Another season of the CBS reality show Survivor is coming later this month, which follows a diverse group of 18 people stranded on a series of deserted islands as they compete for a million dollars. CBS revealed the cast yesterday, and gamers might recognize a face from the esports scene.
Jerome “Rome” Cooney, an esports commentator known for his work in Rocket League and Twitch Rivals events, will be competing on the show. A member of the Character Select Agency, which specializes in providing talented commentators and hosts for various video game events, Cooney started out as a Call of Duty player before transitioning to commentary. Eventually, he made his way to commentating for some of the biggest esports games around, both in the aforementioned games and also other titles like League of Legends and Fortnite.
This isn’t the first time Survivor has casted an esports veteran. Legendary Super Smash Bros. Melee player Ken Hoang (more commonly known as just Ken) was on the show in 2008, and quickly became a favorite contestant for many fans of the show, surprising many viewers and fellow contestants by placing fifth in his season.
In a Q&A with Entertainment Weekly where they interview all of the contestants for the upcoming season, Cooney talked about how he believes his experience as a gamer makes being on Survivor the “ultimate test” for him. He also described commentating a $2 million dollar Fortnite tournament as one of his proudest accomplishments. Cooney also feels very confident in his physical abilities as well as his ability to persuade people to do what he wants, two things that are crucial to winning a game like Survivor.
It’s safe to say that Cooney has set some very high expectations for himself, especially for a game as physically and mentally demanding as Survivor. When the new season premieres on September 18, here’s hoping that Cooney can tap into his skills as a gamer and public speaker to come out on top as the Sole Survivor.
