"Pop rocks: How one dad puts the 'fan' in 'Fnatic'"

What happens when your 16-year-old son turns out to be one of the best League of Legends players in Europe? This was the revelation that changed the life of Pieter Diepstraten almost two years ago. You’ve probably never heard of Diepstraten, but you’ve certainly run across his son Fabian - better known as Febiven, mid-laner for EU LCS champions Fnatic. We spoke to Diepstraten senior in Stockholm at the end of the first day of the EU LCS playoffs - 24 hours before his son helped Fnatic secure Europe’s top seed at Worlds - to learn more about the role Febiven’s family played in his rise to prominence.

"I knew he was playing online, but what games he was playing I didn't know. He would play all kinds of games with his brother," says Diepstraten. "Then about 20 months ago he called me up. 'Papa, papa, I have somebody on the phone for you.'” On the other end of the line was an American man who said his name was Jack Etienne. “I don't know who Jack Etienne is! He told me, 'I'm Jack Etienne from Cloud 9, I want to give your son a contract,' because he was starting Cloud 9 Eclipse."



SCHOOL’S OUT FOR SUMMONER

Inevitably Diepstraten was sceptical. The concept seemed so alien. A contract? To play computer games? "I told him, 'He has to go to school! He's 16!' But at that moment I realised that I could not stop him."

The Cloud 9 Eclipse roster would later be sold to H2k Gaming, including top-laner Odoamne and ADC Hjärnan, both of whom are still active on the team. Febiven played on H2k until the end of the season, at which point transfer offers started pouring in. "I had three different teams call me from America. He could choose to join five teams, but he always said 'Fnatic, Fnatic, Fnatic. It must be Fnatic!'"

Seeing how Febiven has grown into his new career obviously validated Diepstraten’s original instinct to let his son play, but it sounds as though his initial scepticism didn’t last long anyway. "I read up some more and I realised that he can earn money,” he recalls. “Of course, he can go back to school when he's 22, 23. You can always go to school. This is an opportunity. We have four children and we think, 'If you are good at something, then you should take a chance on it'."

Diepstraten’s enlightened attitude gave Febiven room to grow, and he found himself richly rewarded once he saw his son in action. "I watched on Twitch and we went a few times to Cologne, so we saw him in the studio. When you see that, then you are proud!"



WHEN IN ROAM

Diepstraten seems to be having a fantastic time travelling around the world, following his son on his adventures. "When we can we travel with him to see the parties and the games live, so being in Los Angeles, Berlin, Madrid and now here... It changed my life! I'm happy."

And the distance isn't a problem? "We have the phone, we have Skype, it's no problem. I know he lives with five guys and Deilor [Fnatic’s coach]. It's a close family. I know he's happy there."

"We tried to drive to Berlin about five weeks ago. It's six, seven hours drive from Rotterdam in the Netherlands. We took off for three or four days and we go into Berlin and we watched two games of Fnatic at the studio in Berlin. We go to the gaming house. We've been there two or three times. It's amazing! So we know he is in good hands and the Fnatic organisation comes from a very professional place."

Diepstraten seems to take Febiven’s unique situation in his stride, but there are still moments when his son’s achievements and sheer celebrity catch him off-guard.. "Today [his mother and I] sat there with the father of Rekkles and his sister, and I had Febiven on the phone and I said, 'Come see us! Bring Rekkles!' But he said, 'No, no, I'd get swamped!'" Diepstraten laughs at the absurdity of the situation. "I understand! But I would like that he would come to us. But I understand that he can't." And how does it feel seeing so many people come together to support Febiven and the rest of Fnatic? "Very proud! Very proud. It's amazing."



CHEERING SECTION


Inevitably not everybody in Febiven’s family can attend events like his parents, but the rest keep track of him and watch his games. Even his grandparents. "They're all watching him,” says Diepstraten. “My parents even look at the games. They are 75. They don't understand the game totally, but they look at the kills and they think the one with the most kills is the winner."

What about the future? While Febiven focuses on training for Worlds, his dad's been thinking ahead to what could be next. "Maybe he could be a good coach. Or a manager. Or he could work with Riot. I think that should be possible. Of course, he should want it, but I think the chance is big that it's going to go that way.

“I don't see him going back to school. I think the travelling around the world with young people, I think that's his thing." As far as 'things' go, we can think of worse. Especially when it's an experience you can share with your family.

Still, the future is a long way off and it's not something Febiven is worrying about at the moment. The next couple of months are some of the most important of his young life, and it sounds like he's treating them as such. "He's 200% focusing,” says Diepstraten. “'I want to go to Worlds. I want to be number one.' That's his mission."

If his dream comes true, you can bet his family will be there to share his triumph.