Gamer Lee Kam-fai
Lee Kam-fai won the 2007 World Game Master Tournament sponsored by Asus. He talks to Jan Leung about the glory in video gaming.
HK Magazine: How crazy are you about video games?
Lee Kam-fai: I've been playing since I was ten and I was serious about it from the beginning, even when I was playing the first Mario Bros. game. I consider myself an amateur-professional game player, specializing in RTS [real-time strategy] games.
HK: How much time do you spend practicing daily?
LKF: Two hours daily if I have school and over eight hours when I don’t. But I've had to cut down my practicing lately because of my girlfriend. As serious as I am about the game, my hands are really full with my gal.
HK: Have you ever considered going pro?
LKF: Yes, but I'm not doing it. I'm not sure about the prospects of a professional player here. Unlike China and South Korea where there are training schools, we don’t have any support. The best player in South Korea is paid US$12,000 a month – even average professional players are paid US$5,000-$6,000 per month. A game school in China invited me to join their team once. But they offered to pay only RMB2,000-3,000 monthly, and I’d have to move to Xian. That’s too much hassle for too little money.
HK: Does your family offer you a lot of support?
LKF: Yes, they think it is fantastic because I often get invitations to participate in competitions worldwide. I went to Singapore twice and Italy once for other RTS competitions. I won them, too! The sponsors paid for the hotel, plane tickets, meals and everything. In one of the competitions, even losers were compensated US$1,000.
HK: Most glorious gaming moment?
LKF: Definitely the time I was invited to compete in Shanghai - my birthplace. I felt like a hero going back to his hometown, except there wasn’t really anyone welcoming or receiving me.
HK: What do you learn, playing strategy games?
LKF: The right time to harass people. In a war strategy game, you have to know when to bluff, to mess up other players' economies and limit their technology. All these things happen in the real world, don’t they? Also, the way we play reflects our values. My experience says that Asians are more passive and are less likely to switch tactics - we just keep doing what we have been doing, hoping diligence will finally pay off.