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This is my first blog and I am not a frequent visitor of this subforum, so I hope it turns out okay!
Often times, players will ask "Can I go pro?", or "Is going pro an option?" and the responses are mostly the same - "keep playing starcraft as a hobby, because going pro is most likely not an option until you are a top player, until you are top 5 GM, until you are able to compete with some of the best, etc. etc." Well, I am the product of such a response. I have done exactly that and here I am today asking the same question that I began with some years ago.
For those of you who don't know me, I am a 20 year old semi-pro starcraft player from Manitoba, Canada that goes by the handle "Kane". I began playing Starcraft when Wings was first released; before that I had never heard of RTS games, let alone broodwar, so it was an entirely new experience for me. As I continued to play and learn about the intricacies of the game, I fell in love with it. Over the past few years, I have become more passionate for this game than I could have ever imagined. This passion has helped me stay motivated and eager to practice in order to become the best player that I can be.
That's all fine and dandy, but I am also a full-time student that will be entering my final year of my undergrad (major in math minor in philosophy) in September. I've always earned really good grades, and scholarships have helped greatly with tuition. However, especially in the past year, I have found that my passion for Starcraft and my desire to be the best I can be has interfered with my studies to a certain degree. At the end of a day of classes I just want to go home and practice despite the homework that awaits. In fact, I would go so far as to say that Starcraft has become a higher priority than my studies at this point. As I write this, I have just finished my final essay for the term (and the year) just a couple hours ago. I haven't received my grades back for any of my classes yet, but i know that I will have done fairly well, but not as well as I could have done if my first priority was school and I was fully dedicated to my studies.
At this point in my life, I feel like I must decide between one of three options:
1) Take a couple years off of school and have a go at professional Starcraft, and after that return to finish my undergrad and pursue further education.
2) Finish my undergrad and then take a couple years off school for Starcraft, with the potential to return to school to pursue further education.
or
3) Continue to play Starcraft only as a hobby, finish school, and get a job in the "real world".
I will now state my thoughts, reasoning, and concerns related to each choice
1)
This past year in school I know I did not do nearly as well as I could have. Starcraft was a huge "distraction" from my studies, yet it is a distraction that I do not regret. Although I have earned decent grades, I feel like there is little point in returning to finish my last year if I'm going to put a half-ass effort into it because I'm constantly playing, or wanting to play, Starcraft. However, my concerns lie mostly in the financial viability of such a decision. I have no problem with taking a couple years off of school because my parents have always emphasized that I should live life while I'm still young, and pursue what I love. But at the same time, I don't want to blow all my savings if I do end up taking some time off of school; I want to at least earn some money. Between streaming and coaching and possibly some help from my lovely team ROOT gaming, it is possible that I could make it financially viable. Nevertheless, it is a risk.
2)
As I have stated previously, I have difficulty in seeing the point of returning to school if I do not fully devote myself to my studies. The one advantage I do see is that then I will be completely done with my undergrad and do not have to worry about returning to finish that portion of my education. One might suggest that I completely drop starcraft for my final year and then return to playing after that, but I am unwilling to do so. Starcraft is a passion of mine, and I strongly believe that, at this point in my life it is part of who I am. I may be completely mistaken in this sentiment, but I find it extremely unlikely that I could drop the game just like that.
3)
My final option is one that I think most people who don't play Starcraft or understand the devotion and time that people put into this game would choose. I feel like Starcraft is a bug in my system, and until I give progaming a shot I will never get it out of me. If I don't pursue this opportunity that I have put so much time into, (practicing, learning, etc.) then I feel as if I will always ask myself "what could have been?" Therefore, I am reluctant to choose this option, because I feel as though Starcraft has something to offer me, I'm just not sure what yet. In other words, I want to at least give progaming a shot before I give it up.
So, what do I do? Perhaps my desires are naive, and perhaps my dreams will never become a reality. But I am hopeful this is not the case. I am not dumb; I know that esports will not make me rich. But this is what I'm passionate about. This is what I have poured countless hours into, this is what I love. Simply the act of getting my thoughts out on "paper" has helped me to some degree, but I would also like your opinion. What do you think?
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Go. Pro.
You can do it Sam. 110% Support from me and I can say for the rest of your fans as well!
Sam / Kane 화이팅 ^^
EDIT ADDITION:
You'll always fail if you don't try.
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On April 21 2013 13:22 Nooborghini wrote:
Go. Pro.
You can do it Sam. 110% Support from me and I can say for the rest of your fans as well!
Sam / Kane 화이팅 ^^
Thanks bud. Like I said though, I worry a lot about how I could support myself financially going pro.
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Ask yourself this question:
Assume that you are going to have the worst pro-gaming career ever. You get 2-0'd or 3-0'd out of every tournament you go to and you simply cannot keep up at all. Would you regret it? If you wouldn't regret it, if you would enjoy the experience, the traveling, the friends, etc. then definitely give pro-gaming a go!
On the other hand, if you would regret it if you never accomplished anything, then you should think over the issue more. Perhaps you could still go into pro-gaming, but give yourself more safety nets. Maybe study/play at the same time, or finish undergrad first, etc.
Of course, I say you should do these things without an inkling of wisdom or experience to back it up. It's your life, do what you want with it! :D
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On April 21 2013 13:25 ROOTKane wrote:Show nested quote +On April 21 2013 13:22 Nooborghini wrote:
Go. Pro.
You can do it Sam. 110% Support from me and I can say for the rest of your fans as well!
Sam / Kane 화이팅 ^^ Thanks bud. Like I said though, I worry a lot about how I could support myself financially going pro.
It's hard, I'm trying to support mine as well as my parents.
You'd have to plan it out for sure, to make sure you give yourself enough time so when the time runs out, you are satisfied with the time you invested and said that you gave 110% and it failed.
We can only give you great reasons for both sides but in the end, its how you feel.
If you are anything like me, giving 100% isn't enough, 110% and if I failed... then I'd call it a day.
It'd be much easier if you find a roommate with the same drive as you, live together and share the expenses of living.
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My opinion: option 3 is the best, but if your feeling like you will burn out of the real world if you pick it, option 2. Option 1 and Option 2 imo are not good because if you are on the low end of foreigner pros you will have a difficult time of making it big and supporting yourself. You may eventually get to the skill level where you can trade evenly with some koreans and you get on a big money team and you get to experience traveling to a few cities worldwide. But none of that makes up for the fact that you are honestly wasting 2-3 years of your very short life to play a game which is incredibly difficult to find success in. You would be prolonging your career and when you start working a 'real' job you will be kicking yourself because you'll probably start wanting more real world things like a house or to support a family and you will wish you had not wasted time on a game. However, playing this game at a professional level would be an honor as very few people can compete at a standard that lets them support themselves. If you do decide to take option 1, look at TLO. He has spent 1-2 months figuring out how to perfect his enviroment to train at his peak. He exercises, he eats well, he manages his time and schedules his practice. He works on his psychological performance. If you take option 1 and you do not follow his example not only are you living a risky lifestyle but you are throwing away all chances you have at getting success. Work extremely hard no matter what you do because whatever you do you want to succeed 100%.
Edit: Consider who lives using option 2: suppy. He has success and is on a big name team without being full time. Just a thought.
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Considering you only have a year left, I highly recommend finishing the final year.
SC2 is not exactly an easy thing to do at the moment. Top 8 placements in a tournament are not necessarily a success financially considering prize money is extremely top heavy. In the end, it is your decision Kane.
As a final word you've improved immensely since the first time we met when you were mid masters not long ago, you've come a long way in SC2 since that point unlike myself who has stagnated heavily and lost my motivation.
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If you can figure out a way to support yourself decently then take a year and go for it. This wouldn't even be a bad career move, I guarantee that most employers will think it's pretty cool that you made a living playing a video game. As a former Winnipeger (now in Calgary) I would definitely cheer for you.
edit: Would also buy you dinner/drinks next time I'm back there
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go pro, you'll regret it forever if you don't
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Finish your undergrad, even if it takes you longer.
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3 definitely. The money just isn't there, just keep it as a fun hobby you're really passionate about/good at.
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On April 21 2013 14:19 Scarecrow wrote:
3 definitely. The money just isn't there, just keep it as a fun hobby you're really passionate about/good at.
Because money is definitely the only thing anyone should consider whenever making any decision
You may never have the opportunity to be a full time SC2 player ever again while you will have the opportunity to go out and get a job for the rest of your life.
I'd say go with what you want to do regardless if it's the best decision you can make or not.
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The biggest risk is not taking one.
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At 20 years old you should be prioritizing your real career far over Starcraft. Sure you might regret not pursuing progaming. But how much more will you regret becoming a progamer when you realize, months or years after living in a progaming house, that you have no money, no assets, and diminished employability? Will you even be able to support yourself without welfare once you leave progaming? On top of that, the overwhelming majority of progamers never have any real success, tournaments or winnings-wise, its not realistic to think of yourself as the exception.
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Tbh I don't see how this is much different from the all the other "should I go pro" blogs that come up once a month. Perhaps you are a little closer to that goal than some of the others, but I don't think by much. The reality is you can probably count the number of "successful" NA pros on two hands, maybe even one. And by successful, I mean are financial stable and have something that resembles a future career. And that is being generous.
I'll tell you the same thing I tell the other people: don't do it. The odds are terrible, and the reward isn't that great even if you beat the odds. The biggest problem is that if you don't make it, turning around and finishing school or w/e it is, is not easy to do. People ask "what have you done for the past few years" (employers, people who interview you for programs, etc.). How you do think you'll sound when you say "I've been playing a video game 8 hours a day." However you want to phrase it, it will be bad. You can't get the time you spend on it back; it is gone forever. And the worst part about it is that time is not spent building up to something, it is essentially wasted time.
If you want anything that resembles a "normal" life in NA culture, don't do it.
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you are young and it's not like you are drinking and wasting your life away.
Your major and minor are really highly regarded by lots of companies in different positions even if they didn't specifically point out they want maths/philo major.
It's a life experience that you don't really have another chance/time to do so.
I am not sure which option is better for you, but I personally think going for one year pro to test it out would be worth it.
it's popular for people to take a gap year before going for uni anyway, you can see it as a late gap year for yourself.
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If you have 1 year if undergrad left finish it. That's what I would do and play sc2. IMO that's the best thing.
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What's the timeline for the ROOT house? If it's opening up soon enough, then I feel like the best thing to do is take time off, move into the house, and practice fulltime. I don't know how much coaching you get, but if you keep streaming and start playing fulltime, I think you'd get enough income to at worst break even financially.
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On April 21 2013 15:25 blade55555 wrote:
If you have 1 year if undergrad left finish it. That's what I would do and play sc2. IMO that's the best thing.
Agreed.
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EPT
