Bridging Worlds - Balancing Education, Career and Coaching
Discover the inspiring story of Ong Ting Yi, also known as 'BornThisWay7,' who balances a full-time job with his passion for coaching in esports. From winning League of Legends competitions to excelling in his studies and career, Ong's journey shows incredible dedication and resilience. Find out how this former pro player continues to impact the gaming community while working as an auditor in Singapore. Curious about how he does it all? Read on!
*Disclaimer: Everything is for assignment purposes only*
Planning Process
Project Title:
Feature Writing
School:
Taylor's College
Article:
Profile Article
Story Angle:
He is a retired League of Legends pro who has coached many players and teams. He was ranked number 1 in SEA for 4 years and stayed in the Top 50 for 8 years. My story explores how he balanced his esports career with school and now juggles a full-time job with coaching.
What makes your story different and unique:
Unlike typical esports stories, my angle focuses on how he balanced being a pro player with excelling in school, and now juggles a full-time job with coaching.
Bridging Worlds - Balancing Education, Career and Coaching
By Zoe Natasha Kam
Ong Ting Yi, winning his first tournament, Gift Cyber Café Tournament, at the age of 17 (Photo taken by teammate: Sylvester Lee)
In the ever-changing world of esports, transitioning from a competitor to a retiree frequently indicates the end of an era. However, for some, this transition may be the beginning of an even more promising future. This is the story of Ong Ting Yi , 22 , also known as 'BornThisWay7', a retired League of Legends professional player who managed to balance a demanding full-time career whilst being an active coach in the gaming industry.
Ong started his journey at 11 when he first discovered League of Legends. After playing for years, he entered college and continued to play the game as usual until that one fateful day, which changed his life forever. "I was just playing the game, but one of my college friends was playing in a competition and had asked me to join it with him. That was how I first got involved in the local scene." With a great team and his capable abilities, winning first place in the Gift Cyber Café Tournament was an easy task. In spite of this, Ong was hesitant to join the esports scene in the current SEA server, which includes Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia, as he felt it wasn't competitive enough. When he was allowed to further his studies in London, nothing could stop him from his passion. "It (SEA server) is not as competitive as other servers, for example, in Europe. So when I went to Europe for university, I started joining a professional team," Ong said.
Ong Ting Yi playing in the UK’S Red Bull-sponsored tournament in 2020 (Photo taken by: DayZech)
Ong achieved massive success as a team leader and competed in multiple competitions. One of his most significant achievements was leading his team to victory in the UK's NUEL (National University eSports League) competition in 2021. Despite being committed to his professional esports career, Ong excelled in his studies. Entering one of the top five universities in the UK with a perfect score for his A-levels and achieving Top in Malaysia for Accounting, he graduated with Upper Second Class honours. "I don't think it's that challenging to balance academics and professional esports," he said. Ong would manage his time wisely between the two worlds without trouble. "I would take breaks in between my gaming practices for competitions," Ong said. He added that he would study throughout his breaks to ensure that he would always have plenty of time to complete his assignments.
However, as he neared the end of his degree, Ong had to make his final decision regarding his future. Ong said, "I did not have the will and drive to pursue playing professionally full-time because there were just too many obstacles. For example, having to assure my family, dropping off a chance at a stable career path and the stress of competition." Faced with a difficult decision, he decided to retire from the professional scene and pursue a stable job. But this did not stop Ong from staying connected with the world he left as he took on part-time coaching whilst balancing his full-time career.
Currently, Ong is an auditor for one of the big four auditing firms in Singapore and resides in Singapore while also balancing his coaching career, which he offers more towards individuals who want to improve themselves rather than teams. He has coached over 90 students and continues to remain one of the top three players in the SEA server as of 2023. Due to having lots of experience in the esports scene, coaching was not a problem for Ong. “I understand which concepts are important and which ones apply to which individual better, so I can tailor each coaching session differently depending on the type of playstyle they have, what they want to achieve and what they want to learn.”
Ashim Sitoula , 27 , a Nepali student who currently resides in the US and a current coachee of Ong, shares his experience of being coached by him. "He always ensured I took away something from the coaching sessions," said Ashim. "He also brought a lot of structure into the coaching sessions and personalised the coaching to my skill level and current ability," Ashim added.
Balancing a full-time career and coaching is a challenging task. However, Ong mentions that he has no issues with juggling them. "Being an independent coach means I can schedule my timings according to availability. Since my coachees are my own, I can work out a schedule with them and follow our common available timings instead of having to follow a fixed routine set by a company or a boss," Ong said. Ong also mentioned that he would rearrange his time with his coachees for a day when he would be free if any unforeseen circumstances arise.
When asked what advice he would give fellow aspiring esports players looking to balance their professional gaming careers with other responsibilities, Ong said, "My biggest advice would be not to stress yourself out too much. Figure out your priorities, and tackle things one at a time. It's not easy, but it's possible, even if you're working in one of the most tiring jobs."
