Matagi Snipers Talk Senior Esports at Tokyo Game Show
A pro team with an average age of 67 discussing presbyopia and PC classes at a major industry event shows senior esports is being treated as a competitive category rather than a novelty.
Key Facts
- The Matagi Snipers are a senior professional esports team with 16 members, all aged 60 or older, the oldest 75, and an average age of 67.
- The Matagi Snipers are operated by S2, an Akita Prefecture IT company established in 2021, and play VALORANT.
- The team holds joint practice from 13:00 to 17:00 on weekdays, with an academy session from 19:00 to 22:00.
- In May 2025, the Matagi Snipers won an international exchange match against a senior team from Malaysia 2-1.
- The talk event was held on September 17 at the G TUNE/NEXTGEAR booth during Tokyo Game Show 2026.
Reporting from 4 sources: Anime News Network, GAME Watch (Impress), Inside, Game Spark.
At Tokyo Game Show 2026, a talk event titled "Matagi Snipers: The Future of Esports as Told by the Senior Generation" was held on September 17 at the G TUNE/NEXTGEAR booth. The Matagi Snipers are a senior professional esports team operated by S2, an Akita Prefecture IT company, with 16 members all aged 60 or older, the oldest 75, four of them women, and an average age of 67. Speakers included Satoru Kaneko of Mouse Computer, team operations manager Yu Domon of S2, players mark25 (70) and NAGI (66), and Musou Ogata of the Akita Prefecture Esports Federation, with game caster Kunitaka Ebie as MC. Domon described the team's start: a press conference announced the formation, then local media coverage drew applications, but initial members had no PC gaming experience, so the first sessions were computer classes covering how to shut down and handle cables. The team plays VALORANT five days a week. In May 2025 it beat a senior team from Malaysia 2-1.
Domon described the team's start as resembling an idol project, a comparison Satoru Kaneko of Mouse Computer made on stage. Kaneko said the team announced first and then held auditions. The first sessions were not game practice but a computer class, where members learned how to shut down and how to handle cords.
The team trains online five days a week. The top team practices from 13:00 to 17:00, and an academy practices from 19:00 to 22:00. S2 was established in 2021, uses the first floor of its own building as the practice space to save on rent, and receives donated devices to keep its starting costs low.
Both players described how senior esports has changed their lives. mark25 said his rank has not risen in five years of play but that the human opponents keep him motivated. NAGI said she finishes housework efficiently to make time for practice and called the hours "a treasure of my life."
Ogata said esports events are hard to run profitably and that organizers need a long-term view. The Akita Prefecture Esports Federation opened a training center with about five PCs, formed a community there, and used it to connect to larger events.
Synthesized by Yomimono from the 4 cited sources below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited, then editorially reviewed before publishing.
Sources
- Anime News Network News Tokyo Game Show 2026 Cancels Final Day on Monday Due to Approaching Typhoon
- GAME Watch (Impress) 平均年齢67歳のプロチーム「マタギスナイパーズ」が東京ゲームショウに参戦！ シニアeスポーツの可能性を提示【TGS2026】
- Inside 平均年齢67歳！？ 「まずPCの終了の仕方を教えるところからだった」秋田発のシニアeスポーツチーム「マタギスナイパーズ」と関係者が語る課題とチーム運営の裏側【TGS2026】
- Game Spark 平均年齢67歳！？ 「まずPCの終了の仕方を教えるところからだった」秋田発のシニアeスポーツチーム「マタギスナイパーズ」と関係者が語る課題とチーム運営の裏側【TGS2026】