“I am desperate for revenge against the Chinese, the strongest in the world”
Ryutaro Ohira, 4th-year student, School of Law
At the Student Union
“e-Sports” has been receiving much attention in recent years as a new type of sports competition. Treating gaming competitions as sports, with teams competing against each other, has acquired momentum, particularly among the youth. Ryutaro Ohira, aka rilver, a member of the HoK (※2) division of SCARZ (※1), one of the largest professional e-sports teams in Japan, is a law student at Waseda University. He has participated in numerous tournaments so far, last year representing Japan in the “2022 Honor of Kings International Championship (KIC2022)” (※3) and finishing in the top 16. We interviewed Mr. Ohira, who plans to take a year off from university in April 2023, and focus on e-sports, about how he became involved in e-sports, his activities as a professional, and his future goals.
(※1) A professional Japanese gaming team with nine gaming divisions.
(※2) “Honor of Kings” is a popular online game from China, in which players are divided into two teams and fight in real-time in a genre of game called Multiplayer Online Battle Arena (MOBA).
(※3) A championship tournament to determine who is the best in the world in Honor of Kings.
An Honor of Kings Play Video. This is the most popular game application (app) in China and has more than 200 million users worldwide. In-app billing sales total approximately 870 billion yen!
――What triggered your interest in e-sports?
In junior high school, I first began playing games in the genre of Multiplayer Online Battle Arena (MOBA), in which players are divided into two teams to fight in real-time. In the beginning, I simply enjoyed it as a hobby. However, as I played, I wanted to improve my gaming skills , and I began watching videos of game commentaries and tournaments. I believe that is how I discovered games in the form of e-sports. I wanted to participate in tournaments too, and eventually, in my third year of junior high school, I formed a team with my online gaming friends and competed in gaming tournaments.
I entered various tournaments and my skills improved as a player. I even competed in a world championship as an amateur. It was when I entered the university and the COVID-19 pandemic struck, that I first became interested in becoming a professional. The more time I spent at home, the more time I spent playing games, and the better my skills became in proportion. As I improved, a fellow gamer who was planning to join a professional team invited me as well, and I became a professional in December 2020. If not for the pandemic, I may have remained simply a college student who loves video games, and may have never considered becoming a professional gamer.
In 2021, participating in the world tournament of the game “Arena of Valor.” Mr. Ohira is in the center of the photograph
――What do you do as an e-sports professional?
My goal is to participate in game tournaments that my office assigns and achieve excellent results. e-sports is gradually receiving attention in Japan, however, in China and Korea, it enjoys an unparalleled level of attention and popularity. In official tournaments hosted by popular gaming companies, the prize money for winning may exceed 1 billion yen. Our teams train specifically for large tournaments that are conducted several times a year. Essentially, we stay at home and practice games for 14 hours a day. It is a very difficult day, and there is constant struggle with physical fatigue such as eye strain, headaches, and tendonitis. I rely on herbal medicines and eye drops to take care of my body.
An average day in his life. He practiced about 6 hours a day while he was in school, however, now that he is on a leave of absence, he spends much time practicing and honing his skills.
“SCARZ HIDEOUT” is a training facility owned by SCARZ. It has substantial practice equipment.
As the tournament approaches, a month-long training camp begins in the office dormitories. As teamwork is critical in MOBA games, the team members practice together to prepare for the competition. Currently, two of the team’s six players are Chinese, and all conversations during play are in Chinese. In the beginning, I struggled to communicate with them, however, I continued to study Chinese on my own, and now I can have a simple conversation with them. The team gets along well, however we sometimes have arguments when the results are not favorable. However, we need such conflicts to become stronger. Even if we do not understand each other’s language perfectly, I believe that we can get one step closer to victory by communicating and fostering bonds, and not giving up.
During a Meeting with Team Members
――You made it to the top 16 at KIC2022, which had the best teams worldwide. How did you feel throughout the tournament?
Last year’s KIC was a series of unexpected events. To begin, HoK, which is played in KIC, is a very popular game with over 200 million players, however, it has not yet been released in Japan. I did not even know about its existence until my office approached me about the tournament. Since the game is from China, the language used is Chinese. I began to learn the basics of controlling by translating every sentence, hence, I was far behind players from other countries.
A photograph from KIC2022. Using voice chat during the game and playing together as a part of team
The team logo of SCARZ. The name is a reference to wanting to leave their mark on people’s hearts
Moreover, we had only been practicing for six months. To be honest, I was not confident at all. However, we won the domestic qualifying rounds, and surprisingly, we were the ones to represent Japan. Thereafter, in the play-in qualifying rounds to advance to the tournament finals, we won all of our games and made it to the top 16 in the primary tournament! The teams from all the countries had strong players who had been playing HoK longer than we had, however, our confidence and morale grew as we worked well together, probably because of the training camp. However, when we competed against a strong Chinese team in the finals, we were keenly aware of the difference in our levels. I want to use this experience to hone my skills and challenge them again.
――As I listen to your story, I believe that the Chinese e-sports market is large.
It is not only the competition and the size of the market that is large, but the perception of e-sports itself is also quite different from what it is in Japan. In China, e-sports players are akin to idols. If you are excellent at a game, you will have a large fan base, and you may even be waited upon at tournaments. If you are a top player, you can have over 10 million followers on your account on Weibo, which is a popular social network in China. SCARZ received attention when we represented Japan at KIC2022, and recently appeared on a popular Chinese TV program “战至巅峰2(※4). As Waseda University is famous in China, I appeared very interesting as an “active early college student,” and I have over 180,000 followers on Weibo. There are unexpected benefits to Waseda’s power.
(※4)The program features Chinese celebrities who practice games just like professional e-sports players and who aim to win a tournament by doing so. SCARZ will serve as the winning team’s exhibition match opponent.
――Incidentally, why did you enroll in the School of Law?
I have actually wanted to become the legal profession since elementary school. I wanted to work as a judge, and that had always been my goal. I was studying for the bar exam after I entered university, however, I became interested in the profession of e-sports player along the way. I was worried about which path to take and consulted with my seniors in the seminar and my parents. My family was surprised and opposed to it. However, I knew that becoming an e-sports player was now or never for me, as they have short career durations. I explained my considerations and my past achievements and patiently persuaded them, and they were somewhat understanding. Currently, I am taking a year off from university to concentrate on e-sports. If I achieve favorable results this year, I will seriously pursue the path of a professional gamer.
With members of the “Civil Law Hirano Seminar” to which Mr. Ohira belongs. Mr. Ohira is on the far left in the front row. “There are people in the seminar who do not know that I am a professional gamer, and they may be surprised when they read this article,” says Mr. Ohira
――Finally, please tell us about the appeal of e-sports and your goals for the future.
The most significant attraction of e-sports is its wide scale. In regular sports, no matter how much you like the sport, there are parts dependent on your athletic skills and physique, however, there are no such restrictions in video games. There are various game genres, hence, anyone can begin, and everyone has a chance to win. Furthermore, similar to other sports, you can develop friendships with many different people through these games. I believe that e-sports is unique in that it is filled with various possibilities.
My dream is to master MOBA to the extent that when people think about Japanese e-sports players, they think of rilver. As the first step, I am currently training for KIC2023, which will occur at the end of this year. Our most significant goal is to win against the strongest Chinese team. The entire team is eager to seek revenge for last year’s competition, and we are training hard to become the best in the world. I want to achieve the best result for the team as well as for myself.
Left: With friends from overseas teams with whom he became good friends through competitions. The third person from the left is Mr. Ohira.
Right: With friends from the HoK division. Mr. Ohira is in the front.
851th Issue
Interviewed, written, and photographed by Waseda Weekly Reporter (SJC student staff) Takao Sakuma, 4th year, School of Law
【Profile】
Born in Tokyo. Graduated from Waseda High School. Outside of games, he enjoys sports such as basketball and tennis and used to be a member of a basketball team. His player name “rilver” comes from the “r” in Ryutaro, and his favorite color, which is silver.
*This article is a translation from the Japanese edition of Waseda Weekly published on July 19, 2023. The content is current at the time of Japanese publication.
