屬於年輕人的話題 DOTA冠軍背後的故事

Getting paid to play video games may sound too good to be true. But Newbee, a team of five professional gamers, has proven it is possible. They won the DOTA 2 world championship at the international *tournament in Seattle, US, on July 21, taking home a $5 million (31.2 million yuan) prize.

打電腦遊戲也能賺錢？這聽上去就像天上掉餡餅一樣不靠譜。但是，這支由5名專業電競選手組成的名爲Newbee的戰隊告訴我們：這個可以有！今年7月21日，這支隊伍獲得了在美國西雅圖舉辦的第四屆DOTA2國際邀請賽冠軍，將500萬美元（約合3120萬元人民幣）的獎金收入囊中。

Many have been stunned by the huge sum, but only few know of the team’s *thorny road to glory. 21st Century talked to the newly crowned champions to explore the real story of their lives.

很多人都驚訝於獎金數額的巨大，卻鮮有人知道他們鋪滿荊棘的獲勝之路。今天，就跟隨世紀君，一起傾聽他們冠軍光環背後的真實故事吧！

Another level

另一種的高度

Playing for fun and becoming a professional gamer are totally different scenarios in the e-sports field. E-sports competitions require quick reaction speeds and incredible multitasking skills.

在電子競技領域，業餘玩家和職業選手之間有着天壤之別。電子競技比賽對選手的反應速度和多任務處理能力都有很高要求。

Most professional players see their APM (actions per minute) *surpassing 300, according to Newbee’s manager Tong Xin. That’s an average of five unique actions every second. An average for-fun gamer plays at less than 100 APM.

Newbee電子競技俱樂部經理佟鑫說，大多數職業選手的APM（即每分鐘操作次數）都超過300，相當於平均每秒鐘能進行5次操作。而業餘玩家的APM則不到100。

“Let’s just say that of the young men who attempt to go pro, only 1 in 1,000 make it to a professional level,” he says. “The odds of a player becoming a ‘top player’ are less than 1 in 10,000.”

佟鑫還說，“即使是在想要成爲職業選手的年輕人中， 1000人中也只有1人能夠達到職業選手的水平，而成爲‘頂級’職業選手的比例則不到萬分之一。”

Daily routine

日常訓練

Just like in athletic sports, training brings perfection, while practicing with top gamers and teams is the best way to *excel. Even so, it’s never easy.

和體育運動一樣，“熟能生巧”同樣適用於電競界；而與頂級選手和團隊切磋則是最有效的提升方法。即使如此，這仍非易事。

Zhang Ning and his teammates train for up to seven hours a day, six days a week to improve their *tactics and work out ways to deal with different gaming situations.

爲了提升戰略戰術，在不同的遊戲局勢下找到不同的應對策略，張寧和他的隊員們每週訓練6天，每天訓練7個小時。

But this is only their daily training schedule. Before the international tournament, Zhang and his teammates underwent a whole month of *intensive training. During that time, the team members were gathered in a house in Shanghai. Their cell phones were taken away and they were completely cut off from the outside world.

而這只是他們的日常訓練。在世界邀請賽前夕，張寧和他的隊員們度過了一整月的強化集訓。在這一個月裏，他們聚集在上海的一棟別墅中，上交手機，完全與世隔絕。

“We got up at 11 am every day and had lunch together. After that, we spent 14 to 16 hours playing DOTA together, not only improving our individual abilities, but also our team work,” says Chen Zhihao, a member of Newbee.

Newbee隊員陳智豪說：“（在此期間）我們每天早上11點起牀一起吃午飯，之後的14至16個小時都在打DOTA中度過，這不僅能提高個人能力，還能提升整個團隊的合作。”

Not a career, yet

仍非職業

Though professional gamers can earn a *respectable income and bonuses for winning e-sports competitions, playing video games is not considered a serious occupation.

儘管職業選手贏得電競比賽後可以獲得可觀的收入與獎金，但玩遊戲仍不被視爲一個嚴肅的職業。

There were more than 9 million DOTA players around the world by the end of June, according to official data released by DOTA 2. In China, according to Tong, there are no more than 1,000 professional players.

DOTA2發表的官方數據顯示，截止今年6月底，全球共有超過900萬DOTA選手。而在中國，職業選手人數還不到1000，佟鑫說。

Moreover, professional players’ career spans are short. Many top gamers hang up their control pads well before they hit 30, reported CNBS. Most retired gamers choose to stay in the industry by taking up administrative positions, becoming coaches in clubs, or working as commentators for cyber game competitions, says Tong.

而且，這些選手的職業生涯十分短暫。據CNBS報道，許多頂級選手在30歲前就已退役。佟鑫說，許多選手退役後選擇留在這個行業，從事管理工作，擔任俱樂部教練，或在電子競技比賽中擔任遊戲解說。

What about the future?

未來在何處？

Winning the tournament is a dream come true for Zhang. It has also boosted his confidence. Being a 25-year-old player in the field is a rare thing and he doesn’t want to retire from professional gaming yet. “I still want to play in next year’s tournament,” he says.

對張寧而言，獲得國際邀請賽的冠軍可謂夢想成真，也讓他信心滿滿。雖然很少有人向他一樣25歲還在打比賽，但張寧表示他還不想退役，他說，“我還想參加下一屆比賽。”