Chinese newspaper Xinmin Evening News reports on Newbee's TI4 win

This article was originally published on GameSpot's sister site onGamers.com, which was dedicated to esports coverage.

With Newbee's TI4 win breaking esports records, various Chinese media have been reporting on the matter. This Chinese newspaper, Xinmin Evening News, has a decently insightful report, perhaps also a good one to share with someone who is new to all of this. It is also interesting to note that this paper is an official government paper for the Shanghai region. The piece is translated below.

Note: Zhang Ning is xiao8, Chen Zhihao is Hao

In the early morning of July 22, the fourth iteration of the Dota 2 International came to a close, with Chinese team Newbee taking the title.

What was even greater than the glory of the win was the enormous prize; the champions won over 5 million USD. On top of that, 5 of the top 8 teams in the event were from China, and the of the total prize of over 10 million USD, over three fourths was split amongst Chinese teams, thus breaking a Guiness record for prize money at a sporting event. Chinese media held an unprecedented interest this year, with headlines of "A shake of the mouse, and millions are yours", "This is a game where you can truly become extravagantly wealthy overnight" showing up everywhere.

Newbee confirmed to our reporter on Friday, "Each player will have 3.9 million RMB (roughly 630,000 USD)" and indeed, this amount surpasses the amount that the German players received as prize money for their recent World Cup win.

Playing games can make you rich? This seems unbelievable, yet somehow it makes sense. Newbee CEO Tong Xin (CuZn) stated, "Esports is absolutely not the same binge gaming."

Thank you to all those that looked down on me

The five players of Newbee have an average age of 25, and the only one that has married is Zhang Ning, who had previously appeared on a dating reality show. After the tournament, someone asked him whether he'd continue playing next year, and he unflinchingly responded, "Definitely, there's so much money that can be earned."

Our reporter asked Zhang Ning, "What will you do with your prize money?" His answer, "I plan on buying a home in Shanghai."

"And the rest of the money?"

"The rest will go bit by bit towards the mortgage."

The team's core player, 24 year-old Chen Zhihao said after the event, "Thank you to those who flamed me, it was all of you that made me keep my fighting spirit up, because I didn't want you all to look down on me. And those who scorned me, sorry, I have disappointed you."

July 22, upon the announcers in the stadium calling out Newbee as TI4 champions, five Chinese lads, under the applause and cheering of thousands of audience in attendance, raised the Aegis of world champions. Fans across the stadium -- international and Chinese alike -- cheered 'Newbee', and they accepted the acclaim of the fans, followed by accepting the interviews of reporters from around the world.

Evening of July 24, the five of them arrive back home in China with the title and prize money, and immediately after setting foot outside of Pudong Airport, there were already fans surrounding them, handing them flowers, "They are world champions in PC gaming," the gathering crowds chattered.

"In my view, esports competitors are a combination between traditional sports stars and pop stars." this was the opinion of one veteran esports person.

"I really didn't think that the reaction in China would be this huge, " Tong Xin (CuZn) said. Before even making it back to China, Newbee members' chat and social media groups had long since exploded with neverending screens of congratulatory messages. "Things are certainly different from last year's tournament. Perhaps there's only one explanation, the money."

Some domestic reporting of the story had them laughing, "An esports team's prize money instantly surpasses Li Na, Evergrande (note: Li Na is a top Chinese sports star in tennis, having won large titles before, while Evergrande is China's top football/soccer club, having won the Asian Champions League recently)"; "Chinese Mahjong Team's been avenged by an esports team"; Tong Xin says, "These headlines are just way too out there, I don't even have the will to critique them."

Why such a huge prize?

After winning, original reports stated that each of Newbee's players would have some 6 million RMB in prize money. When doing this interview on July 24, the exact figure came out to 3.9 million. There is a 30% tax rate applied to the prize, and then 10% of it goes to the club, leaving each player with 3.9 million RMB.

Some have compared this figure to prizes in traditional sports. At the 2008 Beijing Olympics, gold medal winners were awarded 350,000 RMB, and that in addition to whatever their local governments and organizations might award meant that even the top amounts would come to at most a few million RMB. Yet, esports, with its newer roots has already seen a single tournament award over 30 million in prizes to the winners. Since 2010, esports has seen extreme growth. In 2006, top esports titles gave 20,000 USD, by 2012 the Dota 2 TI got 1 million, with last year's getting 1.4 million, and this year's seeing 5 million.

These sky-high figures come from two parts: one is the developer and tournament organizer Valve's base prize, approximately 1.5 million, and the other portion comes from sales of an in-game item, where 25% of the proceeds go towards the prize pool. Many players, to support Dota 2, unrelentingly contributed thousands and thousands with no regrets.

In esports, for the hottest games each year, advertisers and sponsors' offers have been growing exponentially year-on-year. This is also a main reason for the huge growth in prize amounts for tournaments in recent years, because these prizes become good value for advertising money. In 2010, Chinese esports competitors might not make more than 10,000 RMB per month, yet in the last three years, in the esports scene those that make millions each year are no longer just legends.

To climb to the top is not easy

The day after Newbee's win, CCTV's official Weibo stated, "A Chinese team takes the 5 million dollar prize, causing many players to dream of becoming professional players and win big money. Yet, do you understand the pain, brutality, and sacrifice behind it all? Over 10 hours of practice each day, you are considered old in your 20s, professional teams have high costs... To climb to the top, it isn't that easy."

In the past ten years, esports has grown immensely. Currently there are over 100 registered clubs, and there has been established a national training team. "Is it a game or a sport?" this debate would seem to have grown quieter and quieter.

"More and more people recognize that this is a normal career with very high requirements, " Tong Xin says.

Last September, US immigration policy was altered to include LoL players as professional sports competitors, thus allowing them to acquire athlete visas to work in America. A university esports league admin tells the reporter, "Nowadays, the better clubs all have their own team base, the players' schedules are very regulated, salaries are between 4,000 to 20,000 RMB, along with nice prize money."

What is the difference between gaming and esports? Esports veteran Liu Yang makes a metaphor, "Gaming is like casually playing some badminton in your yard, while esports is like doing the same but in competition at the Olympics."

"The key for esports is that tensions are high for the entire match. So for those beyond 30 years of age, to have anyone still be a truly outstanding player, that is extremely rare. Even though it might not be as bad as some have said, not 20, but once you're past around 24 then it's indisputable that you are past your golden time," Tong Xin says. For something that requires such hand-eye coordination, the demands of players are exceedingly high, especially in terms of brainpower needed.

Our typical training is managed in a military style -- a dialogue with Newbee CEO

Reporter: How do you view the huge response in Chinese media after your victory?

Newbee.CuZn (Tong Xin, CEO): Perhaps the main reason is the various media are fighting to get the scoop on the story. And then there's the fact that Chinese teams posted great results this time, 5 out of top 8.

R: How far away from competing in esports are average gamers?

Cu: Of course the first thing is that you must be really good at games, and then you must participate in many competitions and get good results, and have a club recognize you. You must not stop participating in events, only then can you gradually become a professional player. Just as in football/soccer or basketball with scouts, coaches and commentators in esports pay attention to those who have posted good results and shown potential, and introduce them to clubs.

R: To do this as a career, what kind of hard work and talent does one needed?Cu: You need high intensity practice, and increase your understanding. And then you must improve your own stamina, mentality, and intelligence. What might be called talent is just understanding of the game, only when you have enough understanding can you have your own style.

R: If a minor, addicted to online gaming, tells you he/she wants to pursue a professional career, what would you say to them?

Cu: I would tell these kids, playing games and esports training are two completely different things. Professional training is very dry, with a very strong emphasis on discipline, it could be said to be a military style of management. If you truly have this dream, you must clearly evaluate whether it is worth you giving everything else up to pursue. Esports is absolutely not just blindly playing games, for example your coach says it's time to train, you say wait a minute, let me finish playing something, this would definitely not work.

R: How does Newbee typically train?

Cu: Our team's base is in Hefei, but because most tournaments are in Shanghai, so we also have a 400 square meter house there for everyday training. A typical schedule is, each lunch and then train into the deep of night, with just an hour break in between for dinner.

R: How many esports competitors does China have right now, roughly?

Cu: We currently have around 1000.

R: Why would Shanghai become such a hotspot for esports?

Cu: Competitions in China are almost all held in Shanghai currently, many esports media organizations are based in Shanghai, and some of the most famed clubs are also based in Shanghai. So many clubs, for tournaments, exposure, and to learn more, all decide to be in Shanghai. The industry's entire product chain is based in Shanghai.

R: Do professional players stay up all night playing games?

Cu: When there is training, we do not allow this, because it will affect them the next day.

Source: http://xmwb.news365.com.cn/xwrw/201407/t20140727_1163692.html