As you can see above, I was replying to the commenter rather than the article. We have a whole generation of gamers saying ‘I’m going pro’ without actually understanding the math behind it. Chances are, it ain’t gonna happen. And if you do make it big, you might clear 30k unless you are one of the 1% that are…

We have about 5% of the story from 1 side. This amounts to nothing more than a kid throwing a tantrum on reddit and the other entitled kiddos running with it. If this was a 1 time thing and dad shot it down, then that’s bad in him. But the fact that he hid the tournament from his parents until zero hour leads me to…

You also don’t need a degree to be a programmer. Or an accountant. or many things.

All we got was a ‘woe is me, my dream is dead’ sob story on reddit demonizing his father. We don’t have the whole story. I would put money on this not being the isolated incident we are led to believe, and more of a final straw situation.

The kid has an instagram account featuring nothing more than multiple pairs of new sneakers, beachfront resort vacations, and bottle of Johnnie Walker Blue Label.

It sounds like a lot of Kotaku commenters expect mommy and daddy to support their dreams indefinitely. On their dime, no less.

You think his dad made him quit Hearthstone because he wanted to go to one tournament on one weekend? Unless his dad is uberdick, I seriously doubt that. I’m thinking multiple conversations, missed classes, slumping grades, etc. Caused his dad to give the ‘hell no’. But I could be wrong. I’m probably not.

The difference is that he is actively in college on his parents bill. He made that decision and needs to put on big boy pants and finish. After that, if he decides to ‘go pro’, then more power to him. I’m sure they’ll have a great relationship if he bails out to play hearthstone with 2 semesters left to a degree and…

True, but if he’s playing it for half a day while his parents foot the bill, dad’s gonna get pissed and put his foot down.

I was calm, kimosabe.

Can. Possibility. Chance.

Yes, but careers come with guaranteed paychecks. And benefits.

Only 1 person can win the money, ergo very few people can make it a career. And comparing it to gambling is very apt, because that’s exactly what it is. For every 1 person that is a successful poker player, you have 1,000 people that pissed away everything trying to ‘hit it big’. I have a few friends, well a father…

1. He’s not alone, hence the ‘cut off from my parents’.

I like you, Lindsay. We should get a smoothie sometime.

The amount of hours spent playing that game I guarantee led to slipping grades/inability to find a job. You don’t go ‘pro’ playing 2 hours a night.

True, but a pro gaming career is not viable. A smaller percentage of gamers go pro than in any other ‘sport’, and the vast majority of them don’t make much money. If he wants to make games, he’ll most likely need a degree. To write about them, guess what? A degree.

Speaking of school, you should go back. Because spelling.

The reactions to this article are comical. For starters, a chance at a $25,000 prize is not a career. I understand it was all expenses paid, but it sounds like he has his expenses already paid.

Sorry, but a chance at a $25,000 prize is not a career.