NBA player Gordon Hayward to join pro gaming league

September 9th, 2011

Pro gaming got a little more mainstream yesterday, with Utah Jazz forward Gordon Hayward announcing he'll join the IGN Pro League this fall to compete in StarCraft II tourneys.

"I'm a competitive guy, and I love the competitive nature of video games," Hayward said in a statement. "Pro-gamers are really sports stars themselves. The mental strategy that goes into planning your next move and what your opponent is going to do are skills you need to be successful playing basketball — and playing StarCraft II."

It's unclear if Hayward's announcement is related to the current NBA work stoppage, but it's a ringing endorsement just the same for professional gaming in general. Hayward's first match will be at the StarCraft II gaming tournament in Atlantic City from Oct. 6-9.

What do you think of the news?

Read more: PC gaming headlines

Comments

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Whoaaaaaaa. This is going to be interesting. I'm quite surprised that an NBA player is also interested in pro gaming. I got to see what happens.

New forums... Soon™

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Posted Friday, September 9th, 2011    Quote This Post
definewikipedia
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Starcraft?... I would have believed he will go for a much quicker reaction/reflex paced title, despite the sense to anticipate opposing maneuvers. Go figure.

Press any key to continue...

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Posted Friday, September 9th, 2011    Quote This Post
RDemon15
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Lol I wonder what his APM is... You can't just pick up Starcraft and be good at it, he better have some background in Starcraft.

Anything worth having is worth working hard for.

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Posted Friday, September 9th, 2011    Quote This Post
Sever1ty
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definewikipedia said: Whoaaaaaaa. This is going to be interesting. I'm quite surprised that an NBA player is also interested in pro gaming. I got to see what happens.
+1 :)

It takes 47 muscles to frown,and 17 to smile.. It only takes 3 to end a life.. One shot, one kill.

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Posted Friday, September 9th, 2011    Quote This Post
dantheman221
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that will be interesting. most athletic people i know play games like COD but if i had starcraft II i would find it insane to play a pro athlete

Technological progress is like an axe in the hands of a pathological criminal -Albert Einstein

5
Posted Friday, September 9th, 2011    Quote This Post
sharpshooter557
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Nice to see ppl like that involved in pro-gaming.

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Posted Friday, September 9th, 2011    Quote This Post
iwe
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It will be interesting to see how he does.
Of course it's a white boy, who shoots and was a Butler Bulldog in Indiana...

I'm not creative, so this is what I came up with...

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Posted Friday, September 9th, 2011    Quote This Post
aequitas28
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I find this ridiculously hilarious.

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Posted Friday, September 9th, 2011    Quote This Post
lozz21
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Like most sport stars transitions there are only three results terrible (likely), mediocre (also likely), and fantastic. (extremely unlikely)

Though if he is able to join a league he must have some good Starcraft micro skills.

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Posted Saturday, September 10th, 2011    Quote This Post
aliencat
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So thats what pro sports players do with there free time, play starcraft

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Posted Saturday, September 10th, 2011    Quote This Post
platypussamurai
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I was wondering if a day like this would ever come... I'm in awe.

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Posted Saturday, September 10th, 2011    Quote This Post
spiritualdueler
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Whoa, this is intensely interesting!

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Posted Saturday, September 10th, 2011    Quote This Post
Terito
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Sounds cool.

I'd love to watch his game, he's probably gunna get PWNT.

"He who controls the present, controls the past. He who controls the past, controls the future.

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Posted Saturday, September 10th, 2011    Quote This Post
Reinrod
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haha this is awesome! i hope he does amazing!

B-RAD-G

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Posted Saturday, September 10th, 2011    Quote This Post
dudley03420
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awesome!!!!!

M11x r3 i5-2537m@1.4Ghz 4gb dual channel ddr3 1gb geforce gt 540m

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Posted Saturday, September 10th, 2011    Quote This Post
Vinci3350
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Awww... thought he was going for NBA 2011 and 2012 instead of Starcraft II when I first read the title =/

spiritualdueler said: I was wondering if a day like this would ever come... I'm in awe.


You're not the only one, bro.

"You are not prepared!" - Illidan Stormrage

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Posted Saturday, September 10th, 2011    Quote This Post
NomadDK
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Good to see that Esports are becoming more mainstream. I'll certainly like to watch him play. Bars around here (Vegas) are starting to air esports at certain times of the day (when another sports game isn't on). Very interesting...

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Posted Sunday, September 11th, 2011    Quote This Post
Zerosama0000
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The day games are as mainstream as sports i will cry of happiness

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Posted Sunday, September 11th, 2011    Quote This Post
Durioz
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Durioz said: The day games are as mainstream as sports i will cry of happiness

Go to Korea (or Japan) and start crying. Stacraft2 is Korea's national sport, and gaming icons are all over Japan. :)

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Posted Monday, September 12th, 2011    Quote This Post
Zerosama0000
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I will laugh on the day that televised gaming competitions become more watched than the superbowl

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Posted Monday, September 12th, 2011    Quote This Post
Rhue
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thats pretty cool, never figured someone like him would be into gaming, i wonder how good he is

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Posted Monday, September 12th, 2011    Quote This Post
Nismon8er
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if he starts slacking we know why XD this is cool

http://wolfcgc.webs.com/ Check it out good cheap computers!

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Posted Monday, September 12th, 2011    Quote This Post
flbcl
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I like to play starcraft 2 but I'm not a fan of sports games
but lately sports games have reached excellent graphics
certainly the best game starcraft 2

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Posted Monday, September 12th, 2011    Quote This Post
NumberTwo_2
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No League of Legends is the best game :D

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Posted Monday, September 12th, 2011    Quote This Post
Lowrider120
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It is going to difficult to be very good at both things, I think.

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Posted Monday, September 12th, 2011    Quote This Post
s8man888
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