Slam dunk for pro gamer

A TRAILBLAZER in his own right, Meason Camille is proving he belongs in the NBA 2K League.

Born in Ballarat, Camille is the first Australian to be drafted in the professional esports league for the basketball simulation video game NBA 2K.

The latest instalment of the game was NBA 2K21, with the next iteration in the series releasing on 10 September.

This season Camille was drafted to US squad Pistons GT from Detroit coming off the bench to help the team make its way to the quarter finals of the tournament.

“It means the absolute world to me,” he said. “It was a dream of mine to be the first Australian for the last three years and I knew I could eventually achieve it once I put the hard yards in.

“It’s a huge achievement because nobody has done it before and the amount of effort and long hours I put into the game. I feel like it paid off.

“I’ve always dreamt of being a professional esports player but when I heard my name on draft day, I had a feeling that I’ve never experienced before, it was my number one goal and that day was the best day of my life.”

Camille, known professionally as Milo, started his esports journey when he was invited to the NBA 2K League Asia-Pacific Invitational in 2019 and 2020.

“I made the 2019 draft pool but was unsuccessful, but at the moment I knew if I kept pushing I would eventually make the league,” he said.

Training for the league involved sessions that could range from 11am to 6pm five to six days a week, with scrimmage games and gameplay analysis, just like the NBA.

Camille said people are starting to realise careers can be made in esports, and video game tournaments will continue to grow in Australia.

“With the amount of money going into gaming, people seeing success and careers coming out of it, it’s only going to keep growing with the new technology being made,” he said.

His goal now is to become a starter in the league while completing his university studies in event management.