A DUNFERMLINE star has followed in the footsteps of Sir Andy Murray by serving up glory at Wimbledon - in a historic first.
Brad Zellman has emulated the recently retired Dunblane ace, who twice won the men's singles in SW19, by claiming a title at the All England Club - but in esports.
Short for electronic sports, esports is the term used to describe competitive online gaming, which can cover a variety of video game formats.
Overlooking the famous Championships courts, Brad was crowned as the first-ever Wimbledon eChampion, following a seeded knockout tournament played on the TopSpin 2K25 video game.
The competition, a maiden tennis esports tournament using TopSpin 2K25, saw open qualifiers take place during this year's Championships, and ran across five countries in Europe - the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy and Spain - as well as Canada, Mexico and the United States of America.
Zellman came out on top following weeks of qualifying matches, which led to him taking part in the live, in-person finals at the All England Club, where he emerged victorious after competing against seven other finalists.
"It feels surreal, I can’t believe I’ve won, I never expected to win the whole thing," he said.
"It’s been a crazy experience as this is my first time entering an esports tournament."
After winning the tournament, Zellman will have the chance to take a seat at Centre Court next year, with an all-expenses paid trip to watch the gentleman's singles final at The Championships, whilst he was also presented with a unique, gold-plated PlayStation 5, which has his name and historic achievement etched into it.
Zellman's elder brother, Gareth, who introduced him to TopSpin 2K25, also qualified to represent the UK.
They trained daily in the run-up to the tournament, and Gareth watched on as Brad defeated Pio Cesarano of Italy, in straight sets, to claim the title.
"I made my brother a promise that I’d take him with me to the Wimbledon Gentleman’s Singles final if I won," Brad added.
"A lot can change in a year but it’s only right I take him."
Fans can catch up on the action with highlights of the broadcast on Wimbledon’s Twitch, YouTube and TikTok channels.
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