By William Lambert

According to a survey by the Pew Research Center, 72% of all American teens play video games. Between the PS4, XBoxOne, and the Nintendo Switch, there are more gaming consoles in American households than ever before. As gaming continues to move from a niche hobby to a widespread pastime, there is a lot of speculation about its future, with many insiders pointing to professional gaming as a logical evolution.

Last year the EVO e-sports tournament dished out $50,000 in prize money to the first-place winner of its Street Fighter V competition. Brand spending on pro gaming is ballooning as well, with an estimated $800 million to be spent on the 2019 season.

Seojun Chung, a junior, says he believes that gaming could become an olympic sport in the next 10 years. Seojun, who has a place in the top 1% of PUBG players, respects pro gamers because, “it requires a lot of fast reflexes and figuring out what to do in a situation in a very short time. It is very strategic.”

Young Choi, a senior who is currently ranked number 231 out of about two million North American players in League of Legends, echoes Seojun. “It requires a lot mentally. It’s a lot like chess.”

Young first began playing League of Legends (referred to as just League in most circles) about four years ago. The massively popular game requires teamwork as well as an intimate understanding of strategies and placement to succeed. Young has clawed his way to the top .01% of regional players by studying pros. His diligence has placed him among his mentors: he says he now knows plenty of pros personally.

While Young doesn’t play quite as much League as he once did (“I’m just really busy with senior year,” he remarks), he still finds the time to get two hours of practice in daily. Seojun plays even less: about an hour a day.

However, not everyone is so quick to approve of professional gaming. Samuel Ashton, a senior, says he thinks pro gaming is “ridiculous and a waste of time.” Some members of the fighting game community believe that the competitive attitude leads to toxic behavior, both in game and out.

Whatever the truth may be, there’s no denying that professional gaming is both popular and lucrative.

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Tiger Times Staff

The staff of the Orem High School Tiger Times is made up of dedicated student journalists. For over 60 years, the OHS journalism class has produced excellent reporting on issues of importance to the school and the community.

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