In Blizzard’s online card game Hearthstone , a power word from the creator has early put the career of a talented player on hold.
In tournaments or documentaries about League of Legends, you often see young gamers fully supported by their parents. The business, especially in LoL, is tough—by the age of mid-20s, many are already close to ending their careers or even past that. Players travel around the world at a young age, must be independent early on, interrupt their education, their schooling for the short window of esports eligibility. However, not always does this go well.
If you do this, we are divorced people
Moreover, an esports scene has emerged around Blizzard’s Hearthstone, and for some, this is a desirable path in life, as is the case for Marcus “BOXception” Kwak. He qualified for the ESL finals and could play for part of the prize pool of $25,000. They would have even paid for his trip to California, but he did not receive the “parental okay”.
While the mother was likely convinced, the father stood firm. The father made it clear: If he goes to California, then we are divorced, you won’t get a cent from me. The Hearthstone expert then gave up his spot, wanting first to finish college and stand on his own feet.
Little understanding for esports from the parental generation
In the reddit forum, he shared his story, and other well-known players know this dilemma as well. Many of them have had conflicts with their parents over gaming.
For even though Hearthstone is an esport, the parental generation has less understanding for it than if their son might be heading to a basketball or tennis tournament. This problem keeps showing up, most recently in biting comments from a sports reporter about the broadcast of Heroes of the Storm on sports television.
The possible esports career of the young gamer is by no means over, just on hold, as he says. After college, he wants to reconsider his options.
