Gamers preparing for League of Legends
SHANGHAI: Urgent cries ring out in a room crammed with computers and caffeine — “Kill that one!” “They’re murdering us!” — as training for the Flash Wolves eSports team gets into full swing.
The Taiwanese professional gamers are in the last stages of preparations for the League of Legends world championships culminating on Nov 4 in Beijing and, eyes fixed on their screens, they’ve got their game faces on.
The “boot camp” in Shanghai, fuelled by energy drinks rather than physical exertion, reflects the rising stakes in eSports, where purses reach millions of dollars and a single poor performance can derail a player’s career.
Players train up to 16 hours a day, and are considered past their best after 25. The Flash Wolves’ team manager, who goes by the nickname of 4Leaf, says it’s an ultra-competitive life that can be “very cruel.”
Once dismissed as the pursuit of teens and introverts, eSports is growing fast towards being a billion-dollar industry and has a huge fanbase, especially in Asia.
Flash Wolves like Maple, Betty and SwordArt — most gamers have colourful nicknames — can earn up to US$75,000 (RM317,000) a year and even more if they win a top tournament. ESports will be a medal sport at the 2022 Asian Games, and it is pushing hard for Olympic status.
But with the pressure on, playing games soon begins to feel a lot like work, the competitors say.
“It is not as simple as people imagine: ‘Wow, playing games as work, you’re so lucky,’” said MMD, whose real name is Yu Lihong.
“Because when you make it your profession, your attitude and the feeling of playing is different. You need to be serious about everything,” said the bespectacled 22-year-old.
The best gamers are stars in their own right, and top competitions play out in front of tens of thousands of spectators in stadiums, and many millions online.
League of Legends, in which multi-player teams do battle in a fantasy world, is among the most popular games. The world championship final will be held in Beijing’s 80,000-seat “Bird’s Nest” National Stadium. AFP