On January 17 2012 01:56 HyTex wrote:
This thread is a great example of why 99.9% of the fan base should never go pro.

You work 12 hours a day, 7 days a week for less than Federal Minimum Wage. Working at McDonald's is literally a better life than progaming, unless you're one of the 0.0001% of the populace that makes it to super-stardom.

What's the difference between esports and regular sports or entertainment industry then?
Just like those, esports industry is a seletive market, you can't guarantee what you can make and only a handful of people can make it out of thousands of people. There's nothing wrong with trying to go to your dream or something for a year or so, it's not like youth nowaday (around 20s) have big thing to do or great job that can change the world or something.

Chewbacca.

United States3634 Posts

January 16 2012 17:25 GMT

#404

The OP should probably be edited with the statement that Dragon is turning from progamer --> Working full time and playing casually.

CallousCarter

United Kingdom81 Posts

January 16 2012 17:26 GMT

#405

What is it about foreign teams that is attracting so many korean pros? The salary? It's a bit of an exodus at the moment...

voy

Poland348 Posts

January 16 2012 17:27 GMT

#406

Maybe SK Gaming gonna sign them, they could be lethal training with MC in the same house.

AnachronisticAnarchy

United States2957 Posts

January 16 2012 17:27 GMT

#407

This is a trend that probably needs stopping. A lot of these Koreans think they will get paid massive salaries on foreign teams and thus leave their fantastic Korean team.
Unfortunately, this is like sinking your own ship and waiting around for a luxury cruise ship to save you. It's not going to happen. They probably should lower their expectations but the best decision would have been to stay on their own teams.

Awatsu

173 Posts

January 16 2012 17:27 GMT

#408

Why this secretism about players salary?? sotg 60 or kennigit in this thread.
I'm not saying we must know how much does each player earn, but why the fuck xeris can't release info?

Noro

Canada991 Posts

January 16 2012 17:31 GMT

#409

Don't really know Golden, but love Dragon <3 Good luck!

BeginninG

United States3 Posts

January 16 2012 17:32 GMT

#410

Dragon stopped playing sc2 professionally??????

Xxavi

United States1248 Posts

January 16 2012 17:36 GMT

#411

I like when everything is transparent, including eSports. Why is it "too early to release that kind of information"? Is it an excuse for not being transparent? I am not going to say dirty or illegal, but if you were to consider SC2 to be sports and a job, and if they don't pay minimum wage, it might as well be illegal.

If anything, tax info, salaries etc. should be available for transparency reasons. Now, you might not make it official how much each player earns, but somebody has to know it, and people knowing the range doesn't hurt.

What Xeris did may not be seen as something good by those particular players (Sangho and Sleep) or Fnatic, but this kind of info should be official somewhere, even if fans don't know.

vnlegend

United States1389 Posts

January 16 2012 17:38 GMT

#412

Ya. Poor uninformed Koreans. They're gonna leave their teams and can't get into any decent paying foreign ones. Then they'll probably get low-balled and have to join some low-level team for a tiny salary. Then as their skills and confidence deteriorates, that's the end of their gaming career.

Telcontar

United Kingdom16710 Posts

January 16 2012 17:40 GMT

#413

Was Dragon ever on the team? I though he was just part of the clan? I also thought he didn't really participate in any tournaments was more of a streamer than a pro. Anyways, good luck to both.

Kmonx

United States102 Posts

January 16 2012 17:43 GMT

#414

Best of luck to the both of them.

jax1492

United States1632 Posts

January 16 2012 17:43 GMT

#415

wow ... i was expencting dragon to move into the slayers house soon, hope he gets a new team.

dementrio

678 Posts

January 16 2012 17:43 GMT

#416

it's not as easy as saying "try it out for 1 year, if it doesn't work out it's not that hard to go back to school"

After graduating I spent 2 years playing poker as a professional. Then I decided I wasn't good enough and started looking for a real job.

I have a degree with honors in engineering. With that, I spent 1 year unemployed and actively looking for a job. The one I ended up accepting is nowhere near as good as a job you'd expect to get with straight As in engineering. A two year hole in your resume is huge.

If you spend a few years doing something unmarketable, when looking for a job you will be competing against people with a few years more experience than you, all else being equal.

Of course it's perfectly reasonable to argue that 2 years is not that big of a deal, if you don't live the dream when you're 20 when will you? but unfortunately, that's not the way the world works.

Xxavi

United States1248 Posts

January 16 2012 17:44 GMT

#417

On January 17 2012 02:38 vnlegend wrote:
Ya. Poor uninformed Koreans. They're gonna leave their teams and can't get into any decent paying foreign ones. Then they'll probably get low-balled and have to join some low-level team for a tiny salary. Then as their skills and confidence deteriorates, that's the end of their gaming career.

Agree with this, too.

These Korean kids better talk to some others who have made this mistake before. Talk and learn what are the conditions before making a mistake. In fact, it's best if they negotiate conditions and contract before leaving their current teams.

atmuh

United States246 Posts

January 16 2012 17:46 GMT

#418

On January 17 2012 02:22 canikizu wrote:

Show nested quote +

theres a minimum pay in most professional sports that is a very good salary and the players go to college for something else while playing so if they dont make it into the pros they already have the means to take their career in a different direction

colate

Norway121 Posts

January 16 2012 17:50 GMT

#419

As many people have pointed out, some koreans are just expecting too much. The grass won't be greener on the other side if they just want to cross it. They haven't achieved anything, at all. I wouldn't count teamleagues at all. If they're not Code A atleast, I dont see foreigners invest in a korean (I know there are some exceptions like DRG tearing GSTL apart when he was Code B, and HerO on oGs)

Steelo_Rivers

United States1968 Posts

January 16 2012 17:51 GMT

#420

On January 17 2012 02:12 Xalorian wrote:

Show nested quote +

I don't think that any one going pro (someone that have the skill to do it, not someone who just dream to and is like plat) is doing it to earn a shit ton of money. That would be retarded. We pretty much all know that this is not paid that well. Still, most people who aim for that are doing it to earn a living from what they like the most.

If you don't "love" to go to tournamenet, to play, to train, to compete... if it's a "job" for you, and not a hobby that you are actually so good that you are paid to do it, to entertain people with you skills, then obviously don't go pro.

And it's not that hard to go back to school if you are 18-21 and pro-gaming is not working that well for you.

Funny thing is... Im 18, Ive worked at mcdonalds (I hated it..), Im in plat league, and I train everyday for long hours with hopes of becoming a progamer soon. I guess I should find a gun and shoot myself right?