Post-95 professional e-sportsman： a life changed by games
On the evening of April 29th, outside a shopping mall in Shaoxing, Zhejiang Province, players took part in the first the glory of the king Mobile Games Competition in Shaoxing. It is understood that more than 100 teams participated in this competition. Photo courtesy of vision china
As a national MOBA (multiplayer online tactical competition — — Reporter’s Note) Mobile Games, the glory of the king has set off a national carnival. According to the data shared by Ma Xiaoyi, vice president of Tencent, the number of users in the glory of the king exceeds 300 million, and there are more than 50 million active users every day.
Many stars are not immune to customs. Yang Mi, Angelababy, Michael Chen, Fox Xia and Karry are all die-hard fans of the glory of the king, and from time to time they have to "open the black" and then show off their achievements in the circle of friends. Papi sauce also joined the army of players in a trendy boat, and made a special talk show to spit out the glory of the king’s experience of playing for a month. "You won by yourself, but you lost by your teammates.".
As a game, the glory of the king has become a social way of entertainment and relaxation among friends, while as a profession, e-sports players who seem to be "kings" have unknown sadness.
From moving bricks to playing professional games, people are becoming more and more confident.
God Man (the glory of the king ID) is a post-95 generation who just turned 20 this year. Although I only graduated from junior high school, I am already the main force of the championship professional team of the glory of the king Professional League (KPL), and I have my own fan support group. Just like a star, it is easy to open a live game with tens of thousands of viewers.
In March 2017, the KPL Spring Tournament started. AS the former king, As Xiange Club, where Shennan worked, needs to accept new challenges from various teams. Today, the competition has been carried out for more than half. Although AS Xiange temporarily ranked sixth with a record of 7 wins and 9 losses, at the scene of the competition, the shouts of fans "Come on Xiange, Xiange will win" are still one after another. Front-row fans with fluorescent boards held high the publicity photos of the team members, and spelled with fluorescent lights "Come on, God is invincible" … …
The game has completely changed the life track of Shennan.
Shennan was born in the countryside of Hepu County, Beihai City, Guangxi Province. Apart from the money earned by his elderly father moving bricks on the construction site, the old sow raised at home is the economic source of the whole family. He also has two sisters and a younger brother. As the eldest son, he needs to bear the main responsibility of the family.
Shennan went out to work after finishing junior high school. He hoped to earn money to supplement his family and let his younger brother finish reading the book. At that year, the 16-year-old Shen Nan was underage and could not go to work in a regular factory or company. He had to come to a construction site and work as a brick mover. A body weighing less than 100 pounds shuttles through the loess construction site every day, and the wages are sent to the family. God saved money and bought a computer a few months later.
Shennan told China Youth Daily and Zhongqing Online reporter that games are his biggest hobby. He has been playing since primary school, from Warcraft to crossing the line of fire, from Dream of the Three Kingdoms to the glory of the king. "I have played almost all the games that cost nothing, which is a typical Internet addiction teenager."
In 2015, Shennan came to Shenzhen and settled in a Shaxian snack bar, which is similar to Shaxian snacks all over the country, with a menu hanging on the wall, selling a bowl of American ginseng black-bone chicken soup from 8 yuan and a rice covered with shredded pork with pepper from 12 yuan. His salary is more than 1600 yuan per month, including food and shelter.
Every day, the meal is the busiest time in the store, and it is also the time when he talks the most in a day. He mechanically places food orders, serves food and checks out, cooks noodles and fried noodles, and it is the same every day. "Boredom" is the first adjective that Shennan thinks of when he recalls that time. When there is no one in the shop, Shennan will play games to kill time.
The glory of the king just opened his clothes in 2015, which was the most boring time for Shennan in Shaxian snack. There were no other peers in the store, so the game became his best companion. "I feel happy only when I play games." Shennan said.
In order to get a better ranking in the division, Shennan often stays up until dawn and then goes to work directly. "If you want to be more powerful, you have to make more efforts. The higher the ranking, the more popular and respected it is." Shennan admits that with the promotion to the first place in the division, he feels that he is different and more confident.
God man gradually became obsessed with the glory of the king, and then simply quit his job and started to practice. 5 yuan has a star, and the star is an integral system, and each level is clearly marked. Shennan rented a cabin in 400 yuan every month and opened the Internet. During that time, he stayed at home. Except for eating and sleeping, his eyes never left his mobile phone. Sometimes he ordered a takeaway meal within 10 yuan one day. Then keep practicing skills and hand speed until you are selected by the Xiange team.
When the game becomes work, the sense of entertainment disappears.
After joining the team, God Man’s day began at noon. Start training with your mobile phone at noon every day until one o’clock in the morning, and then play until two or three o’clock in the middle of the night to keep a good feel. Make up sleep in the morning and cycle again the next day.
However, his salary has changed from 1,600 yuan in Shaxian snack to 6,000 yuan now. Live games and competitions will give him more income. "Finally, I don’t have to worry about money. Except for the necessary expenses, I will send it to my family. The family needs money more." Shennan is satisfied with his present income.
"On average, I have to play for more than 12 hours a day. It is completely mental work, and I often have headaches, eye pains and finger pains. There is no rest day and no private time for game training. The whole team lives in the base, which is actually much harder than going to work, especially tired. " Shennan admits that when the game becomes a job, the sense of entertainment disappears.
Uninterrupted training made Shennan’s girlfriend in Shenzhen choose to break up. God male wry smile way, playing e-sports is can’t find a girlfriend.
The glory of the king ID, the teammate of Shennan, has a girlfriend who has been in contact for a long time, and has not seen each other for a long time. He only gets up at 10 o’clock to do the live game task before connecting with his girlfriend for interactive love.
Wu Xun was born in 1995, and joined the club when it was just established. At that time, he was still a freshman. Because of his good performance in online competition, he persuaded his parents to drop out of school and became a professional player with the dream of winning the game.
The difficulties in the early days of the club’s establishment are still fresh in Nontrace’s memory, because the funds are tight and the players have to make up some expenses themselves. When they went to Shanghai to play a game, they rented a house in a remote suburb. A dozen people were divided into bunk beds and squeezed into a room, "just like a humble abode", and they were also rented by the police as a group. It takes more than two hours to get to the stadium from the residence. In order to save money, several people pooled a subway ticket to get in. Due to the lack of income, a group of people gather together to eat instant noodles. On average, the daily meal fee per person is less than that in 10 yuan.
"It depends on dreams to persist." Non-trace said that it was really hard during the game. At night, I discussed and studied tactics until three or four in the morning. I went to play the game during the day the next day and then held a summary meeting when I came back at night. There was no rest time at all, and when he couldn’t bear it, he took a half-day off and fell asleep.
Traceless told reporters that there is no human feelings in the game circle, and it is completely the survival of the fittest, relying on strength to speak. With the update of the version, you need to constantly "update". If you can’t keep up with others, you may be kicked out. Non-trace was almost optimized out. In order not to be thrown out, he practiced hard for several days in private and hardly had any rest.
I feel lucky to be able to turn what I like into a career. Although being a professional player is black and white, it is very hard and stressful, but it can get a good income. Because I joined the club earlier and have strong ability, I can earn tens of thousands of yuan every month. Wuji just wants to make himself stronger and win more championships in the game, but he hasn’t considered his future life.
The same is true of Shennan, who is still confused about his future life and just wants to win the championship next season. Last year, the champion team of KPL won a bonus of 800,000 yuan. If they win the championship again this season, they will also get a share of the bonus. "I hope to make more money, let my brothers and sisters live better, and let my parents who have worked hard all their lives have a happy old age." God man is glad that he can be found in the crowd, otherwise he might still be a waiter in a small shop.
But they all know the cruelty of game competition, and everyone is working hard for the dream of champion, because it is also directly proportional to their reputation and income. They clearly remember what the coach once said: "If there is no result, even breathing is wrong." The champion’s scenery will not last forever.