The heartfelt full post arguing that Singapore is too rigid with its rules and that gaming is as awesome and legit as any athletic sport can be found on Medium.

Long story short: First Departure is a Dota 2 team based in Singapore made up of teenagers who have competed and won numerous tournaments.

Its players are of National Service pre-enlistment age, which means they are undergoing tertiary education. Their bid to develop their chops and compete on the world stage has hit a snag as National Service and school commitments beckon and have overridden their ambition to go pro.

Here is their Facebook post lamenting their plight that has resonated with a large audience of like-minded gamers who are of the pre-enlistment age:

The background: First Departure competed in The Summit, a global Dota 2 tournament, where regional qualifiers are played online with the winner of each region invited to the Los Angeles studio to compete in a Local Area Network (LAN) finals against the winners of other regions in the world.

The tournament is big money: The base prize pool starts at US$100,000 with 25 percent of all in-game sales contributing to it, resulting in a cumulative snowballing prize money. Currently, the total prize pool stands at US$310,242 (SG$387,896).

However, one of the players named Meracle has to serve NS and is duty-bound to serve the country and cannot take time out to compete in the LAN gaming tournament.

Worse, one of the gamer's school, Ngee Ann Polytechnic, did not allow time off on the basis that students should focus on their studies and not on personal interest.

Some relevant issues have been raised: A few months ago in July 2014, a Singaporean by the name of Jeremy Tang wanted to participate in The Voice of China and his appeal for deferment was approved and he was allowed to reschedule his NS enlistment date in order to facilitate his participation in the show.

The question then: If flexibility can be applied to his case, why not others on a case-by-case basis?

Besides, there is also the argument that e-gaming is not much different from athletics, sports or singing: They are about being good at something to the point of being obsessed about being good at something.

Furthermore, didn't Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong talk about the need for a “culture shift” to persuade young people to consider alternative routes to career success at the 2014 National Day Rally?

Word of advice for others in a similar predicament: Don't give up too easily. To anyone who is also stuck in the same predicament with NS looming and getting in the way of turning pro at something, be it gaming or ballet, please go see your MP in your constituency and appeal.

Also, do write to the Minister of Culture, Community and Youth, Lawrence Wong.

Top photo via

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