Family of Legends

Worlds 2015 starts in a couple of days now and I couldn't be more excited. This is potentially the final League of Legends games that I'll be watching my brother Hai play in at a competitive professional level. Even if they get destroyed in every single game, I'l be damn proud of what he has been able to accomplish. Not only on the rift (where I think he can go down as a legend of the game), but also off the right.



League of Legends hasn't just been a career for my brother, but it's really been a catalyst for mending my broken relationship with my family. Growing up, we didn't have the best childhood. We struggled to make ends meet, we struggled to get along with each other and we even struggled to love each other. The harsh environment we grew up in hardened us and made us resentful to each other.



When you grow up with hate and pain, it drives you away from each other and makes you distant. That's exactly what happened when I left for college and moved out of my home. I didn't speak much to my brother in college other than a couple of times his freshman year. Even then, there was still a bit of resentment whenever I saw him.



I remember going home one Christmas break and I started playing League of Legends. I remember I would play games with Hai every once in and awhile and we even competed on a team together in small online tournaments like IGN and IPL tournaments ($250 prize pools). I was never as good as Hai and we pretty much lost every game Hai didn't carry (I think Hai was still jungling at this point and I was playing ADC).



At that point, Hai was still partially in school but playing tons of League of Legends. I remember going back that Spring and Hai never went back. He dropped out of school and pursued his dreams.



I actually think that's the reason why Hai is so great of a shotcaller. He knows what he wants and isn't afraid of taking that risk to do it. Other people are so worried about the consequences and second guess themselves, but Hai never had a doubt. He was going to go pro and nobody was going to stop him.



Until they did. I remember when Hai failed to qualify for the LCS the first time, then when they were trying to qualify for a second time, their starting ADC got poached and went to play for TSM. I wondered, "Are they ever going to get into the LCS?" Everyone talked about how this challenger team looked so great and they dominated the challenger scene, but would they choke again when it came time?



It wasn't going to happen this time, he wasn't going to be denied. Hai made it into the LCS and turned his team into Cloud 9, to represent "good, fun and happiness, things you should feel when you are playing games" . A true representation of what gaming meant to him.



I won't talk about his success as a player, but I'll talk about what it did for us off the rift. The first time I went out to visit Hai when he was a "LCS pro" was Season 3 during Worlds in LA. It took us an hour and a half to walk across the street from LA Live to the Staples Center. So many fans wanted to take pictures with him and get him to sign things. I don't remember him wanting to turn down anyone. He was genuinely happy meeting these fans and didn't seem "above it all".



When I saw all of the happiness, hype and excitement that this game created, I knew I wanted to be a part of it. I remember applying for a job at LAX while waiting for my flight back to Chicago saying that I wanted to be a part of that company. Months later and a little bit of nudging from Hai to Bridget got my resume in front of the right people and I got the job (shameless plug: www.riotgames.com/careers).



I sold everything, moved to LA and started working for one of the best companies ever. I met some of the most amazing people ever and have made great memories that I'll never forget. One of the things that happened when I moved to LA was I got a lot closer to my brother. Whenever I talk to Hai, I try not to talk about League of Legends too much, I know that's what he lives and I don't want to pester him about that. He's still just a normal, humble kid that's living the dream.



It was still so surreal to me that my younger brother was living out his dream playing League of Legends professionally and that I was able to work for the company that made that game. I got closer and closer to my brother and went through some highs and lows (oh man that lung collapse... nothing like getting a call at 2 AM with that message).



That's kind of the story. League of Legends brought us back together (my older brother even moved to LA now). I can't tell you exactly how, or why it did, but it did. It's probably a little bit of us growing up and being in the same place once again, but it happened. No matter what happens with Cloud 9 this world or how well he does at worlds, I'll always be proud of him.



P.S. I'm the worst Lam in my family. My older brother and younger cousin is D1. I'm only D4 RIP.

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