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Hi guys,
Some of you might remember me; I was a zerg pro in Heart of the Swarm back in the day from around 2013 to sometime in 2015.
I just recently read a great blog post by Rain here: http://www.teamliquid.net/blogs/531962-6-years-after-retirement. I really recommend reading it as it gives a great insight into some of the issues a progamer faces after retirement. After reading his blog, I figured that I would give a different perspective into the life of a retired progamer that is in no way meant to discredit his experiences or challenges.
It was my dream to be a progamer back when I started playing SC2 in 2010 and discovered the professional scene through TeamLiquid. I achieved this goal in 2013 when I won the very first ShoutCraft tournament and joined a professional team. I decided to take two years off my schooling and pursue my dream full-time.
Long story short, I was overall unhappy with my results in those 2 years. However, I made new friends from all over the world, saved up some money, and got to travel to tons of new places. After two years, I decided that the best option for my future (financially and mentally) would be to return to school and finish my degree.
Don't get me wrong; I loved progaming. I loved the competitiveness and the failures and the small successes that I experienced. But it's so much easier now. I don't have to worry travelling for 24 hours to stay in a shitty little hotel for the weekend and bomb out of my next tournament. I don't have to worry about the financial limitations that progaming offers and, if I don't make it big, how I'm going to find a job with no education and no real work experience.
I might sound like I'm judging those who are busting their asses to make it in this scene, but I'm not. In fact, I admire each and every one of them because I know how grueling it can be. All I'm trying to say is... life is way easier for me now. I'm not stressed anymore. I've gotten my bachelor degree and am looking to pursue my masters degree, I'm working full-time, and I've recently moved in with my girlfriend. Things are great.
I'm going to repeat this because it's important. I am not trying to discredit Rain or anything because I know how difficult those choices can be. The point of this post is just to show that everyone has different experiences after progaming.
By the way, I started playing SC2 again casually and LotV is so much fun!
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Given your experience, what is the difference between people like you who eventually gave up the dream, and those that stick with it? What is the difference between the best of the best and those that never make it?
On this forum we hear tons of things about discipline, motivation, etc. but I think your blog demonstrates that there must be some other underlying differences involved - ones that made it so that the downsides of progaming, as you listed them, urged you to quit while for others who are surely cognizant of these things, it did not.
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United States33479 Posts
Great to hear that life after esports has worked out well!
I have to wonder how you look back at your progamer days, though. Are you totally at peace with how your SC2 career went, in terms of competitive results? Any lingering regrets like 'man, I could have done a bit better...'?
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Do you think the reason so many people trying to make it work as a pro gamer don't last long or aren't very healthy is because we dont have a society where its a very common/ profitable thing? It dosent seem like its a profession that people can "dabble" in and make decent money, to really make enough money to support yourself healthily(let alone a family) you have to be committed to it, with constant streaming, practice for often really small rewards. Just a thought I had after seeing alot of stories of people who don't make it or aren't really happy being a pro gamer
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I am suprised to read that two years real work experience trump two years of traveling and pursuing one of the most competitive fields there is. I don't think this should hold your career back if you manage to communicate it well.
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On March 14 2018 16:33 Jealous wrote:
Given your experience, what is the difference between people like you who eventually gave up the dream, and those that stick with it? What is the difference between the best of the best and those that never make it?
On this forum we hear tons of things about discipline, motivation, etc. but I think your blog demonstrates that there must be some other underlying differences involved - ones that made it so that the downsides of progaming, as you listed them, urged you to quit while for others who are surely cognizant of these things, it did not.
That's a tough question. Right now it's such a hard thing to make a long-term career out of professional gaming. Even if you are dominant for a couple years, it's not enough money to bank on for the rest of your life. I think creating a career out of progaming can be done, but I just didn't see it happening for me.
In addition, I was almost done my education in an area that yields quite a few career possibilities. I knew that all I needed was one or two more years before I could start working full-time. A lot of these kids drop out of university earlier or even drop out of high school. I imagine for them it's a much tougher choice to go back to school.
On March 15 2018 06:49 Waxangel wrote:
Great to hear that life after esports has worked out well!
I have to wonder how you look back at your progamer days, though. Are you totally at peace with how your SC2 career went, in terms of competitive results? Any lingering regrets like 'man, I could have done a bit better...'?
Absolutely. I wish I could have done better, but I don't think I could have done better. I honestly gave it all I could and practiced my ass off. I know that I did all I could, but I still wish I would have done better, and I wish it would have been possible to give it a couple more years as I was actually starting to get some good results right before I retired.
On March 15 2018 08:36 Gorgonoth wrote:
Do you think the reason so many people trying to make it work as a pro gamer don't last long or aren't very healthy is because we dont have a society where its a very common/ profitable thing? It dosent seem like its a profession that people can "dabble" in and make decent money, to really make enough money to support yourself healthily(let alone a family) you have to be committed to it, with constant streaming, practice for often really small rewards. Just a thought I had after seeing alot of stories of people who don't make it or aren't really happy being a pro gamer
I'll give you an example. Nowhere on my resume does it say that I was a professional gamer for two years. Very few employers are going to look at that and see it as valuable work experience. It's interesting and fun, but unless you know a bit about it (which tons of people don't), it's more of a novelty more than anything. It's not profitable for the majority of people and doesn't offer many career opportunities.
On March 15 2018 08:53 JWD[9] wrote:I am suprised to read that two years trump two years of traveling and pursuing one of the most competitive fields there is. I don't think this should hold your career back if you manage to communicate it well.
It would take a gifted person to communicate that well in a 20 minute job interview. I'm not saying it's impossible, but it requires some knowledge of Starcraft and competitive gaming that could easily be seen as a digression in a professional interview.
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nice to see that you're doing well and can still annihilate everyone on ladder ... especially me :'(
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Nice to see you still Kane, I remember you during the time you were a top Zerg, glad to see you are doing well! Keep up the good work, we played a few times back in the day, ZvZ was always fun =P
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I disagree, given equal candidates and that's the difference, I'd hire that person knowing what it takes to be a pro gamer. Also, not that I'm any good but I used to put "masters Zerg" in my resume, the hell with the eye rolls haha.
GL man, it was fun to play with you and against you in the Red Bull Pro Am event in DC.
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EPT
