Five video gamers just split three-mill in a recent contest. What do big-wavers get? Honour?
There’s a big video game tournament going on right now, the DOTA2 Shanghai Majors. Pretty lame stuff, the fact of that professional video game playing actually exists.
I like video games, but they’re hardly the end-all pursuit.
Much cooler shit to be done in real life, games are great for rainy days when you feel like sitting on your ass and smoking hash. Which is fun, but hardly a healthy lifestyle.
Top prize for the group of five nerds who’ve spent the most time working towards a carpal tunnel disability check is $3.3 million dollars. Not too shabby. I think there’s some weird prize money split going on, each team has a patron and I’m sure they take a healthy cut.
Still, even if the boss takes half before the split, that leaves each player with a cool $330K. Which is a hell of a lot of money.
I tired watching a few minutes of the tournament, was bored as hell within a few minutes. I don’t understand the appeal of watching someone else play video games. But I’m old, so I don’t understand a lot of what goes on online. Chalk it up to “kids are dumb” and move on.
It boggles my mind that people can wrangle enough cash to pay video game dorks that much money, while big wave events drop $75k max, to first place. What’s going on?
Stupid question, I know the answer. It’s because “it’s an honor to be invited.”
Too bad honor doesn’t pay bills.
I’d buy the line if the contests were community initiatives, or run by charities. But, what’ve we got? Mavericks is owned by a nightclub promoter, the BWWT is a group of football guys, Eddie’s name is owned by a “global assets management firm.”
I know the deal, they’ve sold guys on the idea that they’re building the sport, the money will come, just play along and you’ll cash in. But that’s bullshit. Too easy to blow out a joint, end a career. Take your $1000 check and go home, loser.
I know the deal, they’ve sold guys on the idea that they’re building the sport, the money will come, just play along and you’ll cash in. But that’s bullshit. Too easy to blow out a joint, end a career. Take your $1000 check and go home, loser.
And keep your mouth shut. Say something wrong and you’re done. Blackballed, not a team player, plenty of stooges out there willing to work for free. Risk their lives for rent money.
Not that surf cos are any better. BBC dropped an interesting little clip today, Silvana Lima talking about the physical standards to which you must conform in order to scrape together sponsorship dough on the women’s end.
Very interesting, I didn’t know she was breeding French Bulldogs to support herself. I dig frenchies, got one of my own. Very amusing little snort fart burp monsters. Closer to a cartoon character than a real animal.
It’s time the riders realize there’s no honor in letting a for-profit entity earn money off their labors. It’s just empty rhetoric. Yeah, you might be doing it for love alone, but they are doing it for money.
The mainstream contests don’t exist to showcase surfing, they exist because someone smells a healthy profit somewhere down the line. The contest scene will dry up and blow away the day it’s decided they’re a poor return on investment.
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Maybe we need to figure out a surf game and cash in.. The masses can play and compete raising millions with proceeds going to the guys actually putting their life on the line
My kid knew who Toby Turner was (all on his own) well before he knew who Makua Rothman was. Haha, who am I kidding, he still has no idea who Makua is.
This could have also been titled “Doing it for the love of the craft: if you eliminate sex from the equation, why most pro surfers are like uninsured, underpaid contingent-contract, adjunct faculty at your local state college.”
Nice little video of Silvana “The Warrior” Lima.
On a side note, those of you that have memory, can you recall the type of judging going on at her heats? I can not think of any other surfer that was fucked in the ass harder than Silvana was.
Don’t we all love pro surfing! Can’t wait for Snappers
nobody gives a fuck about surfing. once you realize that, you dont give a fuck about anyone else but surfing.
Reality is the electronic gaming industry has eclipsed Hollywood in revenue. The top gamers have 40 million subscribers. They earn more than Kelly Slater. Golf is what blows my mind. Two million to knock a ball into a cup. Versus $75K to surf the Eddie.
yeah, but there’s not a C-suite executive making over $250k a year that doesn’t golf
Rory u sound a little bit like Russell Brand here
Same with golf, which is still a country mile ahead of gaming but still far below the athletic heroics of big wave surfing. At the end of the day the pay day will be determined by the financial size of the market the “contest” is geared toward. Lot more gamers than surfers in the world. The mountain bikers hurdling themselves down mountains are not even making a dollar in Redbull sponsored contests. Google the article.
the rise of user created content has pretty much fucked everybody. when Johhny numb-nuts will throw himself off a house and post it to youtube for nothing, it makes it easier for RedBull to say “hey guys, this is gonna be great exposure for you” (and hopefully the bike company you ride for will flow you some extra product you can sell to make rent)
Golf is on par with America’s pastime when it comes to ‘athleticism’. Sport is not just about defying death.
good stuff
“Five video gamers just split three-mill in a recent contest. What do big-wavers get?”
Less diabetes and more sex.
Vídeo gamers get groupies too you know.