Korean pro Warcraft player says 'zug-zug' to a half-million dollar contract
by Alexander Sliwinski 
{ Mar 16th 2009 at 11:15PM }
Best part: Jang isn't even the highest paid professional Korean player, just the highest paid Warcraft player. Top billing goes to his WeMade FOX teammate, Yoon Yeoi "NaDa" Lee, who signed a contract for $521,250 to play StarCraft back in 2007. Wow.
[Via VG247]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Limezor @ Mar 16th 2009 11:22PM
Well if they have televised games of Starcraft (not sure about Warcraft) I'm surprised they don't get paid more.
Powaqqatsi @ Mar 16th 2009 11:23PM
money
Powaqqatsi @ Mar 16th 2009 11:24PM
sorry
Roncore @ Mar 16th 2009 11:24PM
Wait....I spent 4 years in college...and I'm making how much....
::grumble::
tmacairjordan87 @ Mar 16th 2009 11:27PM
.........and I thought I made a killing selling my account for $400 :(
Tiptup300 @ Mar 16th 2009 11:54PM
uh....what? Which one were you?
Bslashingu @ Mar 17th 2009 12:07AM
They mean Warcraft 3, the RTS, not World of Warcraft, the MMO.
BananaBoat @ Mar 16th 2009 11:31PM
This guy will end up like so many guys that either played one year of major league baseball, or spent half a decade in the minors before giving up. Oh sure, he made a decent amount of money, but he's still going to end up working as a salary man. He'll be filing TPS reports before any of us know it.
Now....where can I pick up my 500k contract for playing Puzzle Quest?
....I'm waiting...
Colonel Radec (PSN: slycooper_rocker) @ Mar 17th 2009 12:34AM
where's my 100k contract for playing patapon 1 & 2?
koggit @ Mar 17th 2009 2:29AM
Not true.. I wouldn't be surprised if Moon is still a pro gamer 20 years from now. He's been playing (professionally sponsored) for quite a few years already.. first Starcraft, then 6 years ago switching over to WC3. When SC2 comes out, you can bet your ass he'll be a top player there as well -- and in whatever comes after that (wc4 or sc3)...
Blizzard RTSes are too deep for anyone to be professionally competitive without sinking 70+ hrs/wk into them. Only pros can dedicate enough time to remain pro: it's a cycle that doesn't get broken. About half the WC3 pros today were SC pros ten years ago.
emperorzeroxx @ Mar 17th 2009 1:48AM
Oh wow I guess my parents were lying to me when they told me secluding myself from others and living in a basement with no life playing wow all day would never pay off.....
Ihavepants @ Mar 17th 2009 4:27AM
No they were right, this article is about Warcraft 3.
I swear half the people that play WoW don't even know there were other Warcraft games...
A Pissed-off English Gamer @ Mar 17th 2009 8:20AM
"I swear half the people that play WoW don't even know there were other Warcraft games..."
Ugh, tell me about. It's painful because MMOs get all kinds of hate that can't really be directed at RTS games.
Spybreak @ Mar 17th 2009 1:00AM
The thing is these guys have no life, the managers have them in their own dorms like housing and make them practice all the time. I'd hate just playing one or possibly two games.
Jimiisama @ Mar 17th 2009 1:18AM
If you work for a decent living, chances are you have no life outside work.
Spybreak @ Mar 17th 2009 4:56PM
yea you may work really hard but you'll be able to pick any game you want to play, not be limited to a select few.
Vidikron @ Mar 17th 2009 12:14AM
What do you even do in a WoW professional league? Just PvP and battlegrounds type stuff? Can you set-up private matches in WoW?
hsuchi1 @ Mar 17th 2009 12:25AM
This is for Warcraft III: Frozen Throne RTS, not the WoW MMO.
Nick8708 @ Mar 17th 2009 12:21AM
It's actually Warcraft 3.
I don't think it makes any more sense than getting paid to play WoW, though.
Then again, maybe this is secretly funded by the Korean military to groom the best commanders to crush the world once all war machines are unmanned.
Vidikron @ Mar 17th 2009 12:23AM
Ahh... gotcha. That makes much more sense. I see so much WoW news around these days that I see "Warcraft" and automatically think "WoW".
Reader @ Mar 17th 2009 12:24AM
This is WoW without the Wo.
Reader @ Mar 17th 2009 12:25AM
That's what happens when you come back to a tab 10 minutes later and push "Add Comment."
Morisato @ Mar 17th 2009 2:30AM
@Nick8708
I wonder what their style of play will be. The US already uses the zerg rush strategy...
A Pissed-off English Gamer @ Mar 17th 2009 8:15AM
It's crazy how much more rewarding it feels playing War3 than WoW. There's never a limit to how much effort you can put in.
Dave @ Mar 17th 2009 12:16AM
Wait, is that $486,500 every YEAR or for all THREE years?
If it's for all three years, it ain't THAT zug-zug.
hsuchi1 @ Mar 17th 2009 12:25AM
This doesn't include advertising endorsements, tournament purses or bonuses. That said, Yo-Hwan Lim was the original "pro gaming superstar" before he was drafted into the military.
Munky @ Mar 17th 2009 1:18AM
More zug-zug than I'm seeing...
Lord Negatron @ Mar 17th 2009 9:21AM
Its +400K over 3 years.
Either way, the money sounds great and all but i don't think it is worth the stress. Google pics of Korean Pro Gamers in RTS training...
Ashtrays full of cigarettes, energy drinks countless hours spent practicing since they are under contract and under pressure to do well. The fun is gone, its all stress and i can see right through the glass smiles as they hold up the Giant Check with the winnings during photo ops.
Inect @ Mar 17th 2009 12:39PM
Because you get payed 150k+ to play video games
xtrmlybad @ Mar 17th 2009 12:32AM
That guy's crazy. Crazy I say!
Einhanderkiller @ Mar 17th 2009 12:34AM
I'd rather kekekekeke.
Crusty Magic @ Mar 17th 2009 12:45AM
=O
PhydeWice @ Mar 17th 2009 1:11AM
While the money might be tempting, I really wouldn't want to be a professional gamer. I play games for fun. I come home from work, kick back, and play a game online with my friends. If that was my job, then what would I do for fun?
Munky @ Mar 17th 2009 1:19AM
File TPS reports?
PhydeWice @ Mar 17th 2009 1:22AM
@munky: Yeah... about that...
rab @ Mar 17th 2009 1:47AM
my parents were wrong. there is money in playing video games. sigh.
pohtaytoh @ Mar 17th 2009 4:50AM
Gotta understand that they actually have a sports league for starcraft and warcraft 3 in Korea. Tournaments usually bring in like 120,000 people to watch and cheer these guys play against each other like what you'd see at a physical sporting event. They call it e-sports, and it's the second most popular sporting event after Soccer. Much bigger than in the U.S. unfortunately =[
FAnchax @ Mar 17th 2009 9:18AM
good hand-eye coordination/micro/macro FTW
Ghaleon @ Mar 17th 2009 11:19AM
As long as it isn't something as retarded as professional WORLDS of WarCraft, good for them. StarCraft is pretty hard to play (not $500,000 hard, but hey)
Shimrra @ Mar 17th 2009 11:33AM
I think this is great for the industry as a whole it shows that this is a serious market that is willing to pay big bucks to sponsor. People to this day still think that video games are for kids. So kudos to Korea.
ninjafetus @ Mar 17th 2009 12:26PM
Top billing goes to his WeMade FOX teammate, Yoon Yeoi "NaDa" Lee, who signed a contract for $521,250 to play StarCraft back in 2007. Wow.
He deserves it. He's been the most consistent Terran (if not SC player) for years now. Good for him.