He’s the Lee Chong Wei of eSports! The Malaysian player we are all looking up to. All hail MidOne!
It takes lots of hard work, long hours in front of the screen, and of course – talent. It’s absolutely stunning how a Malaysian-grown Yeik Nai Zheng is now killing it in the world of DotA.
MidOne started his gaming career as a 3 years old, while playing the classic Tetris on a Gameboy. Then he switched to playing console and played the Final Fantasy. And soon after, DotA world appeared!
He was the first southeast-Asian player to reach 8000MMR, and how he is the only Malaysian player to play on a global scale.
And he managed to do it all in between his exams and assignments! Yes, MidOne is a fresh grad of the mechanical engineering course, actually.
Maybe if he was younger, he would choose this course instead: because starting from April 2017, you can study eSports in APU Malaysia!
APU eSports Malaysia Academy – the first of its kind in the country!
Ok now, we are seriously excited about this one. There are no details about the syllabus of the course, and about the teachers – but imagine how awesome would it be if MidOne was one of the lecturers! Bet the lecture hall would be totally full every single time….
Apparently, the courses in the Academy are going to cover not just Dota 2, but also FIFA Online, Counter-Strike, and League of Legends.
And besides becoming a pro-player, you could also join the courses for the support roles in the industry, like team managers and shoutcasters.
According to the official information, the course will aim to prepare Malaysian players for a full-time career: be it local or international.
“This academy trains them to have better teamwork, decision-making skills and to be professional in the gaming industry,” APIIT Education Group CEO Datuk Dr Parmjit Singh said during the launch of the academy on 23 February.
Where is the money?
The course seems to fit the current global trend of professional eSport careers. Do your friends still think that gaming is just a hobby?
Well, let’s take MidOne, as an example. His estimated earnings so far are as high as $382,261 – and that’s just an approximated figure.
Prizes in the local SEA competitions vary from $5,000 (minor tier), through major meetings with $20,000-70,000 prizes. And of course, the premier tournaments with the money counted in $ millions!
Here’s just a glimpse of MidOne’s work in 2016:
Thinking to leave it all, drop out from your studies and focus on your true gaming passion? Now you might have the reason just to do so, with the APU eSports course 🙂
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