Hearthstone Player's Dad Makes Him Pick College or Game Tournament

[StewShearerOld]

Hearthstone Player's Dad Makes Him Pick College or Game Tournament

Hearthstone player Marcus Kwak recently backed out of a professional Hearthstone tournament after his father threatened to cut him off financially.

While video games are far more accepted in the present day they were in the past, the hobby and the people invested in it still often have to face down a stigma that's arguably unique when compared to other forms of entertainment. For many gamers this, at worst, amounts to a nagging annoyance. People making comments, rolling their eyes or otherwise just treating you like you're immature for enjoying electronic game (as opposed to hitting a ball with a stick or something). For some however, negative views of video games can and do result into the loss of real opportunities.

ESL Legendary Series season 2 finals. This feat earned him an opportunity to take an all-expenses paid trip to compete in the California tournament for a share of a $25,000 prize. Unfortunately for Kwak, doing so also meant discussing it with his parents who have been paying for his education and dislike video games.

"I told my dad and it was an immediate no," he said on Reddit. "The decision that came down was I either give up my spot and not play in the LAN and stay under the support of my family, or I go and play but pack my things and leave home and I get all support cut off from my parents." Unable to find an alternative residence for the summer and knowing he wouldn't be able to pay for his final year of college, Kwak decided to postpone his professional gaming aspirations, back out of the tournament and complete his schooling. "I only have [one] more year left," he wrote in an update. " might as well finish it all the way through then decide what comes next."

We're not going to say he made the wrong choice given the circumstances but still, that's one hell of a way for a parent to respond to a free trip to go win money. Granted, we haven't heard their side of things, but we're honestly not sure how you can justify a threat of that severity over something like this. Let us know if any of you have ever faced a similar situation.

Source: Reddit


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[Grouchy Imp_v1legacy]

Erm, good? At what point did it become acceptable to question whether or not computer games were a viable alternative to education?

 

[PerpetualGamer]

I logged in, to post this for you!

Education as it is, is a horrible way to make money. It's a time sink, a money sink, and there are much better opportunities available to those who didn't actually do that education thing. The only reason to do ANY higher education is if it is a hard requirement for your chosen profession. I know many people older than me who make less money, have less enjoyment in life, with more debt, all because when they went to school, I got the job they went to school to get.

On Topic: Probably the best decision, if you are already 3/4 of the way through free college, might as well finish it, life can be hard without family support. and if you make them happy, they may be more forthcoming about understand you later. So I think he made the right choice.

 

[Charli]

...For one tournament? Is that really going to ruin his education? I can safely presume my parents know I'm mature enough to manage both things.

And hey if he wins that's free money.

I find it odd that they made him choose like he was going down some dark path to card games all day everyday like some bad joke yu-gi-oh villain.

 

[Janaschi]

I can understand why the parents would prefer having their kid(s) focus more on school, rather than on games. Especially since the parents were fully paying for their kid(s) education, and are entitled to rules regarding the education they are paying for.

But threatening to essentially kick their kid out onto the street, with absolutely 0 financial support, just goes to show how spiteful their parent(s) is/are. I am sure the parents are frustrated, as I have a feeling this decision was not made because of a single tournament. But any parent, willing to essentially abandon their kid(s), who has admitted that they do not have enough money even to pay for their last year of college (meaning they are either broke, or next to broke), should be ashamed of themselves.

If you are not willing to take the good with the bad, when deciding to have kids, and are not willing to make sacrifices that your kids probably will take for granted, then in no capacity should you be having kids, except for selfish purposes.

But I digress - I do not take stories such as these, as 100% accurate. For all I know, there is a huge gap of information not being shared, which would render my opinion moot. I accept that as a possibility.

 

[Dead Metal]

Good.
His parents payed for his education and supported him up to this point, as he says, this is his final year, if he fucks it up that was a life time of money wasted, just for a stupid virtual card game. He can still play this professionally after he's finished his education. There is absolutely no point in jeopardizing his education for a tournament, even if it's as awesome as this.

Plus, he stated he started playing seriously in December, which coupled with the fact that he qualified for this tournament, I believe he's been concentrating more on this than his studies.

Another captcha? Seriously, every time I post I get one of these.

 

[Clive Howlitzer]

Good. His education is more important than a pro gaming career. His parents have the right idea.

 

[Chefsbrian]

Erm, good? At what point did it become acceptable to question whether or not computer games were a viable alternative to education?

Good. His education is more important than a pro gaming career. His parents have the right idea.

Normally I'd agree with both of you, but classes in most post secondary area's are either wrapping up or finished now. I don't know his exact school, but its likely the same deal, he's probably done classes and is just home now, so frankly this makes little sense to me. Sounds like many parents I deal with at work, just disliking video games because the media they consume dislikes them.

 

[Clive Howlitzer]

Erm, good? At what point did it become acceptable to question whether or not computer games were a viable alternative to education?

Good. His education is more important than a pro gaming career. His parents have the right idea.

Normally I'd agree with both of you, but classes in most post secondary area's are either wrapping up or finished now. I don't know his exact school, but its likely the same deal, he's probably done classes and is just home now, so frankly this makes little sense to me. Sounds like many parents I deal with at work, just disliking video games because the media they consume dislikes them.

It might sound cruel but if his parents are paying for his education and he lives at home for free. His parents call the shots. That is the price you pay for living at home. Also, I feel like going down the road of 'pro-gamer' is one he'll regret later. The average 'pro-gamer' will earn far less than someone with even a decent career elsewhere. It is also something that while it might seem cool to do now, will rapidly fall out of later.

 

[Dach]

But threatening to essentially kick their kid out onto the street, with absolutely 0 financial support, just goes to show how spiteful their parent(s) is/are.

It might not be a fair thing to so, but it is understandable why it happens. If they disagree with you about something that they feel is important to your well-being, then they will tug on any string that they think will get you to agree. If they can't control you, then they can control their money. I had a similar thing happen to me while in college but I had a job so I cut myself loose. It was a fairly innocuous issue (more of a straw the broke the camels back thing) so I could easily see the same thing be the case here.

 

[Janaschi]

But threatening to essentially kick their kid out onto the street, with absolutely 0 financial support, just goes to show how spiteful their parent(s) is/are.

It might not be a fair thing to so, but it is understandable why it happens. If they disagree with you about something that they feel is important to your well-being, then they will tug on any string that they think will get you to agree. If they can't control you, then they can control their money. I had a similar thing happen to me while in college but I had a job so I cut myself loose. It was a fairly innocuous issue (more of a straw the broke the camels back thing) so I could easily see the same thing be the case here.

It comes down to perspective. Parents think that throwing their kids into the deep-end of the pool, by throwing them out into the streets with almost nothing to their name, will do them good and help them figure out their lives. I cannot begin to tell you, just how many friends I have had, that have had this done to them. And do you know what happens?

I have had friends turn to drugs, because without a house, education or good credit, and without enough money to buy clean clothes for interviews, they were turned down and resorted to selling drugs.

There was one girl I knew, who was cut off financially during college, because her parents did not approve of her fiance. She had a job working as hostess, but it was not enough, and she was eventually busted for prostitution, because she could barely make enough to finish her education, and take care of her kid.

More than others, with no options really available without family or a home to turn to, just became yet more cannon fodder/floor-scrubbers in the military, with most either being sent to Iraq, or being discharged because of the recent cut-backs in the American military. Again, with nowhere to go.

It is selfish, and I reiterate: if you are not willing to take the good with the bad, and you are not willing to make sacrifices, while at the same time understanding that your kid(s) will likely take your sacrifices for granted, then in no way are you justified to be a proper parent, except for selfish purposes.

 

[DarkArk]

I'm actually kind of amused by this. Classes are important in college, true. But they are far from the only reason people should go. Networking is arguably more important than classwork for many degrees. Which yes can often take the form of things that appear to just be for fun, but they're often more than that.

How often has this guy traveled? Doing it on another person's dime is a fantastic way that doesn't appear much. Who knows what friends he might have made? I'd say his parents are being sadly shortsighted. I sure as hell would have let my kid gone, especially as it wouldn't have cost me a damn thing.

I go and play but pack my things and leave home and I get all support cut off from my parents.

Also, parents that do this are jackasses. There's no defense for that kind of behavior.

 

[Scarim Coral]

And hey if he wins that's free money.

That's the deal breaking. If he had lost then quiting college was all for nothing well he got next year but it would be a struggle college wise.

OT- Hard to say, while I don't like Esport myself but I know what it like being screwed over from higher education (granted I never regret choosing it since otherwise I wouldn't had made fantastic friends from that course).

Still why do I get a feeling he could had gotten some kind of a support from a crowdfunding (or maybe not). I have a sinking feeling we may seen a future open letter from some loser to stop parent to stopping their children dream of competing in Esport!

 

[DrOswald]

Erm, good? At what point did it become acceptable to question whether or not computer games were a viable alternative to education?

Good.
His parents payed for his education and supported him up to this point, as he says, this is his final year, if he fucks it up that was a life time of money wasted, just for a stupid virtual card game. He can still play this professionally after he's finished his education. There is absolutely no point in jeopardizing his education for a tournament, even if it's as awesome as this.

Plus, he stated he started playing seriously in December, which coupled with the fact that he qualified for this tournament, I believe he's been concentrating more on this than his studies.

Another captcha? Seriously, every time I post I get one of these.

Good. His education is more important than a pro gaming career. His parents have the right idea.

Did you guys even read the article? This was not an either or thing until his parents made it so. It was a 1 week all expenses paid trip in the middle of the summer semester. And we know for sure this guy was not going to school during the summer because he is going to be moving back home for the summer to live with his parents.

This is not a case of his parents preventing him throwing away his education, this is a case of his parents preventing him doing something productive and fun with that week instead of sitting on his ass doing nothing. There is absolutely no threat to his education here, so that excuse is total bullshit. The trip is all expenses paid so neither the parents or the student have anything to lose. The only possible motivation here is an attempt to sabotage this guys prospects as a pro, either because they do not approve and are embarrassed of him (which is an extremely likely scenario) or from some misguided attempt to force him down the proper path in life, which never ends well.

Now, the guy made the right choice, finishing the degree is more important than going to one tournament. But the parents are morons, especially the dad.

PS. As for this guy compromising his studies to qualify for this tourney, I don't buy it. Even a full time student has a ton of free time if he doesn't have a job or any other responsibilities, and hearthstone is a relatively simple game compared to most esport titles. If this was LOL or Starcraft, then probably. But hearthstone is not like those.

 

[Dach]

His parents call the shots.

It absolutely is the case that the parents can choose to remove their financial backing and force their 18+ yr old kid out the door. But there are more ethical cases (your kid is becoming a drug selling meth head) and not-so-ethical cases (your kid might have a slightly lower GPA, possibly hurting their job prospects out of college). There are people I know from high school that have crashed and burned after finishing college since their parents dictated everything for them prior and people who messed up in high school/college but are doing fine now. People have to be allowed to make some mistake or they won't learn, even if there are SOME lasting problems that crop up because of that mistake.

Parents think that throwing their kids into the deep-end of the pool, by throwing them out into the streets with almost nothing to their name, will do them good and help them figure out their lives.

Hm, I've never seen someone who felt this about their own child, though I could see some people who might think this way. I'd speculate that most parents threaten the financial separation either because they feel that their child isn't taking responsibility for their future (NEET issues) or as a way to leverage their child to obey them not initially intending to follow through.

 

[Granfaloon]

I feel that is a shitty thing his dad is doing to him. Saying no to an all expenses paid trip to a tournament where he has a chance at winning up to $25k? Why the hell not? This is from the perspective of someone who has never had any help from his parents but that just seems stupid from my viewpoint.

 

[Janaschi]

His parents call the shots.

It absolutely is the case that the parents can choose to remove their financial backing and force their 18+ yr old kid out the door. But there are more ethical cases (your kid is becoming a drug selling meth head) and not-so-ethical cases (your kid might have a slightly lower GPA, possibly hurting their job prospects out of college). There are people I know from high school that have crashed and burned after finishing college since their parents dictated everything for them prior and people who messed up in high school/college but are doing fine now. People have to be allowed to make some mistake or they won't learn, even if there are SOME lasting problems that crop up because of that mistake.

Parents think that throwing their kids into the deep-end of the pool, by throwing them out into the streets with almost nothing to their name, will do them good and help them figure out their lives.

Hm, I've never seen someone who felt this about their own child, though I could see some people who might think this way. I'd speculate that most parents threaten the financial separation either because they feel that their child isn't taking responsibility for their future (NEET issues) or as a way to leverage their child to obey them not initially intending to follow through.

Empty threats are not all that bad - when children grow older, sometimes that is all a parent can do anymore. Especially if the kid grows up to be a narcissist/sadist. Consider my words referring only to those parents that disown/abandon/financially abandon their kids. Your kid could be the world's largest asshole. But they are your responsibility, and turning your back on them only makes everything worse.

 

[Dach]

Empty threats are not all that bad - when children grow older, sometimes that is all a parent can do anymore. Especially if the kid grows up to be a narcissist/sadist. Consider my words referring only to those parents that disown/abandon/financially abandon their kids. Your kid could be the world's largest asshole. But they are your responsibility, and turning your back on them only makes everything worse.

Ideally parents shouldn't have to threaten their children at all, but I understand your point. There is an issue when an empty threat is made, though. If the child calls the bluff, do you follow through, thinking that they will eventually come around, or cave and basically never have leverage again and the child is still doing what the parent thinks they should not? There is an "easy" solution and that is to only threaten it if the perceived impact of the 'bad thing' the child is doing is worse for them than suddenly losing all financial backing. That means, though, that anything short of that, the child must be allowed to make their own mistakes and suffer the consequences.

 

[JSRevenge]

As a parent, I don't think it's a problem for a 21 year old child to go to a video game tournament in the middle of summer. However, let's imagine that you live at home and part of that environment includes getting a job to help pay for living expenses during school. Nobody can land a job with a week cut out of the middle of the summer. And that's just one possibility for the "other side" of the story. Maybe there is a family trip he has to disrupt (albeit a worse excuse, but this might be a very family-first culture). Who knows?

However, this thought that the parents are being selfish, I'm fighting the urge to say meaner things than just "shut up". If he wants to go, there's nothing stopping him. He can get a damn job and take a semester off. No one's forcing him to take his parents' money.

And if getting money from your parents is the only thing keeping someone from being a drug addled prostitute, it was an unhealthy codependent relationship to begin with and better off broken.

 

[Sniper Team 4]

I think he made the right choice. Putting that much work and effort into college, and being that close to finishing, it would be really sad to just throw it all away.

I am curious as to why his dad would respond that harshly over something like this. Was he struggling with his classes? Is he a slacker? Or is his dad really that closed-minded?