On the 13th May, the PlayStation League Asia 2018 for FIFA 18 was held at Battle Arena, where the best players of Asia compete for US$10,000 and a ticket to Amsterdam for the FIFA eWorld Cup tournament. However that’s not the only tournament that went on in Battle Arena. The Call of Duty: WW II Asia Championship 2018 was also held there, where four qualified teams were present to compete for US$12,000 and a ticket to CWL Anaheim!

First of all, congratulations to team Rampage Gaming! Claimed to be the first professional CoD team in Malaysia, they have won the battle against 3 other teams; ItsNutty, Avarice and Venom, to become the champion of the Call of Duty: WW II Asia Championship 2018. While we were there at the event, we also got the chance to have a short interview session with the captains of all the four teams that were present for the tournament.

During the interview, we’ve asked some questions pertaining of their experience in the tournament, family support, their future aspirations as a professional gamer, preparations for the tournament and their views of the eSports scene. All of the captains have their own unique points of view when answering which tells of their experiences and how far they’ve come to compete on a national level.

As a professional gamer even in the CoD scene, they all have training everyday for at least 5 to 6 hours. Though they do not have a fixed schedule due to real-life situations and conflicting time zones, they all worked together as a team to improve on their weaknesses and perform in games.

Of course family support is also important, as playing games now is not just for the sake of fun, but it can also be turned into a career. It is only natural for parents to be frightful of their child’s future and did not support them in the beginning. However once they’ve seen how these players were able to achieve and compete on a national level, their parents had seen a new light in playing games and supported them all the way.

With the parent’s understanding and full support, future careers in the gaming industry isn’t a dream anymore. The captains believed that there’s a bright future ahead in the gaming industry where one can either be a full time CoD professional player, a streamer or working in the gaming industry where their skill sets are needed.

Though it’s not as easy as it seems to have a career in the gaming industry, these captains had started playing Call of Duty ever since they were really young. All of them have at least 5 years of history playing Call of Duty. So it’s advisable for those who wish to be in the competitive scene to start young to have the experience and skill set that these captains have.

Seeing as there’s a future in the booming gaming industry, the captains are happy that gamers in Asia are getting the support needed especially groups like ESL Asia and PlayStation for the recent tournament. They hope that such support from organizations like these could help grow the eSports scene in SEA and to grow the CoD competitive scene.

Looking at how far they’ve come from years of experience playing the game and gaining parent’s support, there’s one common advise given by the four captains. All of them believed that commitment is the key for their success. For players who aspire to be in the competitive scene like them, they advise players to be committed to the game, putting hours in to improve. If accompanied by passion and motivation, a player can also reach new heights with the help of the team and the community.