eSports are a big thing these days, where gamers who are good enough can be granted a pro-athlete visa for entry into the US. Some schools are also recognizing the ability to play games professionally as an accomplishment like in sports, and are granting students scholarships.This is why it’s a bit heartwarming to learn that the father of Overwatch pro Lucas “Mendokusaii” Hakansson decided to go “all in”, and pulled his son out of high school so that he could concentrate on the game and becoming a professional, which to a certain extent has already has.
Speaking to Kotaku during the Overwatch League’s media day, Hakansson related a story in which one day his dad came home and told him that he had pulled him out of school. “He didn’t ask me. He didn’t tell me. He just came home like, ‘you didn’t take a year off; you just dropped out of school.’”
However this was not a light decision and it was only after Hakansson’s dad realized how miserable his son was in school, and how seriously he took video games that he decided he would help his son achieve his dream. According to Hakansson, “He said he didn’t want me to play and practice and try to make it into the big leagues with the fact that, if this doesn’t work, I have to go back to school in a set amount of time. He wanted me to focus on the game and pursue my dream. And if I fail, I fail.”
At the moment Hakasson plays as DPS in Houston’s Overwatch League, the Outlaws, and is a well-recognized player as well as streamer in the community.
Filed in . Read more about Blizzard, Education, Esports and Overwatch.