NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Sport

From hobby to job: Ari 'Shok' Greene-Young, League of Legends pro-gamer

By Brittany Keogh
Reporter·NZ Herald·
9 Jan, 2018 02:40 AM3 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Ari Greene-Young, known online as 'Shok', is a member of a professional League of Legends team called Tectonic based in Sydney competing in the Oceanic Pro League. / Riot
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

The Herald is this week profiling people who have made a living by turning a hobby into a job.

A 17-year-old is among a growing number of Kiwi "e-sports athletes" who make a living playing video games internationally.

Ari Greene-Young, known online as "Shok", is a member of a professional League of Legends team called Tectonic based in Sydney competing in the Oceanic Pro League (OPL).

He - along with his four teammates - earns a salary to battle other teams once a week in matches that are broadcast online, which he trains for 12 hours a day, six days a week.

"First we have two blocks of team practice, that's more focusing on your knowledge of the game [and] building our strength as a team. Then later on we just play on our own focusing on reactions and stuff like that," Ari said of his average workday, which starts about 8am.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Along with their manager and coach Ari's team live in a flat paid for by the competition's organisers. They have hardly any expenses, so almost all of the money he earns goes straight into savings.

Like professional athletes in traditional sports, they're also encouraged to go to the gym, eat healthily and drink lots of water, Ari told the Herald.

Ari Greene-Young, 17, gets paid to play League of Legends. Photo / Michael Craig
Ari Greene-Young, 17, gets paid to play League of Legends. Photo / Michael Craig

OPL players are usually on yearly contracts - they work 46 weeks a year and get a six week break between seasons.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Ari was hired in July 2017 after being scouted while competing in the New Zealand League of Legends high school competition the year before.

"I was offered a trial for the team and did well I guess. It just kind of happened," he said.

"In the game there's an in game ranking you can view and I was very highly ranked. I've been preparing for quite a long time to try do something like this. I've wanted to be a gamer since I was a kid."

The former Massey High student - who left school two weeks after he was offered a gaming contract - started playing League of Legends in his spare time when he was 14, enjoying the competitiveness.

Discover more

Sport

Esports: The sport of choice for millennials

06 May 07:55 AM
Small Business

Woman's creativity with balloons leads to business

09 Jan 04:00 PM
Sport

Six emerge from Fast and Furious weekend of Esports qualifying

27 Nov 11:28 PM
Employment

Ink-free calligraphy gets global following

10 Jan 04:00 PM
Ari "Shok" Greene-Young is from Auckland but spends most of the year in Sydney where he is employed as a professional online gamer. Photo / Michael Craig.
Ari "Shok" Greene-Young is from Auckland but spends most of the year in Sydney where he is employed as a professional online gamer. Photo / Michael Craig.

Although his parents were initially skeptical about gaming as a career, watching a New Zealand tournament on Sky TV last year legitimised it for them and they were now supportive, he said.

Duane Mutu, operations director of e-sports broadcaster Let's Play Live and spokesman for the New Zealand E-Sports Federation, said professional gaming was a legitimate and lucrative career and the industry was growing in New Zealand.

According to research by GEMBA, 1 million New Zealanders watch or participate in e-sports and 68 per cent of the total population play video games in some form - whether that's the casual game of Candy Crush or professional League of Legends.

Mutu said he knew of about 20 Kiwis competing in the OPL and several more playing other games professionally.

The number of e-sports athletes was rising as New Zealanders were able to access faster internet and more competitions were being set up, he told the Herald.

Internationally, some professional gamers - like those in the OPL - earned a salary, while others were sponsored to go on tours, similar to surfers, then there were those who earned a living on the competition circuit.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

It was hard to say for sure what most gamers were paid because contracts were negotiated privately with their employers, Mutu said, but the biggest prize pool for an e-sports competition so far had been US$21 million.

"That number compares to already the top tier of all sports in the world."

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Sport

Sport

'A nice marlin': Kiwi skipper makes history with $2m fishing triumph

06 Jul 07:33 AM
All Blacks

'They all stepped up': Robertson celebrates debutants but All Blacks eye fixes

06 Jul 03:00 AM
Warriors

Warriors outclassed by Roosters in NRLW return

06 Jul 02:30 AM

There’s more to Hawai‘i than beaches and buffets – here’s how to see it differently

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Sport

'A nice marlin': Kiwi skipper makes history with $2m fishing triumph

'A nice marlin': Kiwi skipper makes history with $2m fishing triumph

06 Jul 07:33 AM

Tom Francis' team caught a 312.6kg marlin, beating 160 global entrants.

'They all stepped up': Robertson celebrates debutants but All Blacks eye fixes

'They all stepped up': Robertson celebrates debutants but All Blacks eye fixes

06 Jul 03:00 AM
Warriors outclassed by Roosters in NRLW return

Warriors outclassed by Roosters in NRLW return

06 Jul 02:30 AM
Premium
Gregor Paul: Progress or stalling? All Blacks' key challenge in new season

Gregor Paul: Progress or stalling? All Blacks' key challenge in new season

06 Jul 12:00 AM
From early mornings to easy living
sponsored

From early mornings to easy living

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP