As much as I’d like to be a professional gamer, a part of me knows how ruthless and stressful it is. The pros dedicate a ton of hours to practicing each day, and even then, they need to win tournaments to really make that hard work worthwhile. One grey area people tend to overlook is a career after professional gaming. The life expectancy of a top player is surprisingly short, so how do they utilise their gaming skills after their heyday? By streaming of course.
According to Kotaku (via Ongamers), ex League of Legends player, Wei “CaoMei” Han-Dong, is now making around $800 000 annually. It’s alright, I will give you time to rub your eyes quickly, because I did the same myself. What he was earning previously is almost laughable in comparison.
Wei “CaoMei” Han-Dong’s mother remembers each time her son’s monthly salary increased: November, 2011, trainee, 3,000 RMB ($491); March 2012, official member, 4,000 RMB ($654); November, same year, the IPL 5 Champions, 7,000 RMB ($1,145); May 2014, 10,000 RMB ($1,636); June, 20,000 RMB ($3,271). Now retired, he streams with an annual salary of five million RMB ($817,863).
His salary was more than decent towards the end of his career. That being said, streaming is far more profitable, as well as a lot less stressful.
During streaming hours, CaoMei can play the game while commentating including joke about himself whenever he loses a game; there is no psychological pressure at all. Every time he streams, he gets at least 100,000 viewers. When talking about the reason why the community favors him, CaoMei said confidently, “It may not be good to say this, but maybe some of the progamers don’t have my looks.” He often gets “I want to have a baby with you” from female fans.
What more could an ex pro gamer ask for? A solid income AND a legion of fan girls… he must be quite chuffed.
It’s obviously not that easy building up such a following. The hard work CaoMei put into his League of Legends career really seems to have paid off, and what’s better, he gets to play the game he loves for even more money in a stress free environment now.
Last Updated: November 3, 2014
Admiral Chief 0
November 3, 2014 at 15:05
Madness, madness I say!
Guild
November 3, 2014 at 15:06
And whoever said gaming was not profitable
Admiral Chief 0
November 3, 2014 at 15:06
So he is LoL-ing all the way to the bank
[cricket noises]
Hammersteyn
November 3, 2014 at 15:08
get in the box
http://img-9gag-lol.9cache.com/photo/azbWoyz_460sa_v1.gif
Admiral Chief 0
November 3, 2014 at 15:08
YOUR BOX CANNOT HOLD ME!
Michael Matusowsky
November 3, 2014 at 15:58
get in the box
http://a.disquscdn.com/get?url=http%3A%2F%2Fimg-9gag-lol.9cache.com%2Fphoto%2FazbWoyz_460sa_v1.gif&key=NIp-KBeKRfSxNrB7lgJznQ&w=800&h=353
RinceThis
November 3, 2014 at 15:13
0_O
RinceThis
November 3, 2014 at 15:13
100,000 out of a population of like 1.6 billion…
Jonah Cash
November 3, 2014 at 15:15
80 + million Rands per year…. SARS would love your ass!!!
Admiral Chief 0
November 3, 2014 at 15:16
BEND OVER for SARS
Jonah Cash
November 3, 2014 at 15:17
And stop smiling this is not going to be a pleasant experience……..
ToshZA
November 3, 2014 at 15:19
Maybe not for you, but there are some people…
Jonah Cash
November 3, 2014 at 15:31
Watched Hangover 3 last night so yeah I know there are… Very angry at myself for fast forwarding to the scene in the credits though, was laughing my self to death and in walks Chow!!!
ToshZA
November 3, 2014 at 15:18
*8 million. It’s not R100:$1 just yet. Give it a year or two.
Jonah Cash
November 3, 2014 at 15:29
I should really just stop today… My brain is really dropping me in some very serious idiotic situations!!!
UltimateNinjaPandaDudeGuy
November 3, 2014 at 15:19
It’s one of those things were you either do really well or fail miserably…
Johann
November 3, 2014 at 16:33
Ok this might be a stupid question, but where does the money come from? Is it solely from advertising on his channel or does he have subs for his channel?
hairyknees
November 4, 2014 at 14:33
I’m too sure about the finer details, but I’d imagine he still gets approached by companies to do sponsorships and such. He also does get cash from all the viewers and the streaming service I’d assume.
Matheus Bica
November 10, 2014 at 05:42
his stream link is?
leFlugan
December 24, 2014 at 01:33
You cant say he didnt work to get to the top. when he was at his busiest age he slept only 4 hours a day and played League of Legends 20 hours a day only to stop to eat.