Aug 14 , 2015
News
Pakistani teenager wins £4m by playing video games
WASHINGTON - One talented teenager has accomplished every 16-year-old’s dream by winning $6.63million (£4 million) playing Defence of the Ancients 2.
Summail Hassan’s five-man team, Evil Geniuses, scooped the top prize at Valve’s eSports competition ‘The International’ netting $6.63 million (£4m) last weekend. Playing popular eSports game DotA 2, the team managed to fend off 18 other outfits from around the globe at the Key Arena in Seattle.
Founded in 1999, the American-based fivesome are owned by an umbrella company of Amazon’s Twitch, called GoodGame Agency, which in turn operates another three eSports teams. Sumail Hassan Syed - who is originally from Pakistan - now lives in Rosemont, Illinois, and helped Evil Geniuses win a $1.2 million first place price at the Defence of the Ancients Asia Championships this year.
Growing up in Pakistan, Sumail sold his bicycle so he could afford to play more DotA – a decision that’s definitely paid off. The purse was the largest amount ever up for grabs in eSports, and was more than you’d get for winning the Masters, the Tour de France or the Kentucky Derby. The huge winnings were partly crowd-funded by Valve, as it chipped in $2.50 for every $9.99 spent in-game in DotA 2, on top of a base prize of $1.6 million.
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk