A high-school dropout dubbed the “Michael Jordan of e-sports” has helped make South Korea a major power in video gaming — and is now leading its push to be recognized by the mainstream.
The bespectacled, floppy-fringed “Faker,” whose real name is Lee Sang-hyeok, is the world’s top League of Legends gamer and enjoys similar fame and fortune to top basketball or baseball players in South Korea.
Faker, 22, is to be one of the biggest stars at next month’s regional Olympics, the quadrennial Asian Games in Indonesia, where e-sports are to be held as a demonstration event for the first time.
Photo: AFP
It marks a step forward in gaming’s efforts to be considered a genuine sport, possibly even gaining a slot at the Olympics.
South Korea enjoys ultra-fast broadband and a vibrant Internet culture, and Internet cafes armed with high-end computers catering to school-age gamers can be found on many street corners.
“E-sports player” consistently ranks among children’s most popular future jobs, coming eighth in a South Korean Ministry of Education survey of elementary-school pupils last year — higher than “scientist.”
Faker started playing video games in elementary school and excelled at League of Legends.
As he climbed the online rankings, speculation mounted about his identity, and he formed a team with friends to compete at amateur tournaments.
He dropped out of high school after being offered a job as a professional, making his debut in 2013 and thrashing top players as he made his way to stardom.
South Korea’s e-sports scene is reminiscent of Germany’s soccer culture, with grassroot talents nurtured from a young age, some of them making their way to amateur leagues and professional teams.
Many leading firms have their own e-sports teams, with Faker believed to be paid at least 3 billion won (US$2.64 million) a year by his sponsor, SK Telecom.
“This is a country where e-sports has been fully embraced as a type of sport among youth, and even college sports championships have e-sport events,” Korea e-Sports Association secretary-general Kim Cheol-hag said.
Last year, e-sports was ranked the third most-popular sport among South Koreans aged 15 to 29 after soccer and baseball, a survey by Nielsen Korea showed.
Multiple TV channels are dedicated to broadcasting competitions, held at large soccer stadiums to roars from tens of thousands of fans, or sleek special arenas designed to showcase the games.
“Playing games became a full-time career in the South in the mid-2000s, when many pro e-sports teams were established ahead of other countries,” Kim said.
With 25 million players — half the population — South Korea is the world’s sixth-biggest video game market.
However, many South Korean players and coaches have been hired to work for top teams around the world, including China and the US — e-sports’ two biggest markets.
“Now the US and China have the same systems and have caught up with us, but we have know-how and culture that has been accumulated for decades helping us stay at the top of the game,” Kim said.
Teenagers hoping to become professional players — or popular among their game-crazed peers — flock to a growing number of private, after-hours schools coaching them how to play video games better.
A typical “game academy” features a rows of teenagers or men in their 20s playing Overwatch or League of Legends, with a coach — usually a former pro — watching their performances and suggesting better moves.
“If you become a good gamer, it can improve your social standing and help you make more friends,” game academy student Kim Han-eol told Seoul’s YTN news channel.
Six other players are to accompany Faker to Indonesia next month to compete.
“The Asian Games is not an event only watched by gamers, but something watched by the whole nation,” Faker said. “I will win the game no matter what.”
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