THIS is the story of a young star, plucked from obscurity to play on one of the world’s best teams.

But this is also the story of an Australian who was barely 16 years old when he moved to the other side of the world to try and make it as a competitive gamer.

And now Anathan Pham, who just a year ago was like any other schoolkid in Melbourne, plays a starring role on one of the biggest teams in the richest esport there is.

Pham — also known as ‘Ana’ — plays Dota 2, a team-based strategy game which in the simplest terms possible could be compared to basketball. But instead of a ball, there are dragons, wizards and other magical creatures trying to destroy each other.

The game is enormous with over 10 million players every month but also has a huge esports scene. Dota 2’s world championships, known as The International, sold out Seattle’s KeyArena last August with over 17,000 fans watching teams compete for a $US20 million prize pool.

“I never thought going pro was possible but sometimes dreams come true,” he told foxsports.com.au.

Ana — second from left — doing commentary on a Dota 2 match with teammates at the recent ‘The Summit 6’ tournament. Source: Supplied

Ana was only 12 when he got into Dota 2 and really started playing it somewhat seriously at 14. But joining the ranks of the elite is a tough task at the best of times; especially so in Australia, which has natural difficulties — a small local scene and slow speeds when trying to play on servers based in other countries.

“The scene isn’t big at all but there is still a following and a small community of Australians that play for fun,” he explained.

“There are others such as Velo (Taesung Kim, who plays for Korean team MVP Phoenix) and Kpii (Damien Chok, who plays for Chinese team Newbee).

“Since the scene was so small and was impossible to go pro, I kinda just played with a bunch of friends and did some random ranked (an online mode which pits players against others of a similar skill) marathons on the holidays.”

But Aussie players can only get so far playing at home — the most successful Dota 2 teams are based in North America, Europe, China and Southeast Asia with few exceptions.

Even still, players who have made the leap into the professional ranks have usually made connections with those in other countries by reaching the high ranks online and earning a reputation for being a great player, and therefore earning an invitation to join a team.

Anathan Pham, a 17-year-old Melburnian who is now a member of one of the biggest teams in Dota 2, the richest game in esports. Source: Supplied

Ana had no such thing. He moved from Melbourne to Shanghai, China over Christmas in 2015, joining a competition called the CDEC League which allowed highly-rated young players to show their skills in a competitive environment.

That quickly folded but Ana had built a relationship with a Chinese manager who got him an opportunity with a team known as Invictus Gaming Vitality; in a previous incarnation, the squad had won 2012’s edition of The International and the $US1 million prize pool that came with it.

He performed well, helping the team to a surprise victory in a major tournament in Beijing which earnt the squad approximately $A160,000.

However a rift with management based on his contract and claims that Ana could not integrate with the Chinese team — based refuted statements that he couldn’t communicate with his teammates and that he didn’t like the local food — saw him split with the squad.

Thankfully for Ana, his luck turned following August’s International. One of the tournament favourites, OG, had stumbled to a finish in the bottom half of the 16-team field and saw three of its five players then depart for other squads. That included one of the most exciting young players in the world, a Jordanian known as Miracle — who plays the same in-game role as Ana.

“Tal (Aizik, the Israeli captain of OG also known as Fly) approached my manager and myself,” Ana explained.

“They knew each other because they met each other when we were in the Mars TV (a production company) office in Shanghai for the Shanghai Major (a massive tournament which took place in March 2016).”

“He offered me a role in OG.”

Ana (bottom left), with his OG teammates — Tal ‘Fly’ Aizik from Israel, Johan ‘N0tail’ Sundstein from Denmark, Jesse ‘JerAx’ Vainikka from Finland and Gustav ‘s4’ Magnusson from Sweden — in a ‘family portrait’ taken at the recent ‘The Summit 6’ tournament. Source: Supplied

The Dota 2 world was surprised by Ana’s signing. Not only was he required to replace one of the brightest stars in the game, but suddenly he was on the move again; he is now based in Israel, living in his captain’s house and fully immersed in the world of esports at the elite level.

“A normal day would be to wake up and play Dota, go to the shops a few times a week and play about 6-8 hours of scrims (scrimmages) on most days, watch some videos then go to sleep,” he explained.

Based purely on tournament winnings, Ana has earned almost $US16,000 in his short career; but players also earn a salary which can be above $US5,000 a month depending on the quality of the team and the sponsors on board.

Ana and OG’s first big test starts this weekend at the Boston Major. The team’s record saw them directly invited to the 16-team tournament where $US3 million is on the line in the biggest event since the International in August. A victory there would earn Ana somewhere in the realm of $A200,000.

But it’s not going to be easy for them. The groups for the first stage of the tournament were announced on Friday with OG’s first match-up being against Invictus Gaming Vitality — Ana’s old team.

“I’m feeling nervous and not knowing what to expect but at the same time very excited,” he said.

“Playing alongside veterans alone is quite nerve racking and (I still get) a bit starstruck.

“I get a bit of pressure playing in Miracle’s old spot, but the pressure mainly comes from playing in such an experienced and extremely skilled team and still learning as quite an inexperienced player.”

Of course, given how a year ago Ana was just a schoolkid, it’s understandable for him to be a little bit overwhelmed. These stories rarely happen; and yet for him, they have.

The Boston Major Group Stage begins on December 4 (AEDT) and can be watched for free inside Dota 2, which is available for download on Steam, or on popular streaming sites such as Twitch. The Main Event single-elimination tournament takes place from December 8-11.

The writer is on Twitter @maxlaughton