What should I do.

Easier said then done but grow a pair and go.

Just go! Would not regret!

fuck it. yolo.

sounds like you're not even that good to begin with?

you gotta give us some of your accomplishments first so we can judge.

go get em pete, GO GET EM

So you are 24, no money, student loans to pay, not even that good (i suppose if u would have won something it would have been in your post). IMO, its a no-brainer.

how much school do you have left? what's your major?

is your plan basically to get on a team, ride it out as long as possible, then whenever that ends go back and finish college?

idk, sounds fun not sure if wise tho

Don't regret not going, go! (as long as you ca come back and finish your degree)

I'm good at the game as I can be without being in a position where I don't butt heads with international giants. There is no achievements to boast because there can be no achievements to boast. Do you know how many NA teams have formed to a relevant level since the last International? None. The last NA team that matter got formed before TI2, which is Dignitas. So in over a year's time, with all the talent that NA has, no new teams that matter has sprouted. That means that the rest of NA are like me, and have no achievements to speak of. That's the reality.

Am I even that good. Probably not. But everyone else sucks too. No one has this game figured out, and everyone acts like they do. I suppose the closest thing that comes to anything worthy of mentioning is that I have been actively involved in the NA inhouse leagues, and have rather ranked highly consistently throughout the years if that's anything at all (many would argue it is not, and I would agree since I think 90% of the players in top ranks suck anyway). Do I tell you that I'm confident enough to be an overall top 5 player in Korea, and #1 in the position that I'm wishing to play? These are just words, and being poker players I know you guys to be (rightfully) skeptical.

My plan is to invest one year and see where it goes. If I see a light at the end of the tunnel, I keep going and see what happens. If it looks grim, come back.


As for school, I have an year and a half of school left. Majoring in game development, which is really focused on programming.

If dota was a solo endeavour i think it would be a much easier decision. By far the hardest thing that you need to do would be finding 4 other talented, dedicated players who are on a similar wavelength as you. But I think the one year off before reevaluating plan is solid and wish you the best.

DO IT

I think that honestly, the only reason NOT to do it is a possibly negative impact in your life later on.

If you have to get into more debt to follow this, I'd evaluate it very seriously. If you can breakeven (if your parents finance you, you can count as breakeven as you basically dont have to pay em back) FUCKING DO IT.

I assume you love the game, so the worst case scenario would be upsetting your family, while learning a new language/doing what you love/meeting new ppl who share your interests.}

If you think that the best case scenario is worthy of it and you find a way to do it monetarily speaking then go for it. As long as you don't have a feeling that this is an irresponsible dream or something it's fine to put school on a hold if that's what you really want imo.

One year of your life is nothing when you have dreams and passion.

At worst you attempt to fullfil your dreams, and realize that becoming a professional dota2 player is outside of outcomes. I think you will have an easier time focusing on school and "life", after you see for yourself if becoming a dota2 pro is possible.

I suppose a worst case scenario is you're on the cusp of sucess and play 10 years straight but never breaking the plateau and have wasted a bunch of years. Iono, maybe read Rekrul and Jinro blog/posts. Tehy seem to have advice on this issue.

Do you have a spot on a team? Do you know your teammates, and can you mesh well with them, personally and professionally? Do you have a place to stay? Can you get around with your Korean, or is someone available to help you get around? What is the price of a plane ticket? Do you have enough to get back if need be? Whats the outlook on future tournaments in Korea over the next 6 months/1 year/beyond?

Going through processes like these has often helped me come to conclusions by gauging my amount of enthusiasm while completing all tasks and learning their answers. Combine that enthusiasm you have of the process with the information you gather, you will get your answer on whether going to Korea is a good decision or not.

Carthac brings up about a million good points... But honestly, flip a coin, LET FATE DECIDE.

The information you gave in the OP makes it seem like you already know the answer, but you want advice from others. To elaborate, you seem to already know how much skill you have, and that you will still be at a disadvantage if you go to Korea, because there's a limited amount of skilled people for you to train with, and you're also banking on most of the gamers in Korea to be way below you in skill.

You make your life sound like shit, and that studying should be your main focus, yet you're getting sidetracked with wanting to still be a gamer with the hopes of being like other nerds who you've seen on Internet Television in the past.

There's a good amount of people who have lived in Korea for eSports related activities on this website, and there's one big difference between you and us; it's the fact that we had a set plan and knew what we were going to do way before we went there, and also didn't have to worry about housing/monthly bills/airplane ticket/speaking to the natives/etc. In the little post you made, you remind me of a few of my former gamer friends that just couldn't give up the gaming itch, even though they were well past their prime or just lacked longterm motivation. However, after a few failed attempts at getting back into eSports, they finally gave up and came back to reality.

If you even wrote an OP that sounded like you were somewhat serious about this, I would say "go for it!," however, that's not the case.

On July 14 2013 22:56 PuertoRican wrote: You make your life sound like shit, and that studying should be your main focus, yet you're getting sidetracked with wanting to still be a gamer with the hopes of being like other nerds who you've seen on Internet Television in the past.

Those other nerds? You have 4000 posts on an internet poker forum that is linked from a broodwar forum. You are a nerd too

You also sound like a pessimistic douche father figure that gave up on his dreams and settled. Don't look down on others. They are pursuing what they want in life, there is plenty life to live after if it doesn't work out

Thanks for the replies guys. I was out all day, and didn't have time to reply to them but I read them. I really appreciate all of them for both of those who are skeptical and are supportive.

I have no problem with the language. I don't think I'll go any deeper in debt, my summer job should keep me afloat. I do not have a spot in a team, although I might. Nothing's for certain, and it's all speculative. At worst, I have people that can vouch for me who are respected players in the community and I'll prove my worth. Place to stay is sorta iffy but I can probably get by.

I'm not underestimating the Korean dota by any means. I just know where I stand, and even if Korean dota proves to be tougher than I imagine, if given the chance I'm sure I can compete at an international level. What I lack is experience, and the environment for growth to allow me to gain this experience. I have no grand dream of being on TV or whatever like you said. And the role that I wish to play advocates that; a support.

What I really seek is a quality game of dota, which is like a drug to me, and it's what keeps me sane. A good game of dota satisfies me like no other thing in the world. The thing is, the bar for satisfaction keeps getting higher and higher, and it comes to a point where I can't reach that no more in my current setting. I'm just chasing that high. How sick would it be if I can do this without worrying about how to put food on my table or a roof over my head.


And Carthac, I'm sure he's using the word nerd liberally with no foul intentions. And I very much appreciate his view too. I certainly did not expect all the cheers for "go4ur dr34m!" when I made the thread. I just wanted to see what others could say about it.

It's one year of your life. Go for it. You will always regret it if you don't. You're educating is a programming background so you can easily pick that back up if you need to return. One thing I'd suggest doing is setting aside 1-1.5 hours a day while you're over there to continue your education. Just reading/coding or whatever. Not a huge amount of your time but something worth doing to keep your skills sharp and give you a backup plan in case things don't go as you wish. Either way ya gotta do it! Go!