- The Korean player was recently interviewed and asked about his passion for the game
- “Right now, I would say League is 100% purely work,” he responded
- He explained he now has health problems because of his League career
Dplus KIA’s mid laner Heo “ShowMaker” Su admits his love for League of Legends has died down over the five years he has been on the professional scene.
ShowMakes Treats League as His Job
One common feature of esports is the very young age of its professional players. It’s not uncommon to find pros at high levels being in their early or mid-20s. This is partly because esports as a whole is a very new branch of competition and entertainment, but it could also be explained by the fact that many professional players simply get burnt out.
Suffering from burnout after playing a game for many hours each day for years is the reason many esports professionals lose their passion for the game and often decide to retire or pursue other things. former League of Legends World Champion Heo “ShowMaker” Su seems to be slowly walking on the same path. In a recent interview for Korizon Esports, the Korean player admitted that he is treating League as a job now instead of a passion like when he first started his professional career five years ago.
“Honestly? When I first debuted, it was 100% love and zero percent work,” the Dplus KIA mid laner admitted. “I did it because I loved League so much. But right now, I would say League is 100% purely work.” Considering ShowMaker has been on the professional League of Legends scene since he was 17, it’s not surprising that the player is feeling the passion for the game is gone.
The problem is complicated by the fact that over the past five years, he has been grinding hard to stay on top. “It’s hard, uh, it’s very hard,” ShowMaker said, explaining that the grind has had a negative impact on his health. “I don’t think I was a super healthy person, to begin with. Now I have health problems all over. The nature of this profession is that it slowly erodes away your mental health, so it’s mentally tough, too.”
Although being just 22 years old, ShowMaker has already competed for the world-class League team Dplus KIA, helping it win three LCK trophies and participate in four World championships. Despite feeling burnt out, the Korean player continues to perform well, with his team scoring good results in the current LCK split. Dplus KIA is currently comfortably sitting in fourth place with a 6-3 record and they’re about to go up against SANDBOX soon.
However, only time will tell if the team’s continual successes will keep ShowMaker in the professional scene for long.
