Quick Jump Daily Digest
Thank you for your interest in the Quick Jump Daily Digest. Get notified of all new content on QJ in our free Daily Digest. To subscribe, enter your email address below and click the subscribe button.
Professional NBA player becomes Professional e-Sports player |
Listed in: Tags:
PICTURE OF HAYWARD
Gordon Hayward, Utah Jazz player for the NBA, practiced really hard to get where he was. At 21, he was one of the youngest players to ever get on the Utah-based team. But he took some down time and instead of focusing on dribbling the ball, he watched the Protoss slowly start taking out the Zerg, one at a time.
Hayward kicked some ass at the IPL 3: Origins tournament in Atlantic City on the weekend where 256 StarCraft II players competing for a share of the $100,000 prize pool. Hayward struggled for some of the matches but has said he will be taking up the eSport full-time. If anyone has been to Korea or seen those matches online, you'll know that gaming has really stepped up in the last year or so to be that big an industry that we can now actually start to fill arenas with people playing...just as boring as any other sport.
"Pro-gamers are really sports stars themselves...the mental strategy that goes into planning your next move and what your opponent is going to do are skills you need to be successful playing basketball - and playing StarCraft II. If you want to be good, you have to put a lot of time and effort into it, just like with other sports. I've got the best of both worlds."
According to Hayward's Twitter, he won his first match two games to none. Unfortunately, he lost his second match, and there were technical problems with his third match. The tournament organizers tried to reschedule but the rematch conflicted with an important interview he just had to take. That being said, Hayward actually going through the proper methods to start in the tournament is actually a pretty humble and ballsy move...except for the interview part.
Hayward has admitted to watching Starcraft games and studying the moves. "If you're winning a Starcraft game for the championship at IPL for the six-figure pool prize, that's probably pretty stressful," he said. "At the same time, if you're going to shoot a three-pointer to win the game with someone guarding you, that's pretty tough too. I'd say they are both tough in their own right." I wish the man the best of luck and we'll see how the transfer takes place, I can promise less annoying scandals.
Via [Desert News]
| This story sucks? This story rocks! |
|
|
|
