadium in front of large crowds.

Meanwhile, the 2017 League of Legends World Championship was held in stadiums across China and attracted 60 million viewers online from around the globe – watching the five-a-side teams compete for a total prize pool of more than US$4 million.

This year the OPL features eight teams competing across two 10-game seasons, followed by knockout stages and finals. The winner will represent Oceania at the World Championships in South Korea.

Meanwhile, the best 14 local amateur teams are competing in the Oceanic Challenger Series, battling for the right to challenge an OPL team for a slot in the big leagues in 2019.