Once considered a form of senseless entertainment, competitive gaming has evolved from a youth-driven hobby into a legitimate career path.

And no Canadian knows this better than Chris Loranger.

Hailing from Cambridge, Ont., Loranger, 24, is one of the North America’s most successful and well-known players of StarCraft II — a futuristic real-time strategy game in which players command armies across a map with the goal of annihilating their opponent.

In an hour-long documentary airing as part of Global Television’s “Obsessions” series this Saturday, Rise of the eSports Hero follows Loranger and other members of Evil Geniuses, a popular North American eSports team, as they practise and compete for gaming glory at a number of high-stakes tournaments.

“It’s very nerve-wracking,” said Loranger about competing in front of a live audience. “If you win it’s the best thing ever but if you lose you have this incredible sense of disappointment and shame.”

While it mostly focuses on the ups and downs of the professional gaming industry, a significant portion of the doc touches on Loranger’s personal struggles as a youth.

Before he moved to Canada to live with his father when he was around 16, Loranger, who was born in Florida and holds dual citizenship, had most of his adolescence derailed by poverty, family issues and runins with the law.

“When I came [to Ontario] I was having a lot of personal problems with my family,” said Loranger. “My life in Canada was a lot better than my life in the U.S., not necessarily because of the national differences but just overall it was because of my family situation.”

After completing high school, Loranger signed up for the United States Army but was put on a waiting list. It was while waiting to sign his military papers that the young gamer first started playing StarCraft II.

“I didn’t want to go to school because I didn’t have a scholarship and I didn’t want to take out a loan,” said Loranger. “Eventually I got good enough to the point where a team recognized me from those results.”

Now, between his yearly salary with Evil Geniuses, streaming his matches online, coaching aspiring professionals and winning tournaments — he has made nearly $90,000 in prize money, according to a website that tracks the industry’s earnings — Loranger, who is better known in the gaming community as “HuK,” is one of a growing number of young adults who can sustain a comfortable living playing videogames.

“It’s basically like a job,” said Loranger. “I’ll play eight to 12 hours a day on the days I’m practising, which is about 300 days a year.”

This weekend, the Toronto Congress Centre will play host to the StarCraft II World Championship Series Season 3 finals. In what can only be described as the Super Bowl of StarCraft II, the tournament will take place from Oct. 25 to 27 and will see the 16 best players from North America, Europe and Korea compete for the world title. Featuring a $150,000 prize pool, this tournament will be the largest eSports event to be held in Canada.

Although Loranger did not qualify for the tournament, he plans on competing professionally for as long as he can sustain himself and remain competitive.

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“I don’t plan on doing this for the rest of my life,” said Loranger who would like to pursue a career in psychology after he retires from gaming. “Right now I like it, I enjoy it and I can support myself off of it.”

Rise of the eSports Hero airs on Global Saturday at 8 p.m.