One of the interesting stories from the International 3 on the weekend was that of Orange.Neolution, a team hailing from Malaysia. Orange took 3rd place, losing only to Na’vi after a devastating misclick from one of the players cost them the match.
Still, it’s an amazing effort from these guys, having beaten 13 other teams from around the world, and as someone who spent his early years in Malaysia, it’s even more amazing after you realize some the cultural hardships these guys had to overcome to get to where they are. In Malaysia, parents (especially asian) are pretty traditional and put tremendous pressure on their children to take up careers which are deemed as ‘successful’, with doctors and dentists being the most coveted. E-sports persona? Probably not so much. You might even get disowned for making such a ridiculous suggestion. Either these guys have amazingly supportive parents, or had to go far out on their own to make it.
Orange’s performance also had some personal significance to me. A few years ago, I met one of my wife’s cousins who lives in Malaysia. While he wasn’t the best student, he had a love for DoTA and eventually wanted to quit college and play competitvely. He even drafted up a business plan, asking his father who owned a small company, for sponsorship so that his team would be able to go play in some interstate competitions.
Unfortunately in a tragic turn of events, his father denied him this, and instead of pressing the matter further, he decided to take up an office position at his father’s company instead. This had me thinking in more ways than one. What if he was destined to become a great DoTA player? What if that was meant to be him playing against Na’vi on stage at the International 3? As someone who will probably become a parent in the future, this will might be a dilemma I have to face at some point in my life. Would you get your children to aim for success at any cost, even at the cost of their own dreams?
That being said, for coming 3rd place at the Internationals 3, Orange brings home a cool $300,000 USD (900,000 Malaysian Ringgit), which even after being split 5 ways is about 3-4 times the annual salary of the average Malaysian graduate. Sure, E-sports right now might not be a stable career like being a doctor. But living your dream on the world stage? Worth.
