So to start this off, my dad is going to be inheriting a bunch of money in a very short period of time.
He knows how much I played broodwar, and now sc2, he knows that I wake up at 4 in the morning to watch little koreans play this strange space game. And he knows that its a little more than a game for me. So in an attempt to be nominated for best dad in the world, he said asked why I never gave pro-gaming a try (I'm a lowly 1400 diamond protoss) and to be frank, it's because my mom and step dad. They think its just a stupid waste of time. So I can only practice 1-2 hours a day because of work and RL constraints. So after talking for a while, he asked me a very straight forward question: given the proper circumstances, do you think you could make any money playing this game? And I said yes. I've always been a very competitive and driven person and I believe with the right atmosphere (basically live like a pro gamer) I could infact make some money playing the game we all love. So he said that if I was really serious about this, that he would sponsor me for 6 months. Pay my expenses, fly me out to tournaments and everything else that a pro gaming team does for it's players.
But before I really give him a yes or no answer, I wanted to get some feed back from the community. Do you honestly think its possible for someone to just switch over from a "regular" life into a progamer? What do I need to learn or forget about a regular day to day to be successful and progressive as a pro gamer? And to anyone who reads this who's on a team like EG, ROOT, Fnatic, what's it like to have an opprotunity like the one you have? Whats good, whats bad?
And to the community, would there be any interest, if this were to really become a reality (80/20 odds in favor of it happening) in me making like a daily blog of my experience here on TL?
I think it's possible to switch but...you're not going to get anywhere if you're starting at 1400. I think it's better if you try to improve before you make your dad pay for tournaments and everything. Rather than getting sponsored by 1 person, it's better to get good enough to find sponsorship through a team.
how old are you? if you are younger than 18, i think by all means go for it.
if you are like older than that, then we have to know how good you are because it is a highly competitive field in my opinion and not everyone is "talented" enough to be able to be a legit progamer. I mean hard work do play a significant role, but take 10,000 young kids and train them in a pro gamer routine and only 10 or so will be like Flash or Jaedong. Same in other competitive fields. Not everyone can be Usain Bolt or Michael Phelps or LeBron, no matter how much time they put in.
That said, if you are confident that this wil make you happy, go for it. I will be interested with your progress if that happens but do blog it only if you feel that reporting to the community will aid your progress. If it gives you unproductive and unnecesarry pressure, you can report to us only when you have made it.
it sounds like you're still at an age where you go to school I would stick to school because it is a guaranteed way to make money in the long run it seems like you haven't even experienced what it's like to practice day in and day out 7 days a week
Go for it, life is short-ish. Make sure to outline his expectations. I would advise setting some money on some good coaches... they will help you progress your game farther than just you will (at 1400). In addition, find high level practice partners that are willing to be just as active as you... (good place to start is the practice partner thread). As far as the switch, it depends heavily on your personality preferences. ... can you sit in a chair for a long time, stare at a screen, and still do a decent analysis of your failures after 14 hours a day? ;]
Personally, I'd say go for half of it. Ask for some support so you can stay home and practice. Play in a bunch of online tournaments (TL Open, ITC if it ever starts up again, ZOTAC, CraftCup, etc). After a few months, if you do well, make your final decision.
But really you should finish school regardless. Diplomas and degrees last a lot longer than a gaming career.
given your rating, and the amount of practice hours you have put into the game, if you where serious about this you should look at it with a tiny bit of realism.
The people competing out there are already miles ahead of you, You should try to get a set of gosucoaches and aim to rank higher on the ladder, compete online because realistically you cant win a lan yet.
You can do this but it will require practice, lots of practice. If he is serious in sponsoring you then fucking go for it but keep lan events in your TO DO list.
What will happen at the lan setting is you will travel, sleep uncomfortably, and get knocked out first day. A giant waste of time.
On October 29 2010 01:24 YiukeDukem wrote: Highly unlikely...but you may never get this opportunity again
Try to things other than gaming in korea if it doesn't work out...don't make it a complete waste
1400 diamond is pretty low...maybe you don't get to play enough though
Like I said, I only get to play like 1-3 hours a day if I'm lucky, I've only been able to play 400 games or so.
On October 29 2010 01:30 awu25 wrote: it sounds like you're still at an age where you go to school I would stick to school because it is a guaranteed way to make money in the long run it seems like you haven't even experienced what it's like to practice day in and day out 7 days a week
I'm actually turning 19 in a month or so, and I won't be going to school to next fall anyways. And I still plan on going 100% but I thought if I don't give it an honest try, then I'll always wonder what might have happened. And I have no idea what it would be like to practice day in and day out so thats why I wanted to get alot of feed back before I make my decision.
On October 29 2010 01:26 ketomai wrote: I think it's possible to switch but...you're not going to get anywhere if you're starting at 1400. I think it's better if you try to improve before you make your dad pay for tournaments and everything. Rather than getting sponsored by 1 person, it's better to get good enough to find sponsorship through a team.
I don't plan on just flying out randomly to tournaments, I know 100% that thats a waste of time. My plan that I thought of was like to practice straight for a month and a half and then start by making short trips out to LANs with a prize pool a little bit more than the cost of the flight there. And do this for like 3 months and see where I am at by then.
Don't go ALL IN, finish highschool and then go try to be a progamer so that way if it doesn't work out like it does for most people you can fall back on the standard go to university get 9-5 job like everyone else does.
On October 29 2010 01:28 dtz wrote: i think the very important question is.
how old are you? if you are younger than 18, i think by all means go for it.
if you are like older than that, then we have to know how good you are because it is a highly competitive field in my opinion and not everyone is "talented" enough to be able to be a legit progamer. I mean hard work do play a significant role, but take 10,000 young kids and train them in a pro gamer routine and only 10 or so will be like Flash or Jaedong. Same in other competitive fields. Not everyone can be Usain Bolt or Michael Phelps or LeBron, no matter how much time they put in.
This
Make sure of the reason why you are at 1400, if you're near your mechanical ceiling (you should be able to tell more or less) odds aren't that great. It's much easier to get good when your mechanics are keeping you down (considering your amount of playing time) than if you aren't good and/or quick to grasp little details about the game.
Like others have said, before you go have your father invest fucktons of cash into you being a progamer in korea you should try to mass game on bnet and get high ranked to justify the move. Besides if you are 1400 ranked its not like going to korea is going to add to your skill. You have to learn to practice and develop skills on your own, you can't just say you need to be thrown into the progaming life style to fully become a progamer and get good. You need a solid foundation to begin on, and 1400 seems pretty shaky.
In my opinion I think you should try to push 4-6 hours for a couple of weeks and see how that feels and how much your game improves. 1400 isn't a very high rating to start at and you probably have a long way to go before you get the "game sense" that you can't really learn without 2000+ hours of Starcraft behind you.
So basically, give it a shot, see how things go, ask (pay) a good player to take a look at some of your replays and have them judge how far you will be able to reach.
On October 29 2010 01:35 tofucake wrote: Personally, I'd say go for half of it. Ask for some support so you can stay home and practice. Play in a bunch of online tournaments (TL Open, ITC if it ever starts up again, ZOTAC, CraftCup, etc). After a few months, if you do well, make your final decision.
But really you should finish school regardless. Diplomas and degrees last a lot longer than a gaming career.
Yeah most importantly, I plan on going to school 110% And playing in online tournaments is going to be a big part of this to see if I can place in the top 10 consistently and that should give me a fairly ok idea as to where my progress is.
On October 29 2010 01:34 Lglow wrote: Go for it, life is short-ish. Make sure to outline his expectations. I would advise setting some money on some good coaches... they will help you progress your game farther than just you will (at 1400). In addition, find high level practice partners that are willing to be just as active as you... (good place to start is the practice partner thread). As far as the switch, it depends heavily on your personality preferences. ... can you sit in a chair for a long time, stare at a screen, and still do a decent analysis of your failures after 14 hours a day? ;]
I never thought of the coaching, but now that you brought it up, I'll definetly be doing that. And if gaming would be my "job" for 6 months I absolutely could practice in a chair for that long. And ever since BW I've always been able to look at my performance when fresh eyes no matter how long I've been playing.
On October 29 2010 01:35 ScDeluX wrote: I would give it a try.
Play from home 8 hours a day and see if you can compete with the best on the ladder.
Take 3-4 weeks to see if you can get to top 200 and you will know if you have the talent required to go on.
Like I replied before, this will be my goal in the first 2 - 3 months, hitting top 200 that is.
I think it depends on what you're aiming for. If you want to start going to LANs, laddering hard and climbing the ladder, maybe start putting out fairly good results, you might (MIGHT) be able to find a team or something similar.
I think TorcH is a good example: he basically did everything himself and managed Ro64 in GSL1 which is actually incredibly impressive. That's badass.
Really, if it's just 6 months and you're just out of high school, even if you don't succeed, it's not at all a big deal to spend that time trying that out. Though, you probably don't want to burn bridges with mother, if that's what it's going to take.
On October 29 2010 01:35 tofucake wrote: Personally, I'd say go for half of it. Ask for some support so you can stay home and practice. Play in a bunch of online tournaments (TL Open, ITC if it ever starts up again, ZOTAC, CraftCup, etc). After a few months, if you do well, make your final decision.
But really you should finish school regardless. Diplomas and degrees last a lot longer than a gaming career.
I say follow this advice.
To me it sounds like your dad just want to have a good time with you, flying around together to tournaments and see you on the stage so he can cheer you up.
i wouldn't even give it a shot. this is just something you enjoy, korean progamers (the people who actually do this for a living) start young, and then only get recruited if the managers see they have CRAZY apm, because apm isn't something you can teach, some people are just naturally apm deficient, which can lead to major disadvantages in some matchups.
that being said if you're really set on it i can't stop you, nor would i want to, but keep in mind just how little chance you have of succeeding.
you could easily get to korea and try out GSL season 3 or 4 if u practice enough and see how is the real competition. If you think that u can make it to top 3 in 6 months in GSL then I believe u can be a pro gamer and live like one. otherwise just have a regular life and play in small tournaments.
On October 29 2010 01:51 seRapH wrote: i wouldn't even give it a shot. this is just something you enjoy, korean progamers (the people who actually do this for a living) start young, and then only get recruited if the managers see they have CRAZY apm, because apm isn't something you can teach, some people are just naturally apm deficient, which can lead to major disadvantages in some matchups.
Not that you can become a Bonjwa with low apm but thats not quite the situation you're (the OP) looking for here.
On October 29 2010 01:28 dtz wrote: i think the very important question is.
how old are you? if you are younger than 18, i think by all means go for it.
if you are like older than that, then we have to know how good you are because it is a highly competitive field in my opinion and not everyone is "talented" enough to be able to be a legit progamer. I mean hard work do play a significant role, but take 10,000 young kids and train them in a pro gamer routine and only 10 or so will be like Flash or Jaedong. Same in other competitive fields. Not everyone can be Usain Bolt or Michael Phelps or LeBron, no matter how much time they put in.
This
Make sure of the reason why you are at 1400, if you're near your mechanical ceiling (you should be able to tell more or less) odds aren't that great. It's much easier to get good when your mechanics are keeping you down (considering your amount of playing time) than if you aren't good and/or quick to grasp little details about the game.
I think my mechanics are the biggest things holding me back, and with enough practice and coaching I think I could overcome it.
On October 29 2010 01:38 RebirthOfLeGenD wrote: Like others have said, before you go have your father invest fucktons of cash into you being a progamer in korea you should try to mass game on bnet and get high ranked to justify the move. Besides if you are 1400 ranked its not like going to korea is going to add to your skill. You have to learn to practice and develop skills on your own, you can't just say you need to be thrown into the progaming life style to fully become a progamer and get good. You need a solid foundation to begin on, and 1400 seems pretty shaky.
Just for you and everyone, I have no plans on moving to Korea. That would be a waste of time and money. It's not a real idea for me. And I plan on doing alot of work before I do anything serious (flying to like a MLG event or something). And I would make sure that I was 100% ready for it, and went to local LANs to get my confidence up and make sure I could hit top 200 or something.
You need a natural aptitude to begin with, and then a LOT of practice and training to go pro. I would recommend you take him up on his offer only if you start to achieve some success first.
If you don't decide to do it, use the money to travel and experience things that you might not have time for once you settle down.
Go for it, your putting your life on hold for six months, because of a dream. Plenty of people take long trips to see the world or visit countries for several months at a time when the finish HS. 6 months will not kill you long term. If it doesn't work out so be it. I'd suggest you fly to lots of lans if your sponsored. So what if you don't win, you need the experience of playing in a lan environment. gl
My father told me once, hey son i heard you are playing computer games against ppl from all over the world ! thats amazing i love it ! I said yea thats true i won some tournaments and once Lan party, its really fun. He replayed: Cool and what kind of game is it ? (he we leaved together he saw me playing BW and CS when i was 10 i think so even i was that time confused :D) I said: Rambo kind of game (CoD2) he said: AWESOME and next day he gave me my Steelseries Xai by saying i heard it can help you !what an EPIC DAD ! (we are not leaving together and i didnt even hear about him for 7 years)
I want to say i wont take such a offer NOW, cause you can still play Online tournaments and try to win em and if you can do it easily than try to go on offline tournaments and ask your dad for help
dont do it... it's not as beautiful as you think it will be. life of a progamer is hard and might not be rewarding for all your hard work, even if you are as skilled as fruitdealer.. u could still lose to a fake boxer.
Thanks for those of you being positive, and negative. There are still alot of things that need to allign before anything actually happens. But I can't wrap my head around how many people are saying its a bad idea. Your dad comes up to you and says hey son, I'm willing to sponsor you for 6 months to TRY and be a progamer (My definition of a progamer (the on I'm trying to become) is someone who plays in alot of online tournaments and goes to maybe 1 LAN maybe every month). Like you get to play starcraft all day, fly (In Canada and the USA) all over and meet people and play more starcraft. I couldn't imagine doing anything more awesome before starting university for 4 or 5 years and that being the most important thing for my future.
Your dad asked if you think you could make any money from playing and you could but honestly I don't think you'd ever make enough to cover the costs. If you do awesomely at lans you might be able to cover the travel costs. I assume you would have to quit your job to be able to practise enough to do any good and that means you should take into account the money lost from not working for 6 months.
This is a purely economical view though, so I say do what makes you happy and if you think you can make it then go for it since this really is a once in a lifetime opportunity.
1. Become an excellent player 2. Join a progaming team 3. Travel to Korea to try and play 4. Realize those damn Koreans are too good 5. Start playing poker instead and make shittons of cash 6. Spend it as frivolously as possible 7. You are now Rekrul
from what you've said so far, i presume you're gonna be free for at least a year? and 6 months really isnt very long at all, at most 3-4 LAN tourneys and a couple of online tournaments and thats about it. so why not? treat it as a.... sponsored holiday where you get to play sc2 all day and go to tourneys and you should be fine, just dont put too much pressure on yourself over the whole 'progamer' thing. and if you produce results, thats when you can start thinking about going professional and pursuing it as a career.
this will be a great experience for you, probably once in a lifetime as well, so dont give it up.
Flying you around while you are a 1400 player is a huge waste of cash. If you want to seriously try to become a progamer explain to your dad that all you need is time to train (for now). If you don't start to become an accomplished progamer in the future you can go and do whatever it is you plan on doing. But throwing money at a problem (not good enough at Starcraft) isn't going to do anything but waste money.
The advantage of something like this though is your expense really is just living expenses. So long as you have your bases covered + computer + internet connection you're good to go. So if you do it for a few months and don't think it's something you can accomplish you really haven't lost much.
Realistically there's a lot of stuff you can't just develop in a matter of months though. If you look at the pro-gaming scene you'll notice one common trend. Almost every accomplished player comes from a long history of RTS gaming or at the very least some other competitive gaming experience.
be fair to your dad - show him this thread and give him an idea of how difficult it is to become a progamer. he should be aware that you are doing this primarily to have an interesting experience. motivation flags very easily when you're working alone, so i would advise joining a team or taking lessons (incontrol maybe?)
really though, if you've been playing this long and still are 1400 diamond, i don't know... try out hardcore training for a few weeks and see how much you've improved? i'm extremely skeptical but not entirely disapproving of this idea.
If I was in your position I would train hard for a month or so, try to find some local lans, and if not try to host your own. Remember, playing at a lan is way different than at home. If you get some decent lan experience locally then you can get more comfortable. You can try signing up for the MLG events as it's only $60 plus your flying/traveling costs. Have a back up plan as well. Do not go balls in 6 pool if you are facing a terran (that was a metaphor). If you can get around 1600-2000 and some lan experience, you should do fine and will learn most by just playing at the events.
Honestly you have a tiny chance if you are only 1400 after 400 games. I'm 2100 after 450 ladder games and I wouldn't take that offer. However, doing something like this can give you a great opportunity to enjoy new experiences through training, travel, etc.
I can only echo the previous comments: train really hard for a month or so and see how much you've improved. You'd have a responsibility to win if your father paid for you, so you would need to make sure you can do it. Maybe you can, maybe you can't. Play 30 games a day every day for a month and see how you feel about it.
That said, I respect your decision. I think we all know what happens to a dream deferred(read: baneling).
Unless you are really really motivated to be one you obviously need to work very hard especially since you're starting at 1400 which is very low to begin with. You need to train like a real progamer in either a team or ladder 12 hours MINIMUM a day. Practice goes far but it won't get you to the very top without talent.
I'd say if you're free for a whole year then it is doable if you ladder 12-16 hours a day (damn I'd love to do that) for atleast a couple of months (I'd say 4-5 months minimum). The best way to improve is ofcourse to play vs gosu's and be coached by gosu's. If you get crushed each time by someone who has flawless mechanics a coach (like incontrol) will be able to point out all your flaws and you would be able to improve much quicker working on these flaws of yours (probably you're mechanics first).
But a life of a progamer is very hard and short so my own advice would be if you're really motivated to do this and have the discipline to train 12+ hours a day then you should be able to become atleast a top200 player but a top progamer you'll need talent to get you even further with that.
More impressed that you have parents that don't think video games are something you do for fun after you turn 20.
But yeah, try to make the top 200 in a few months of dedicated gaming if you have the ability. Otherwise, it's really unlikely that you have a shot as a progamer, you might just be someone who's pretty good at video games.
I mean if it doesn't work and it turns out you find out your not very good and can't make it what will be the repercussions? I presume your father won't mind if it doesn't work out. You'll have tried. If there's no major reason not to, go for it because otherwise you'll regret it for the rest of your life.
"You tried your best and you failed miserably. The lesson is 'never try'."
Since the title of this is become a "progamer", I'm going to assume you want to play Starcraft as an occupation that provides you with enough of a salary to live on. I have to be frank with you that you are probably not anywhere good enough to be a progamer and will end up wasting most your dad's money, because right now even some of the best progamers have a tough time making a living. And progaming might seem awesome from the point of view from someone who plays 1-3 hours a day for fun, but it really loses some of its fun when you're practicing 8 hours a day. The key word here is "practicing". You're not playing, you're practicing. Right now you play for fun, but if you were even to dream of being a progamer, you would have to practice constantly. I'll give you an example in my life. I've studied piano for a really long time. I think it's really fun to just sit down at my piano and play some music randomly(I'm not bad). But when I get a new piece to learn, and I have to practice like the same thing and the same part over and over, I get really sick of it after like an hour. It's really hard to enjoy something while you're practicing.
i dropped off of university 2 weeks ago. i study in the netherlands and have a small room there with super fast internet. so naturally until i start studying something different i have alot of free time. i spent 1 week playing sc2 super competitively and for extended periods of time.
let me tell you ... its physically and mentally challenging as fuck to play for 4 hours straight. now imagine practicing for 10 or 12 hours like korean dudes. although its fun it takes a lot of dexterity and will :o
I'm rather shocked and somewhat disheartened by some of the replies you've received so far. Rarely in the course of our lives are we given such a gift as you've been offered, and it would be a low down dirty shame for you to not accept it. In fact, with a bit of hard work, you could turn this little enterprise into quite the profitable venture.
Now, to do this, you're going to have to be a little fast and loose with your traditional (see: outdated) sense of morality and ethical behavior. It is easier to shed these figurative sandbags than it is to shed a literal 15 lbs from your body, so don't get too worried about this. Once the money starts pouring in, you'll quickly re-evaluate your stance on the value of morals. The adrenaline alone will keep you going (when combined with other things, but we'll talk about that in a few minutes).
The first thing you'll need to do is to acquire capital. For many people, this is the major hurdle to financial success after motivation. They simply can't raise the funds required to get their dreams off the ground. You, on the other hand, have been given a golden goose in the form of your dad's inheritance and subsequent willingness to fund your new lifestyle. Hop into Word (or whatever word processing program you prefer) and whip up an initial budget to get you started. Itemize the list and prices, working in as much fluff and padding as you can. Things you can include: New CPU/GPU, more RAM, bigger monitor, new mouse, mechanical keyboard, mousepad, headset, Gamer Grub™, AMP energy drink, prescription gaming goggles, another monitor, heated gaming seat, and any peripherals with APM technology that you can get your hands on.
Now, at this point I know what you're thinking: "wtf, I don't need any of that shit lol". Well, you're right, and that's why you won't be buying any of it. You'll just be telling your dad you will, so that you can get a little start-up money. Once you've got this cash in hand, head to the shadiest neighborhood or part of town you can think of so we can begin step two.
Step two: buy drugs. This is where you think, "ok, lol he's trolling" and say, "huahhauehauehauha xDDD gr8 post brood," but I'm serious. Selling drugs can be a great way to turn increase wealth with relatively small risk, if done correctly. When you arrive in your choice lower-income area, cruise around until you see some intimidating minorities hanging out on a stoop or street corner (they may be caucasian, but they will be dressed like minorities either way). Pull up next to the crew and roll down your window (if you have power windows, make the "rolling down the window" motions anyway so they don't think you're rich) and ask casually but forcefully, "Pardon me, but do any of you guys have drugs that I can buy?" (feel free to substitute a more hip word for "drugs" but you get the idea). They will have some, and they will let you buy it. Already react to the initial price with an "Aw hell naw" and a disgusted look. They will try to rip you off; don't let them. Put them at ease by talking about casual things like, "Hey, did you guys hear the mcrib is back at mcdonalds," or, "I would do unforgivable things to Halle Berry." Achievement unlocked: They are now your friends and will give you good deals on drugs going forward.
Now that you have some product, you can start moving it to generate cash flow. Since you're going to be spending more time selling and pushing to increase revenue, you're going to have to optimize your SC2 practice schedule for maximum efficiency. Most drug dealers will tell you not to dip into your product, but this is an exception. You're gonna want to get real high on methamphetamines before you start to game, so that you're super wired and attentive. The natural APM boost, combined with the heightened sense of self-confidence and manic aggression, will result in quick development leaps. The only grinding you'll be doing from no on is your teeth! Just kidding (although you do need to be careful with your teeth, because you will be doing a LOT of meth at this point to stay competitive).
With the extra income from your drug-dealing and your hyper-efficient meth gaming, you'll be able to build up significant cash reserves while you also slow-drip money out of your dad. You'll be earning enough that you can start outsourcing the drug-selling to subordinates. These foot soldiers will be more "crips & bloods" than "baker street irregulars", but you can keep them in line by rubbing one out early (no, I don't mean jerk off infront of them, because who knows what will happen if you do that, I mean take one of them out). Gather your whole crew and, after a nice dinner at TGIF's, take them outside, pick a random guy and scream, "this is what happens to people when they try to fuck me!" Then, stab him repeatedly. Whether he has actually wronged you is irrelevant as you're just trying to prove a point right now. Your employees will now equate "screwing with the boss" to "im gonna get stabbed".
People from the neighborhood might start to get on your case about your "criminal lifestyle" (the drug dealing, not the SC2 progaming). You can resolve this one of two ways: with fear or with kindness. If you want to be kind, just pull a Nino Brown and start handing out Turkeys on Thanksgiving. If you want to instill fear, let the whole neighborhood know that you're so bad ass you can murder law enforcement officers without reprisal. Of course, you're not going to actually do that because that would be crazy. You're just going to rap about it. Rapping is a great way to build a rapport with your local community as well as build up a great network for your drug business. Rapping is really easy, just talk normally but make sure the last (or 2nd to last) word in your sentence rhymes. You can rap about anything: killing cops, making tons of money, having sex with impossibly gorgeous women, selling drugs, and the best part about it is that as soon as you rap about it, it's basically true (well, true enough for our purposes).
Now that you're a financially stable, well-respected member of your community, you can start playing some online tournaments and local lans. Constantly imply that if the game were balanced, you'd win most of the time. Congratulations, you're well on your way to becoming the next big Starcraft 2 pro gamer!
If you are not planning on going to college next fall, at least finish high school. Then, practice alot at home. I don't mean play bunch of ladder games, but enter online tourneys and find good players to practice with them. Find a regular partner, become better than him, then find someone better to practice with. Then, if you are really meant to be, you will start winning some tourneys and start to get recognized as a good player. Only then, I would advice you actually do this.
If becoming a progamer is your mission in life, go for it. Otherwise the chances of success are too small for it to be worth it. It just depends on how serious you are about it, you have a great opportunity here to give it your best shot. Until you are top 200 I wouldn't bother flying around the world or anything.
Well if I was in your place then i would train harder to gain some experience and go straight for Korea and try out for 2 GSL tours. If you cant even make it through the qualifiers then you get a nice 2 month vacation in Korea.
1400 is way too low and 6 months is not enough time. If he said 2 years, then yes, go for it. If you're motivated enough for two years, then you could do it. But 6 months is a crap shot. You would have to be nothing short of a genius to catch up to everyone now.
After after 6 months you're on your own. That's a big problem... And only half a year... But I'm relatively certain that you could do it if you trained for two years. If he can extend it to a bit, then I would go for it.
If you do go for it, the first thing you should do is try it for a week. If you aren't practicing 10-12 hours a day after a week, then you don't have the motivation to practice that way for months or years. Good luck and I wish you the best.
On October 29 2010 02:34 intrigue wrote: be fair to your dad - show him this thread and give him an idea of how difficult it is to become a progamer. he should be aware that you are doing this primarily to have an interesting experience. motivation flags very easily when you're working alone, so i would advise joining a team or taking lessons (incontrol maybe?)
really though, if you've been playing this long and still are 1400 diamond, i don't know... try out hardcore training for a few weeks and see how much you've improved? i'm extremely skeptical but not entirely disapproving of this idea.
I completely agree with this post. The smartest thing you could do, is sit down, look at all options. Real life situation and SC2 situation, then take a decision. And the most important thing is if you and you're father are 100 into this. I see he trusts you, but you really should give him information about the scene, and see if he still wants to support you.
I wish you the best in you're SC2 life. Good luck to you my friend
Many people travel after high school before going to college. Or do other things before going to college.
If it is not getting in the way of school, a 6 month break for something like this could be an interesting and personally enritching experience, even if you don't make it.
Though at your current level, it will probably take you those 6 months of pure dedication and work in starcraft2 to even get to the level where you can even compete in high level tournaments without getting roflstomped. The competition is only getting more intense, GSL1 to GSL2 alone was a huge jump in ability level and game quality.
That being said, ask any of the progamers here who post often, like Jinro, and they will probably tell you that its not as easy as it all seems. They would be good people to ask, ask them about their average day, how they feel at different point, and their overall opinion on the situation. They would have a much better perspective.
Just know that many people have the desire to be a progamer, but many dont make it. Look at the courage tournaments in SC1, how many of those people have practiced for months even years, and how many of them fail. Not only do you have to be good at the game, but you have to be strong mentally, and have a resilient personaly to be able to handle the loses and handle the amount of work you need to put in without slumping.
Even the best progamers struggle to maintain a win ratio above 60%. There are people who are amazing at the game, but put them on the stage, and they fall apart. Even great players like Fantasy struggle to deal with the pressure.
In conclusion: If its not going to get in the way of school, there is nothing wrong with taking a 6 month break before going to college to take this opportunity. Just make it more about the personal experience and enritchment and not the end result.
I don't think you're really at the level yet where you could be a serious, competitive programer. Plus, there will be a lot of pressure to perform once your father has put aside the money to help make this happen. I think that at this point, you'd be much better off using the money to get lessons from programers and such before trying to get serious about competition. Plus, you could get their take on the situation. From what I understand, progaming doesn't exactly make a lot of money (except for a small handful of the very best), so if you do it, you're doing it because you love doing it.
Well... if you've got the capital to back up your attempt at becoming a progamer, I suppose that's one less reason to say no. Life's short and you don't get to try everything, so trying something while you can might be worth it.
That being said, you want to be realistic - and you already have examples to draw from. If your concept of progaming is that of Korean e-sports right now, then I'd say your goal is quite unrealistic. You can already see how tough it is for IdrA or TLO. IdrA has been living the life of a progamer for quite a while now and still it's tough for him to break the top 8 in GSL.
If your concept of progaming is in North America or Europe, it's a whole new story. You have to really trust Blizzard and their promises to open tournaments and stuff worldwide. However, at the current state, I don't think there will be enough "things to do" as a progamer outside Korea. Who knows, maybe the global e-sports market will bloom in the near future.
You only see the "good things" you have to see the bad things...Im not gonna say if you should do or not do, because is your life. But i can say only one thing: Is not a easy road and you probably gonna fail
Take the risk. Take some lessons(free or not) and go to random tournies(on or offline). Make a name for yourself. I'm 25, graduated and workign full time. I'm 1800~ and been to two MLG's events and didn't do so well. Infact the same each time. I'm going to dallas to try again. You will gain real life experience and its well worth it. You're young and given the opportunity to pursue a dream, take it. A progamer is a choice not an obligation. Its not easy and you can't do it alone. you have school next fall, plenty of time to get better and maybe win or place top 4 in some tournies. Don't ask for permission, ask for advise and guidance. If you have to pay for it, then its well worth it imo.
On October 29 2010 01:27 ArbAttack wrote: All fun and good aside. You're going to have to realize talent is the deciding factor.
I believe in this. To become a pro (specially a renowned one) in any competitive field, you gotta have a gift, a natural talent, that allows you to do things like beating easily players who have been playing for a longer time and working harder than you or climbing up in winrate/ladder/whatever should be used to measure a player's skill in less time than others. All of that in a ridiculous ratio.
There are many intelligent posts on here. First I think you should ask yourself if you really want the progamer lifestyle. From what I know about it, it sounds terrible. But that is just me. The point that you need to really train before this begins was also mentioned. So how long would you practice for? How much time could you devote to it? And how far can you really get in 6 months of dad sponsorship? I'm very hesitant to say this is a good idea. But whatever you do, make sure it is thought out. Hopefully the community feedback helps, now what are you going to decide?
First, tell your parents to let you practice for one or two months, and not just 1-2 hours daily, I'm talking about 5-6 hours here or 10 in weekends ( of course you still go to school or whatever ). If by the end of these 2 months you are world ~ top200 in points (would be 2300-2400 now) with a fair enough win ratio ( not like 800 / 780 rather 600 / 450 ) and you still feel confident, yeah definitely. But in the current situation i suggest no, don't try it.
On October 29 2010 01:27 ArbAttack wrote: All fun and good aside. You're going to have to realize talent is the deciding factor.
I believe in this. To become a pro (specially a renowned one) in any competitive field, you gotta have a gift, a natural talent, that allows you to things like beating easily players who have been playing for a longer time and working harder than you or climbing up in winrate/ladder/whatever should be used to measure a player's skill in less time than others. All of that in a ridiculous ratio.
Some people like myself will argue, that talent has nothing to do with it and that talent in general is a myth. Investigate the top pros of any sport, and look at the dedication and ferocity they put into their practice. It is more than anyone else in their sport.
Its wrong to think that I am not a pro tennis because I wasnt born with the talent for tennis. This seems like a weak personal excuse. I am not a pro tennis player because instead of practicing 6 hours a day, every day back when I played seriously, I only practiced for 2 hours 3/4 times a week.
While this was enough to be one of the top varsity players at my school, it is no where near enough to even consider going pro. Considering someone like Federer has practiced over 6 hours a day, almost every day, since he was extremely young old. Even among pro players, this is an absurd amount of dedication, that simply compounds over time, as in a single day, he practices more than I do in the entire week.
Talent by definition would mean they could get by and succeed by doing less work than other athletes. This is not the case. Flash was not born with a gift for SC, he put in an insane amount of work, and still puts in an insane amount of work every day to stay ahead of his opponents.
There are people who have better practice habits, as there is a difference between just playing and performing deliberate practice. Thus they get more out of less practice time, but this is not an inherent ability to Starcraft, rather a personal ability to buckle down and focus. I don't know if you can call a higher work ethic talent.
I agree with the majority here. the advice I offer you is to practice up and start small. Go local first, play game battles etc.. 1400 is too low, you'll get rolled over in big tournaments. On the other hand, it's the only way you'll learn and get better. If you start local and your still super into it and your seeing success; throw money into it.
By instantly investing in a pro gaming lifestyle your instantly at a psychological disadvantage because your under that much more pressure to win.. Pro gaming takes baby steps but I wish you all the luck in the world
In my opinion first find a coach and see how it goes teams such at VT gaming, Root, and Gosucoaching offer lessons. Work with them for some time to see your improvement. Talk with your coach for feedback etc. to see progress (even though you should know yourself).
This is the best way to go about it. ---
Now for my opinion, do not devote your life to a video game. With the time you can devote to SC2 you can devote it to school and have a chance to become a Doctor, Lawyer, etc.. Even if you don't become any of those you at least have a degree to fall back on. Gaming is not a fallback plan or plan at all is you are trying to be realistic.
It sounds like you have made up your mind though so I just suggest get coaching at a good price.
On October 29 2010 04:17 grats wrote: In my opinion first find a coach and see how it goes teams such at VT gaming, Root, and Gosucoaching offer lessons. Work with them for some time to see your improvement. Talk with your coach for feedback etc. to see progress (even though you should know yourself).
This is the best way to go about it. ---
Now for my opinion, do not devote your life to a video game. With the time you can devote to SC2 you can devote it to school and have a chance to become a Doctor, Lawyer, etc.. Even if you don't become any of those you at least have a degree to fall back on. Gaming is not a fallback plan or plan at all is you are trying to be realistic.
It sounds like you have made up your mind though so I just suggest get coaching at a good price.
If you think about it - the way pro gaming is going, at its apex pro gaming and a comfortable job such as doctor or lawyer could be equal
If you're going to do it, make a documentary of it.
Even if you fail hardcore you could try selling the documentary to parental organizations that are trying to get their children to give up their dream of becoming a professional gamer. It could spread on the Internet as the next meme. You could even make an alternate ending to pretend that you succeeded.
Hey how long exactly did you play competitive BW? The only reason I ask is because I wanna know a reference of how long you have been into competitive SC in general.
if its for only 6 months, i'd go for it. 6 months is minuscule compared to the time we spend on other stuff in our life. i wouldn't want to look back 30 years from now and be like.... i could have been the best starcraft 2 player ever but decided elsewhere, but that's just me. i don't like to regret my decisions. also, get a poster/piece of paper and make a pros and cons list of becoming a pro-gamer. weigh all the pros against all the cons it will give you a big picture of what you will be gaining and losing in the 6 months of progaming.
If someone is willing to throw away a bunch of money on you, I would at least use it to try and accomplish something that will help you in your lifelong goal. Want to be a lawyer? a doctor? a politician? Use this money to invest in that dream rather than something that may or may not work out in the long run. Your mind is fresh and sharp at your young age which helps make it easier to learn new things in school and discover your true passion in life.
You may think that SC is your passion, but if you haven't gone to college and experienced all the different fields and gotten an idea of what you want to do with your life, you won't know if it is your true passion in life. Use the money or at least save it for college. Good luck.
I would go for it 100%. Yes, it's competitive and you might not be able to make it. But just seeing how much more you can achieve with full commitment than a half-hearted attempt is going to be a huge life experience. It's probably going to teach you more than most other things you could do with the same time and money.
I'm with the people saying you should start small and see how good you can really get. But I'll definitely disagree that this is a bad idea. You have time and seems to have enough passion, and you also have the option of turning back before you actually spend all that money and not accomplish anything.
Having your parents' support for something you're passionate about is something a lot of people wish they could have. Parents who actually try to understand your dreams, instead of tossing them out for being either unknown or generally known as not very profitable. So like other said, accept your dad's goodwill and give your best. Stop for a month or so, play many many hours, maybe get coaching and all that. You're young, you have to at least try and experience it. It's not just a silly videogame for you, after all.
You might reach your goal of being someone who wins a lot of tournaments. Or you might fail and turn back. Or, maybe, you'll discover you're actually really good at this when you put the right amount of effort and maybe even be able to compete in Korea. And I'm sure your dad will be there to help you however he can if that happens, assuming he's as nice as he seems to be.
try it for a few months at most. spend one month practicing 14 hours a day and the next month actively playing tournaments. if it works out then continue, but you must understand that it is a lifestyle that not everyone can handle.
you are much better off using the rest of the money for college because progaming typically ends in your mid tewnties and you are left working at walmart for the rest of your life.
Anyone telling you not to try is just jealous (especially Chill). See if your Dad will let you live with him (pay for food/shelter and that's all) and let you practice AT HOME for 6 months, 6-10 hours a day. Tell him it will take at least that long to see if you have enough natural skill to make the practice worth it. If he agrees, awesome, and if you can win all the LANs in your state/region after those 6 months, keep on movin' up.
Be ready to discover you don't want to play for even just 6 hours a day. Personally I hope you don't find that to be the case, and I wish you luck.
I made a blog a while ago about me not going to school for a year. I'll tell ya man, its tough working day and day out. But you learn things that others won't understand unless they get down and dirty and work those tough jobs to support yourself and secure your future.
It can be scary, even if you do manage to make a good living and have nice plan laid out for the future. Because once you start living out this sort of mundane life, you realize you really need to do something with your life. Because fuck I will fucking hang myself infront of a webcam for TL to see if I don't fulfill at least one of my dreams otherwise I'd regret it for the rest of my life, and that mid-life crisis crap would probably inevitably follow along too. You can be realistic and do something awesome in your life if you want to, it doesn't have to be such a far-fetched fairy tale sort of thing.
Everyone is going to tell you to go to school and to screw this idea. That's actually the best advice out there, but it comes down whether or not you'll regret it later on. Thing is you need to do something with your life when you're about to get into your 20's, anything a little out of the ordinary is fine, even if its something as simple as helping out your school, or your community or joining some small local organization. For me it's simply just studying abroad for 1 semester, and with that I'll be satisfied.
Right now you have an opportunity of becoming a progamer. You can be realistic about this. Go practice for 6 - 8 hours everyday for a month, and then ask yourself how you feel about it. If you can handle it, then play in some local tournaments, or online tournaments. Ask yourself how did you do? (all of this can be done by yourself without loads of money backing you up, maybe you might need some financial support if you can't deal with not working for the hours you practice) If you're satisfied with your results then you can make the serious move and ask your father to sponsor you to travel major tournaments so you can compete at the next level. If you do well there then obviously we can be more serious about you achieving this dream. Of course just don't expect a lot of money out of it, its extremely risky, but the experience may be well worth it.
I'd be glad to try to achieve my dream, admit my defeat, and go on to live a mundane life afterwords with no regrets. It only gets depressing when people continue to strive for their dream for decades without success and not settling down for a normal life.
Even with that all said, I'd still recommend you to just take the easy way out and go to college and get a degree. There's plenty of other life fulfilling things out there besides pro gaming.
You can do it! don't listen to all the fools in this thread who project their own insecurity on to you. If you are sponsored and you have time you can at least make a small splash in the pro scene. if you know how to practice well and if you have the least bit of talent you can become E-famous! Later you will wanna find some good practice partners not just ladder.
Chance of a life time - Become an Ultimate Fighter
or
Chance of a life time - Become a Pro Bowler
or
Chance of a life time - Become a Pro Poker Player
...and it just sounds ridiculous, and rightfully so. Having 6 months off with lots of money to spend isn't going to get you any closer to being in the top 0.01% of players in the world.
What a waste of money that could be spent on something more practical for your future...
Tell your dad not to waste his money. I suck balls at sc2 and made diamond 1400 in like a day. Think of all the awesome stuff you can do with it instead. Put it in your savings.
On October 29 2010 05:27 ShaperofDreams wrote: You can do it! don't listen to all the fools in this thread who project their own insecurity on to you. If you are sponsored and you have time you can at least make a small splash in the pro scene. if you know how to practice well and if you have the least bit of talent you can become E-famous! Later you will wanna find some good practice partners not just ladder.
that is so cool good luck!
What does being insecure have to do with anything, that makes absolutely no sense.
1.) Take a month off of all activities 1.1.) Play 10+ hours per day 1.2.) Get coaching for 2-3 hours per day 1.3.) Work out for 1-2 hours per day
2.) A.) You reach top200 in your reagion. You can now ask your dad for the sponsorship
B.) You don't even reach 2k+ (or whatever will be the equivalent rating in 1 month) Choose what you actually want to do in your life, get to college and ask your dad to cover schooling fees. Treat SC2 as a hobby.
Thats the way i would choose. But its your life and yea your Dad is really awsome^^
If you are going to do this with the expectation that you will one day be good enough to make any amount of money playing sc2 I would strongly advise against it.
If you can't consistently beat top players, why would you possibly let him pay for this shit. You are going to lose at the tournaments, over and over.
Practice first. Practice hard, get good. 1400 is not good. 2000 is not good. Top of the ladder is pretty good and probably good enough to do it.
I am not telling you not to do it. I am just saying that you need to actually be good before you start. very good.
Pro gaming is very, very, very difficult. The players who go pro are very talented.
(so if you do want to do this, my advice is very hard work and a lot of dedication. and hopefully you enjoy the process, but you might discover at some point during it that it's not as much fun as you thought it would be.)
You sound intelligent, sensible and serious so I'll try to include all of those elements in my response.
@whether or not you should do this: fuck the naysayers. don't let other people get in the way of your own genuine desires. but do consider their reasons for not doing it..those are real problems and will help you prepare situations to combat them. I'll identify and address the ones I see
-waste of money: if ever given a choice between a good experience or expedience, you should choose the experience. they're what life is actually composed of
-waste of dad's money: parents want to see their children succeed. it sounds like your dad is aware of your passion and interest and willing to give you the opportunity to try. this is not a waste of money as long as its a legitimate effort
-not enough talent: you don't really know until the cards are on the table.
-not enough playtime: well obviously this would be the solution
-motivation: coaching/knowing rl contacts/routine/professionalism/goal setting...discussed later
I don't plan on just flying out randomly to tournaments, I know 100% that thats a waste of time. My plan that I thought of was like to practice straight for a month and a half and then start by making short trips out to LANs with a prize pool a little bit more than the cost of the flight there. And do this for like 3 months and see where I am at by then.
This sounds reasonable, but I want to suggest something which has kind of popped into my head and evolved while reading through this thread
Set out a definite and concrete plan now with reasonable goals and estimates. Show it to your dad and keep him updated on how much progress you're making.
I suggest you start go to a larger LAN near your area immediately. Play as well as you can, get some experience under the lights and give yourself a taste but this is the important part: get as many phone #'s, gamer id's and contact info from as many people at or above your level as you can. Especially try to find better players in your area. Now hopefully you do well but you'll probably get creamed at some point, just remember the taste of victory and the thrill of competition. I know when I can imagine exactly what I want to win, and I imagine me winning it, it really motivates me. Give yourself this experience.
This is just my reccomendation: Set up a 6-day schedule. Have it be rigorous and really put some thought into it. Like, here's a rough draft:
Training Days (3-4 days/week) 7:30 am: Wake up, work out (jog, push-ups, sit-ups) 8:00 am: Eat, shower, stretch. Go through your plan for the day. Imagine yourself achieving your goal. 9:00 am: Macro/apm practice. 10:00 am: Ladder/Open competitive play 12:00 pm: Break. Lunch time 1:00 pm: Replay Analysis/Research (build orders, timings, w/e) Identify 3 things to be aware of 2:00 pm: Build Order practice 3:00 pm: Ladder/Open Competitive play 5:30 pm: Find the replays you'll watch tomorrow 6:00 pm: Monitor community. Identify LANS, get-togethers, keep up on pro-players, read/discuss strategy, network 7:00 pm: Dinner. Even if you don't feel like it stop at this point, go eat. post-dinner: Free time. Maintain your life, play custom games, ladder, do w/e. 12:00 am: Bed.
Massgame/Laddering Days (1-2 days/week) 7:30 am: Wake up. Work out 8:00 am: eat, shower, stretch, sit down and identify what you want to do today. Viscerally imagine yourself achieving your goal. 9:00 am: Warmup runthrough of bo(s) + macro 10:00 am: Massgame/Ladder 12:00 pm: Lunch 1:00 pm: Massgame/Ladder Take 2 separate 20 minute breaks 6:00 pm: Monitor community. Identify LANS, get-togethers, keep up on pro-players, read/discuss strategy, network 7:00 pm: Dinner Post-dinner: free time 12:00 am: Bed
Collaboration/Online Competition Days (0-2+ days/week) 7:30 am: Wake up. Work out 8:00 am: eat, shower, stretch, sit down and identify what you want to do today. Viscerally imagine yourself achieving your goal. 9:00 am: This day is meant for RL get-togethers, virtual get-togethers, or planned interactions with people who can help you. Plan multiple smaller ones or insert this into a massgame day. 12:00 am: Bed.
Major Events: Sleep well the 2 nights preceding (no drinking) Maintain workout regimen regardless of where you are Eat healthy Bring brain-food/water/other sustenance to competitions
Other things worth mentioning: You want 6 days of practice a week adjusted to your schedule (like closer to a lan you might want more training days). There will be holidays, events, and a lot of stuff which will get in the way. 6 is a good number because it gives you a 1-day break, you get practice in during times you're not busy which allows for flexibility when you become busy.
At the start and end of every week, you want to review + plan and think about the big picture. Keep stats on yourself so you can track your improvement (w/l rate, mu stats, apm). Focus on 1 build order for 1 mu per week and rotate it weekly. Alter this based on your performance.
Take Sundays off, and if thats the only day you can get together with somebody take the next day off. Much like working out you need to give your muscles a break. This is a deterrent against burnout and gives you mental rest. This day should involve no Starcraft in it at all, even if you want to.
Set up an efficient replay management system. Have a folder for pro-replays, a folder for to-analyze replays, and a general folder where you save all your replays. I guess develop this more as you discover your needs.
The physical space where you practice should be comfortable but bare. Computer, desk, lighting, and any amenities you may need. The point is no distractions, only things that will help you focus. This should be like an office, this place is work-only. When you play SC, treat it professionally. Wear different clothes based on what kind of day it is. Like training days, wear warmups, mass-laddering days dress up more formal. Have 2 performance outfits for when you actually compete in LANS and other competitions. Collab days just fit the situation. This may sound like bullshit but it will subconsciously accustom you and give yourself a routine to follow. The old adage dress for success. And when you get to a competition, you'll already have your competition clothes on--just a little extra competitive edge.
Note-taking. Keep a notebook, sticky notes and pens on your desk. Write shit down, stuff you need to remember. Put up sticky notes to remind yourself to do things. Also keep a planner where you write out your schedules, contacts, events, just a place where you keep on top of everything. I also suggest you get one of those big officemax calendars and ever LAN you go to, put it on the calendar in bright colorful markers so you're always aware of how much time you have. Like write down your best times for certain stuff, the timings they're working against and just keep numbers and information flowing. Add comments so when you look at them later you know what you were writing down. Be meticulous and thorough with your scheduling...this is your career.
2 (3?) Computers, or 2 monitors. Play on 1 computer, track your stats in an excel sheet on the other computer (a little netbook) and use this other guy to take care of all non-sc tasks during your day. Your main SC comp should be sc-only. Minimize your distractions. This is kind of unrealistic but if you already have 2 comps which can play sc2 designate one of them for your office area and don't use it at all for anything but SC.
Keep a goals sheet. Now I can't give specifics because only you know you, but set slightly (only slightly) unrealistic goals. In small steps. Like, this week I'm going to keep an average apm of 200+ and my w/l rate for a certain matchup at 60% or whatever. When you imagine winning, look at this sheet right after. Keep increasing your demands on yourself so you're always striving to get better. Document all these, when you achieved it and how long it took.
Put stuff that resonates with you up on the wall where you can see it. You'll see it and read it over and over again over a long period of time, it will become integrated with you. Put up a good quote, or words...point everything towards your overall goal. Something that's worked well for me in the past was putting a 2nd place trophy in plain view. 2nd fucking place. I'd rather have never placed. But thats my attitude, I don't know about yours.
Integrate peers/mentors into the process as much as possible. You're on b.net, so..y'know, set up your own practice community which will fit your needs. If possible, do this in RL as much as you can. Make sure to keep an extra table set up for another computer in your office area, like if inc is in your area for whatever reason--you put him up for 2 days in exchange for coaching. Keep your eyes and ears open for stuff like this.
Remember to take breaks, keep up your health, and keep a routine of discipline and intensity. Professional.
Sit down and brainstorm further ways you can improve yourself.
Track your finances and plan accordingly. Check out Ramit Sethi's book I Will Teach You to be Rich if you haven't. Again, document everything. Treat your tournaments as your business. Better yet, on your off-days, maybe arrange a $5 buy-in in your area or something. Your goal here is to make money. Your goal as a pro-gamer is to make money. Fortify this area in whatever way you can.
And I'd like to stress the importance of self-reflection and self-review. Also, the imagining winning part. These are critical areas you can't ignore. You need to do them. That's what will separate you from an average SC player. Have 1-month, 3-month, and 6-month goals. At the end of your defined time you want to decide if its worth it for you to continue.
And remember, your dad is your sponsor. Give him periodic reports of exactly what you're doing, where you're at (goal-wise, money-wise) and keep in constant contact w/ him involving your flight situations. I'd advise doing the same for your step-dad and mom. Show them how serious and professional you are.
Also, if you do start getting results, look for a sponsor. All your documentation will come in really handy. Treat this like the business you want it to be. You're your own brand and agent. I guess your method for this would be developing a portfolio based off your wins, goals-sheet, practice schedule, and anything else you might be able to add. Your goal here is to become increasingly independent and sustained off of gaming. If you get sponsored, be intelligent with it--you want upward mobility.
I strongly suggest you develop an initial proposal to your dad, feel free to steal anything out of this post you want to as long as you keep me personally updated should you go through with it
And my final piece of advice: keep the game fun, whatever this means for you. For me that means dicking around with friends, 4v4's or whatever. Don't kill your passion, blow on the flame.
I'm excited about this even though I'm not the one doing it lol. I'd be happy to proofread or help you in any capacity I can. Feel free to pm or ask me anything. Unfortunately, I don't own a comp which can play sc2 (bought the game though) so I can't practice with you.
Good luck. I hope I see your name on the front page in 3 months
On October 29 2010 05:49 travis wrote: Don't waste your dad's money.
If you can't consistently beat top players, why would you possibly let him pay for this shit. You are going to lose at the tournaments, over and over.
Practice first. Practice hard, get good. 1400 is not good. 2000 is not good. Top of the ladder is pretty good and probably good enough to do it.
I am not telling you not to do it. I am just saying that you need to actually be good before you start. very good.
Pro gaming is very, very, very difficult. The players who go pro are very talented.
On October 29 2010 04:54 hypercube wrote: I would go for it 100%. Yes, it's competitive and you might not be able to make it. But just seeing how much more you can achieve with full commitment than a half-hearted attempt is going to be a huge life experience. It's probably going to teach you more than most other things you could do with the same time and money.
exactly. that bolded shit is something I'd put up where I can see it for the first month
[edit wrestling in HS was one of the most educational experiences in my life. It was the first time I legitimately worked for something, hard, 24/7. It taught me the real meaning of work. I was only above average, not where I wanted to be, but I learned so much about my failure (1 match away from state) I don't regret any of it. Trying to go pro can be yours.
If you dad is willing to invest large sums of money in your future, wouldn't you want to maximize the benefit? From a third party perspective I think the best thing (showing the most respect for your dad, respect for money, and personal improvement/goals) would to form another plan that could make use of the 3-5k or whatever your father was willing to give you. The new plan should be well thought out if it is anything more complicated than 3-5k towards school.
Kcaz here is the deal like everyone has said 6 months is not a long time. But be aware that a lot of people have a mental investment in the idea that no player can get really "good" in 6 months because they have devoted years of time to this and they still are not "good."
In order to become competitive in this amount of time you are going to have to learn very quickly. You will need a very good coach. At 19 you have all the time in the world to do whatever you want, so dont' worry too much about that. College will still be there when you are done and it will be a good experience that can possibly benefit you later in life.
To get very good in this amount of time your going to have to treat it like a 9-5 job. What i mean by that is your going to have to do a lot of things that are not fun to get good at sc2. You will need to divide each part of your game into different mechanical areas and treat it like any other sport. To be very good at soccer (goalie) I needed to learn vision, my reach, distance, reaction time, communication, how to read strikers and 100 other parts of the game. So you break those into categories and come up with drills for them. You will need to do the same for SC2 in areas like scouting, reacting, building during combat, reading builds, harassment and reacting to harassment. There are probably many others, you will probably need someone to put you into bad situations and see how you handle them. There should also be mechanical drills to improve apm and screen vision.
What i'm saying is the silly idea of just playing ladder games to get good over and over and if you get to the top of the ladder then go for it probably will not get you to the level you want to be by the time period you want. Training and a combination of games most likely will.
On October 29 2010 06:18 Ekko wrote: Kcaz here is the deal like everyone has said 6 months is not a long time. But be aware that a lot of people have a mental investment in the idea that no player can get really "good" in 6 months because they have devoted years of time to this and they still are not "good."
I don't agree with this. If you are really playing an absolute ton I think 6 months is plenty of time... the game hasn't even been out for 6 months yet.
i think if you were good enough to be a pro gamer you wouldn't need your dad to sponsor you.. you should probably save your money and use it on real life things
I probably should have put this in the OP, but the 6months is just tentative so that I have a time window to see where I can get too. Not like it cuts of immedietly.
you play 1-3 hours a day and are only 1400 diamond, sorry but i highly doubt you will become a progamer. Use the money for college, if college is already paid for, use the money having a ton of fun in college, maybe play in an MLG event (you will get your ass kicked but its still fun to play against and get to meet the best)
If you are not top 200 by then I would suggest to give up. I was thinking of going pro but then I found out I don't really like playing 8 hours EVERY day.... it gets boring real fast tbh..
But it's also (maybe) six months that may not pay off too well.
If you go through with it, set some limits, like don't blow more than 5k. Only go to a tournament after you hit 2000 (random number that should be attainable given all day training).
Otherwise talk it over with your dad, and see if there is something else you could do with the money.
There are already people better than you, that are trying harder, and not making posts about it. I don't think you have much chance. Sorry for being negative, but just saying "im gonna be pro" doesn't make it so. Go ladder. Why do you need to tell everyone?
Just like in another carbon copy of these blog posts from a month or more ago, you already fell into a huge psychological trap.
On October 29 2010 07:36 avilo wrote: There are already people better than you, that are trying harder, and not making posts about it. I don't think you have much chance. Sorry for being negative, but just saying "im gonna be pro" doesn't make it so. Go ladder. Why do you need to tell everyone?
Just like in another carbon copy of these blog posts from a month or more ago, you already fell into a huge psychological trap.
the only 'huge psychological trap' is your post. He's weighing opportunities like everybody should if they come across an opportunity like this. And what better place to ask about becoming a progamer than here?
On October 29 2010 03:44 Chill wrote: Having met you, I feel I can say you're an idiot. Get a job or go to school; you won't make any money.
since this guy already met you (and even played with you?) better believe what he is trying to say. If he thinks you can make it then you can.. already gave up on the dream.. I'd rather be just one of the top here in our country than internationally.
if you don't wanna listen, I want you to get on rank 1 in diamond consistently for about 2 months then decide if you can make it or not. Also age is a factor.
Get to semi prolevel before trying to do it, it means a very high rank on ladder, know some good people to train with and see if you are able to fight back (progamers).
If you manage to be on par with their level (or just slightly lower) you might want to go for it. Then ask yourself if you really want to see you doing that kind of things in 5years (both the hard work and the very hypothetic reward).
Anyway, don't burn steps, there is no point to fly over the world if you are still a 1400diamond protoss.
Many say you must follow your dreams, that is somewhat true but not complete. You must aim toward your goal and see if the very next step is just too hard to reach and maybe take another route less complete but reachable.
You'd make more money doing just about anything else. And it is also not something you can assume you would be good at given time even if you do create a good practice regimen in a good gaming environment. And who knows what the progaming scene will be like some months down the road. Maybe sponsors will drop SC2 and prizes will be smaller. Also unless you plan to move to Korea it entails a whole lot of traveling. I can't imagine progaming will really grow in an online environment because of cheats, lag and connectivity issues.
Even with your 2 hours a day 1400 is pretty low in diamond
So he said that if I was really serious about this, that he would sponsor me for 6 months. Pay my expenses, fly me out to tournaments and everything else that a pro gaming team does for it's players.
6 months is another kicker. You could do a few GSLs if you were to fly to Korean but at 1400 Diamond you wouldn't get far at all, If you were to play like crazy you may be as good as a "named foreigner" but not much better then that. Good luck in your decision regardless though I guess.
I just wanted to throw in a counter-argument for everyone saying "you have to born with it."
Malcom Gladwell wrote a boot titled The Outliers wherein "he makes the democratic assertion that superstars don't arise out of nowhere, propelled by genius and talent: "they are invariably the beneficiaries of hidden advantages and extraordinary opportunities and cultural legacies that allow them to learn and work hard and make sense of the world in ways others cannot." Examining the lives of outliers from Mozart to Bill Gates, he builds a convincing case for how successful people rise on a tide of advantages, "some deserved, some not, some earned, some just plain lucky.""
In it he says that most successful people weren't the prodigies people make them out to be. The creator of Java, for instance, was a biology major (or something like that) who lived in a dorm with a computer lab in it. Him and his buddies would often go in there and there was a 2 hour login limit. They found out that if you type "kk" at the end your password, you got unlimited time. After that he just spent hours upon hours playing on the computer and eventually creating Java.
Or Bill Gates, who had unlimited time on the computer because he was rich and his parents could afford it.
Or The Beatles. They had a gig at a bar in Germany that had them playing 5 hours a night every night all week. When they went back to Britain they had such a refined sound because the had played so much.
*Note: I do not claim to agree or disagree with Malcom Gladwell. I only thought it was an interesting piece of information which pertained to the subject.
On October 29 2010 05:37 Frits wrote: Tell your dad not to waste his money. I suck balls at sc2 and made diamond 1400 in like a day. Think of all the awesome stuff you can do with it instead. Put it in your savings.
On October 29 2010 05:27 ShaperofDreams wrote: You can do it! don't listen to all the fools in this thread who project their own insecurity on to you. If you are sponsored and you have time you can at least make a small splash in the pro scene. if you know how to practice well and if you have the least bit of talent you can become E-famous! Later you will wanna find some good practice partners not just ladder.
that is so cool good luck!
What does being insecure have to do with anything, that makes absolutely no sense.
read your post again?
oh noes a kid will spend a few months gaming with support with his family. such a waste, we never ever waste money.
I'd take the first couple months and evaluate where I stand, if you are to be a progamer you will see yourself move up the ranks fairly quickly, at which point you should decide how much potential you have to continue the next few months. Personally I'd probably try for a month, if I realized its not for me, I'd ask to have the money spent on the opportunity to live in korea for a few months to absorb the culture tehre fully, not just play video games.
Look at the money and realize it can be a life changing opportunity in the experience you will gain from it, not just from how much money you can make playing the game, because in the end it wont pay off, but a chance to experience the culture of korea, that is worth the money.
Although personally I'd go to Hong Kong, but thats me ^_^
just remember to keep in mind being a progamer isn't all super and amazing. like any career it definitely has drawbacks.
sure there are tons of fun aspects and getting to travel around but compared to other careers it's way less money and typically way more hours. majority of top players practice SOOOOOOOO much, more than a typical full time job. Obviously more fun than a full time job cuz ur playing a game instead of going to an office, but only the best of the best actually make good money. The rest put in tons of time with very little return. And even the best who are making good money have less time to enjoy it than if you were working a regular job.
of course time spent practicing varies a bit depending on the player or how much natural talent you might have (e.g Tyler) but ask any top player and they will tell you they spend quite a bit of time on it.
Thinking short term is fun but long term goals are really important too, if you drop things now for progaming endeavors would u have plans in place in case things don't work out?
edit: oh zlasher was posting at the same time as I was typing. The culture stuff is def another big plus that money can't really buy, you get to experience culture/make friends with people from all over the world. That's been one of my biggest advantages and I'm not even pro I've just been in the community for so long.
You don't need funding to get a start in this career. If you already get up at 4 to watch games, you can play more than you currently do. Every progamer out there got to where they are not by some kind of "angel" sponsor, but through many years if practice in between school and part time jobs. Why should you be different? I are just seeing yourself up for a bad relationship with your sponsor (family investment isn't something to walk into lightly) and the very real possibility of blowing a bunch of found money out the window. Don't take a dime until you think you could come up with a decent business case fir a traditional investor, like a bank... Otherwise, you are just taking advantage of your dad's emotional attachment to you. Thank him for the offer, but tell him that you need to improve the old fashioned way before you can take his money to go all out.
But if you want to try, why don't you just switch to a job with part time hours. You can probably cut back on a lot of living expenses and pay rent and have plenty of time to practice and improve before taking the next step.
I am sorry. I really can't see any reasonable parent who would agree to let his son do this. It's a very bad idea.
There are many studies which show that once extrinsic rewards are introduced (e.g. money) the tasks at hand becomes dull. What I am trying to say is that despite you having a regular practice schedule right now, your mileage may vary one year down the road.
Prac 10 hours a day and I can see you becoming a pro gamer. Ask your mom if you can stay at your dads for a week and then do 7 straight days of prac sc2 solo for 10 hours straight and see how you feel about it.
You're just working right now? If you dad is being totally cool about supporting you, what I say is just cut your hours back to part-time so you can still help-out with rent or whatever is necessary, but still devote full-time to the game. That way he hasn't invested a gigantic amount if you've decided it's not for you.
Definitely not a safe road, unless your dad's inheriting enough that a few years of you effectively doing nothing productive doesn't hurt. In which case, why the fuck not?
On October 29 2010 01:25 razorsuKe wrote: If you don't follow your passions, life becomes boring an full of regret.
i very strongly agree with what this guy is trying to say
and i very strongly disagree with the asshole who was like "lol all jokes aside, if you dont got talent you will suck".
just like in education, if you work hard enough, you -will- get what you want. people who have that thing they call 'talent" just don't have to put as much effort into it. so fuck that guy. do it. do it for me and everyone else like me who has always wanted to but couldn't, for whatever reason.
for me its because my mother is dead and my father is on the other side of the country, so i have to take care of my family. so fuck that ignorant faggot who said that you shouldn't do it because it won't be easy.
Most importantly do it for yourself, but also do it for the many of us that would love to, but haven't been given such an amazing opportunity. And of course, keep us posted as you progress. I demand weekly blogs.
On October 29 2010 01:27 ArbAttack wrote: All fun and good aside. You're going to have to realize talent is the deciding factor.
I believe in this. To become a pro (specially a renowned one) in any competitive field, you gotta have a gift, a natural talent, that allows you to things like beating easily players who have been playing for a longer time and working harder than you or climbing up in winrate/ladder/whatever should be used to measure a player's skill in less time than others. All of that in a ridiculous ratio.
Some people like myself will argue, that talent has nothing to do with it and that talent in general is a myth. Investigate the top pros of any sport, and look at the dedication and ferocity they put into their practice. It is more than anyone else in their sport.
Its wrong to think that I am not a pro tennis because I wasnt born with the talent for tennis. This seems like a weak personal excuse. I am not a pro tennis player because instead of practicing 6 hours a day, every day back when I played seriously, I only practiced for 2 hours 3/4 times a week.
While this was enough to be one of the top varsity players at my school, it is no where near enough to even consider going pro. Considering someone like Federer has practiced over 6 hours a day, almost every day, since he was extremely young old. Even among pro players, this is an absurd amount of dedication, that simply compounds over time, as in a single day, he practices more than I do in the entire week.
Talent by definition would mean they could get by and succeed by doing less work than other athletes. This is not the case. Flash was not born with a gift for SC, he put in an insane amount of work, and still puts in an insane amount of work every day to stay ahead of his opponents.
There are people who have better practice habits, as there is a difference between just playing and performing deliberate practice. Thus they get more out of less practice time, but this is not an inherent ability to Starcraft, rather a personal ability to buckle down and focus. I don't know if you can call a higher work ethic talent.
Yes well this the eternal discussion about talent vs hard work.
While accepting all what you said, I see it in this way (very simplized tho):
There are four stages: mediocre, good, very good, excel. Good would be an amateur with a superior winratio, Very good would be a mediocre pro and Excel, a famous pro.
For an untalented player: Mediocre -> lots of hard work -> Good -> a ridiculous and insane amount of hard work -> Very Good. After that, you're capped. You'll have to keep working constantly to not lower your level and not to be left behind. Someday you'll reach the spotlight, the Excel level, but go back in no time.
For a talented player: Good (your mediocre state would last for a negligible amount of time) -> lots of hard work -> Very Good -> a ridiculous and insane amount of hard work -> Excel
So basically the idea is: hard work may led you to proficiency, but never to mastery. That's the main reason why there aren't out there a massive amount of superstars in any field: because it's not something you can earn, but something you have to be given by nature.
Of course this is not (as far as I know) empirically proved thus your arguments could be valid. Maybe If you work in something with an incredible amount of effort, spending lots of time, having a solid faith, enjoying it, and you reach something like a conjunction between body mind and soul, you may become of the best without having that natural talent. But I don't know about that. Maybe I'm just too lazy to think that exceling in something can be achieved by just working as hard as almost no one ever did.
I'll just be lazy and stick to the activities that are related to my talents. I suggest the OP does the same. Seems the most intelligent idea to me.
On October 29 2010 07:36 avilo wrote: There are already people better than you, that are trying harder, and not making posts about it. I don't think you have much chance. Sorry for being negative, but just saying "im gonna be pro" doesn't make it so. Go ladder. Why do you need to tell everyone?
Just like in another carbon copy of these blog posts from a month or more ago, you already fell into a huge psychological trap.
To the people who don't believe him. This has been scientifically researched and proven.
I think asking a forum of a bunch of SC2 geeks a question like this was probably setting yourself up for these types of awnsers. I bet if you asked an older crowd they would tell you to go for it. There is really no reason not to if your father is giving you the money with no strings attached. The majority of these people responding are broke kids to college students and 3-5k to just stay home and play SC2 is a lot of money to them. To your father 3-5k may not be that much money, as it really wouldn't be to me either. I'd invest it in my son if it was something he wanted to try and not expect him to be famous but look at it more like giving money for a trip or long vacation.
Maybe the outcome is bad and he decides to move on with his life to get a career and remember the time that he tried. Maybe it's good and he becomes a progamer for a year or to and then decideds to move on with his life and get a career and remember the time that he was a progamer. Either way the outcome will eventually be the same.
I have a idea, why dont you use the money for coaching section. Not only it can make you improve faster, You can also ask all sort of question to those progamer during the lesson. your first goal should be in the top 200
On October 29 2010 14:37 Cedstick wrote: You're just working right now? If you dad is being totally cool about supporting you, what I say is just cut your hours back to part-time so you can still help-out with rent or whatever is necessary, but still devote full-time to the game. That way he hasn't invested a gigantic amount if you've decided it's not for you.
This sounds like the most reasonable advice.
Working a small job 20 hours a week would allow you to invest plenty of time in SC2 every day, and at the same time not lose touch with reality. (Just staying at home runs a HIGH risk of becoming lazy and not working hard enough on your SC2 goals. The more someone NEEDS to do in a day, the more they are ABLE to do!).
Definitely get a gosucoach, see what you can learn that way, and what they say about your talent/skills.
But definitely go for it!! You have to go for your dreams while you're still this young - not gonna be able to do it when you're 30 and with a family
And don't worry about your Mom ... she will not be happy, but she loves you and will come around ... eventually.
How balling is your dad gonna be? If money is no longer an issue in your life, you're set on going to finish school at some point, i don't think taking half a year off to explore this kind of path is that terrible of a thing. Just don't put all your eggs in this basket, like you said it really is a chance of a lifetime!
I would really recommend you to listen to the advice of KurtistheTurtle. It is good advice. I've done this twice before, once in bw and once in sc2. I followed a written schedule similar to the one KurtistheTurtle posted. I only did it for a week though, I didn't really have more time than that. But what I want to say is this:
IT HELPS A LOT!
Honestly, I think almost anyone can get really really good by following those steps. Of course, not everyone has what it takes to become a progamer, and that is very difficult to know beforehand unless you've already played a lot. But I do think ladder top 200 is quite an "easy" feat if you really put your heart into it like this.
Other than that, the most important advice I can give you in regards to my own experience is to really listen to your body. Take care of yourself and stay healthy. You should research a bit about computer ergonomics and set up your "work-station" accordingly.
I hope everything goes well, please give us some updates every now and then. I think it will be interesting to read about it regardless of whether you succeed or not.
EPT
