Is Becoming A Gamer A Viable Career In Singapore?

Drop your mouse and read your books! How many times have you heard that gaming has no future? I have to admit! A career in gaming was once viewed as an impossible feat in Asia. Once seen as a way to pass time or to socialize with friends, gaming has exploded into a legitimate sport nowadays. Times have changed.

eSports prevalence has been massive! Dota 2, a wildly popular game in eSports, has a price pool of over US$20 million (or S$27 million). Furthermore, the 2022 Asian Games included eSports in its categories. Lastly, the global eSports market is predicted to hit US$1.5 billion (or S$2 billion) in a few years time. The demand for gaming professionals encouraged some Singaporeans to launch an educational programme dedicated to this platform.

DIPLOMA IN GAMING

Informatics Academy in collaboration with Cybersports and Online Gaming Association, has recently launched a diploma programme suited for aspiring professional gamer. This programme aims to equip students with skills in eSports knowledge, live-streaming of tournaments, game design theories, programming, team management, and game development. The modules will last up to 8 months for full-timers and 12 months for part-timers.

Requirements include a minimum of two A levels, an International Baccalaureate diploma or other equivalent pre-university qualifications, and being at least 18 years of age. School fees are about S$6,480 for local students.

AVERAGE SALARIES

Much like any other sports, salaries in eSports vary per organization and per player. The significant lack of transparency in this platform makes it challenging to determine what constitutes as fair compensation.

According to Riot, a professional eSports organization, each player must be paid a minimum of US$12,500 (about S$17,000) for the 28-match season. Many players are compensated at a higher rate than this! A five-person team’s winnings could range from S$2,700 to S$13,600 per player in the playoffs alone. Carlos “Ocelote” Rodriguez, a League of Legends team captain, makes close to a million a year! Can you see the financial variety?

Image Credits: pixabay.com

RISKS OF GAMING

With impressively attractive tournament prizes, it is possible to craft a misconception that one can easily become rich by playing video games. Reality check! No game can last forever. Furthermore, live-streaming is a utterly competitive scene. Only a few of the best shall prevail.

Yes! A professional career in eSports is viable given that you are one of the best at a particular game in a global scope. You may consider committing to a game part-time first, while managing your other priorities (e.g., day job or family time). Best of luck!

Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4, & 5

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You’d Be Surprise At How Much Professional E-Sports Players Make

Playing video games or online games is now recognized as a sport. Better known as E-sports, the professional players are earning from their passion and are making more than you may think.

The “e-Sports Earnings” has ranked the 100 players with the highest overall earnings from competitive gaming without taking sponsorships or streaming income into account.

In this list of 12 Highest Earning E-Sports Professional Players, games such as DotA 2 (Defense of the Ancients), StarCraft, and WarCraft are the ones on top.

Defense of the Ancients 2 (DotA 2) is a multiplayer online game that is an expansion for Warcraft III. StarCraft, on the other hand, is a science fiction real-time strategy video game developed by Blizzard Entertainment and released for Microsoft Windows. Many critics have lauded the game to be one of the best video games of all time.

Lastly, WarCraft is a real-time strategy game where players command virtual armies against each other.

Isn’t it amazing doing something you love everyday and get paid for it? Truly, being a professional player is a dream of many teenagers today. On that note, here are the 12 Highest Earning E-Sports Professional Players

12. Jang, Jae Ho (Moon)
Korea’s Jae Ho has proven to be unstoppable at WarCraft III with a total earning of $461,590.68.

11. Jang, Min Chul (MC)

One of the top StarCraft II players in the world, Korea’s MC has made $490,772.98 by regularly placing in tournaments of all sizes since 2010.

10. Lee, Young Ho (Flash)

Another successful Starcraft player from Korea is Flash. He has made about $495,091.53 from StarCraft: Brood War and StarCraft II.

Image Credits: włodi via Flickr

Image Credits: włodi via Flickr

9. Lee, Jae Dong (Jaedong)

Jaedong, from Korea, has been making a huge pool of money ($569,616.64) by playing StarCraft: Brood War before moving on to StarCraft 2 in 2012.

8. Oleksandr Dashkevych (XBOCT)

Finally deviating from StarCraft and Koreans, Ukraine’s DotA 2 champion XBOCT has been bringing home about $591,943.76 since playing in 2011.

7. Danil Ishutin (Dendi)

Another successful fellow from Ukraine is Dendi. He has earned about $594,889.85 and has proven to be one of the world’s most threatening DotA 2 players.

6. Clement Ivanov (Puppey)

Puppey from Estonia has earned approximately $612,296.75 from competitively playing at DotA 2 tournaments.

5. Zhang, Ning (xiao8)

Ning from China has earned $1,102,698.15 that is hugely because of their recent DotA 2 international tournament win.

4. Zhang, Pan (Mu)

Hailing from China, Mu has earned about $1,168,495.86 from the world famous game called DotA 2.

3. Wang, Zhaohui (SanSheng)

SanSheng is also a pro DotA 2 millionaire from China. He has earned about $1,179,959.08.

2. Jiao, Wang (Banana)

Jiao, Wang has earned about $1,185,934.87 by being a power fist at DotA 2 tournaments.

1. Chen, Zhihao

You guessed it! Also a DotA 2 player from China, Zhihao or “Hao” has earned a huge sum of money by playing his passion. He has earned a total of $1,198,585.88.

Image Credits: dfactory via Flickr

Image Credits: dfactory via Flickr

Sources: Wikipedia and e-Sports Earnings

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