Fan Translates Wings Gaming’s Insane Training Rules

Wings Gaming Training: 10 Hour Training Days, Early Bedtimes, and More

Wings Gaming has been tearing up the Dota scene lately, in China and on an international scale. After winning ESL Manila at the end of April, they recently won the Summit 5 Chinese Qualifiers to clinch the first invitation to the fabled California tournament. That kind of success doesn’t come without effort, however. According to a fan translation on Reddit of a Chinese news article about the team, the players follow a mind bogglingly strict set of rules in order to achieve their goals.

Here are some highlights we got from the translation:

Practice, Practice, Practice

Obviously dedicated practice is of paramount importance for a pro team at the top tier level. While long days in front of screens are par for the course in esports, Wings Gaming has taken things to a whole other level. Six days a week, the team practices for ten hours straight, during which nothing can be played other than Dota 2.

No Streaming Allowed

Streaming is a big part of esports. Some teams encourage their players to stream as a promotional tool to engage fans. Top players can also earn large incomes on the side of their salaries and tournament winnings through streaming subscriptions, ads, and sponsorship. While it’s common for top Western pros to be seen on stream, and increasing numbers of Chinese players are following suit, nobody on Wings is allowed to stream, for fear of distracting from their competitive goals.

Civility At All Costs

Team chemistry and communication are vital to consistent competitive success. To this end, Wings Gaming enforces a “no arguing” rule, strictly disallowing teammates from expressing disputes while practicing, reserving discussions until after playing hours.

A Purposeful Lifestyle

Wings Gaming players are prohibited from smoking, drinking wine, or bringing dates to the gaming house. Bed time is set at 11:30pm, and they must be ready to go for practice at 11:00am. These esports pros sure know how to party!

A Generous Vacation Schedule

Wings Gaming allows players to take one day off every two weeks (which would sound nicer if they weren’t already on the clock six days a week otherwise). Each player is also allotted two “long holidays” per year. Long holidays apparently meaning 2-3 days, in this case. Ouch.