Matthew “Nadeshot” Haag will be at the Call of Duty World Championship beginning Thursday in Los Angeles, but it marks the first time he won’t be competing as a player. The former captain of Optic Gaming knows how to win, owning a 2011 Call of Duty world championship title and a 2014 X Games gold medal, among many accomplishments.

“I’m excited because not only is there going to be the COD Championship, Activision is turning it into a fan event where you can come and experience the COD franchise with other like-minded individuals,” Haag said. “It’s weird not to be competing in it. I don’t miss having to practice eight hours a day and arguing with teammates about what we could do better, but I do miss playing in front of hundreds of thousands of people. I’m still going to support it and have fun.”

With 1.8 million Twitter followers, Haag has partnered with jerky brand Slim Jim for the first time to engage with his fans. On Tuesday at 7 p.m. ET, Haag (@nadeshot) will do a one hour live Twitter chat with fans under the hashtag #SettleTheBeef.

“We’ll be trying to find the answers to debates that have gone on forever in the gaming space,” Haag told [a]listdaily. “Everyone is going to voice an opinion. We’re going to talk about things along the line of consoles and PC, different stereotypes of games and the most thought-provoking topics. We’ll compare first-person shooters to third-person shooters and MOBAs. We’re not going to dive into specific titles, but we’ll discuss genres.”

Haag has over 2.7 million subscribers on YouTube and over 646,000 subscribers on Twitch. He’s worked with brands such as Astro Gaming and Scuf Gaming over his career, and he recently switched from a Red Bull sponsorship to G Fuel Energy.

“Anybody who works in gaming appreciates any time a big company like Slim Jim steps into eSports,” Haag said. “Our visions lined up with driving engagement. At the end of the day we all love games, and Slim Jim is the perfect snack for gaming because it’s quick and it fills you up. I hoped the engagement and interaction they’ll see from the gaming world will incentivize them to get more involved in eSports.”

Nadeshot

Haag said non-endemic brands to eSports are crucial because they support so much engagement and send people who know their brands into the gaming and eSports world.

“They put more eyes into the industry we’re working in and help drive sales and supplement the community,” Haag said. “Non-endemic brands that have never stepped into this space provide so much opportunity to complement eSports and implement their brand. It’d be great if more companies follow suit and find more creative ways to work in eSports. Anybody getting into eSports now is ‘A-OK’ in my book.”

Haag said being creative with how a brand engages with an eSports audience is key, which is why he partnered with Slim Jim on the Twitter activation.

“If it’s fun and creative and doesn’t feel forced, it will drive engagement, which is the most important thing for any company trying to advertise in gaming,” Haag said. “Gamers are super opinionated, and they know when something is fishy. Companies need to make sure people aren’t getting something jammed down their throat. I’m not trying to sell a product. These are questions that will provoke thought. This is the first time I’ve ever done a Twitter chat. I’ve seen The Rock do one and other celebrities do them. It’s a new opportunity to work with a company in a creative way.”

The timing of this event is also right before Activision’s COD XP event at the Forum in Los Angeles. There’s only been one other COD XP, which also marked the debut of the COD World Championship.

“The first COD XP allowed me to quit my job and school and become a professional gamer,” Haag said. “Hopefully, this one can give some other guys the same opportunity.”

Haag said the changes Activision employed with the Call of Duty World League have been a mixed bag thus far.

“It’s been a bumpy ride from the outside looking in and inside looking out,” Haag said. “We’ve had so many different changes with tournament structure and league structure; we need a little more consistency to find stride. Activision has done a pretty good job in its first year of regulating Call of Duty, allowing the competitive community to grow. They’re adding more prize money to tournament. That in itself is doing the players justice, and that’s important. These guys dedicate their entire life to it. A lot of them have been playing for almost a decade now. They’ll see all of that hard work pay off.”

That said, Haag believes COD World League needs more regulation with players treated fairly, especially since other eSports like Dota 2, CS:GO and League of Legends are more viable for players.

Call of Duty isn’t far behind, but it’s lagging a little bit,” Haag said. “Viewership numbers have increased. We’re still in a good place. We need a little bit more of a push from Activision to enable growth.”