Online gaming professionals compete for rich prizes in world arenas

They train hard, have their own fans, sponsors and managers, and transfer to rival teams: Online gaming pros are not dissimilar to athletes, adopting rigour and dedication to win and cash in on their success.

Some 30 of these professionals travelled to Paris last week for this year's four-day League of Legends championships in an indoor multi-purpose arena attended by thousands of fans of the popular online battle arena game.

Sitting next to each other facing an audience of rapturous fans, team players wearing headsets and eyes riveted on computers battled it out in a game broadcast on a giant screen overhead.

"The life of a professional player is fairly similar to that of a high-level athlete," said Kurtis Lau, a retired online gaming star from Hong Kong better known under the pseudonym "Toyz" in the League of Legends world.

"You have to train several hours a day and travel across the world to compete in matches."

League of Legends pits champions against each other in a fantasy world and has become hugely popular with more than 67 million people playing it every month, according to the game's developer, Riot Games.