Gaming league drafts Purdue, IU students in competition
>>Print ViewPublication Date: 04/09/2008
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Eric Earley was drafted to play video games.
"It's a really professional setting; it operates the same as other sports," said Earley, a senior in the College of Technology. Earley traveled to Austin over Spring Break to be chosen for the Championship Gaming Series.
The Championship Gaming Series is a league of six teams that will compete in a season of video game matches during summer 2008. Earley won a qualifying game on Xbox 360 Live, which led him to be drafted in the first round and be deemed the fifth overall pick.
"I was pretty determined," he said. "I've always been one of the better racers."
Earley's skills at driving the cars in the game "Forza Motorsport 2" is going to allow him to earn a salary while he is in Los Angeles. The league will appear on DIRECTV for the second time this summer, but playing games online through Xbox 360 is how Earley discovered the video game league.
"It's crazy. I don't play hardly at all, I just went out and tried it," he said.
Even though he doesn't spend endless hours playing video games, it's been a hobby of Earley's since his junior year of high school with friends. He also competed against people on Xbox 360 Live that he did not meet until he arrived in Austin, with 300 others who were attempting to be drafted into the gaming league.
One of the people who Earley raced against, but never met in person, was Dan Otto, a junior at Indiana University. Otto decided to pursue earning a spot in the league after watching last year's inaugural season.
"I just practiced a lot," he said. "I put in a lot of time."
Otto was drafted by a different team in the league than Earley, so they will be matched against each other three times this summer.
"I'm boilering down a little bit," Otto said. "Hopefully I can represent IU."
Otto's hopes of defeating Indiana University's rival may be high, but his experience of playing since third grade might be a factor. Because his grandparents lived in Indianapolis, Otto fell in love with the Indianapolis 500. His strong interest in the sport led to his mom purchasing Otto's first racing game that was based on the famous race.
Both video gamers have years of experience behind them and have great potential to earn thousands of dollars playing "Forza Motorsport 2" this summer. The prospect of being paid to participate in a hobby is something many people only dream about.
"It feels great," Otto said. "It's a dream come true; I told my friends if there was a way to make money playing video games, I'm going to do it."