Taiwan's Esport Classes Teach High School Students Competitive Gaming

TaiwanPlus News

In the past decade, Taiwanese high schools have created Esport classes, teaching students competitive gaming and preparing them for the esports industry. However, with intense training schedules and criticism about the effectiveness of these classes, the path to becoming an esports athlete is a hard one.

Transcript

00:00Just like any other high school in Taiwan,

00:07students head to class after their lunch break.

00:14But this class is different.

00:16And here, they are learning the basics of e-sports.

00:22E-sports, short for electronic sports,

00:25is a fast-growing global industry,

00:27and Taiwan is keeping up.

00:29Across the country,

00:30schools have been launching e-sports classes

00:32and varsity teams in the past decade,

00:34preparing students to compete internationally

00:37in both mobile and PC games.

00:56Students on the school's e-sports team

00:58train over eight hours a day,

01:00even through winter and summer breaks,

01:02to stay ready for competition.

01:04The school's three teams compete in a number of tournaments annually,

01:08including the ACS Summer Tournament,

01:10a major event for the mobile e-sports squad.

01:13The tournament draws both live and online audiences,

01:16with top teams earning significant prize money.

01:19the players who are not working.

01:20Because everyone knows,

01:21the training players' strength and the time

01:23are very long.

01:24It's very long.

01:25So if you can't carry out the training

01:27as well as the training players' strength

01:29you can't carry out,

01:30I would also recommend not to go

01:32the training players' strength.

01:34While the program trains aspiring esports gamers, less than 3% of them will go on to turn pro.

01:54There is criticism about how the program may come at the cost of other academic subjects.

01:59But one mother, who allowed her son to enter the school's esports program, believes education goes beyond just grades.

02:29And Coach Jerry Fan says the program isn't just about esports.

02:36In this process, I want them to learn a very selfless spirit.

02:41When you practice, you want to be very selfless, you want to be very looking for勝利.

02:46These are things that you will be able to enter the school's work.

02:50Even after college, you will be able to enter the industry.

02:53Actually, this is a very good習慣.

02:56While the road to becoming a pro gamer is uncertain, what these students gain along the way,

03:02discipline, resilience and purpose, may be the real victory in the game of life.

03:07Either or not, they ever grace the global esports stage.

03:10Joseph Wu, Pichi Zhuang, and Chelsea Wu for Taiwan Plus.

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