Wheelers Hill teen Anathan “ana” Pham an international gaming sensation
He might be an anonymous face in Melbourne but this teenager has a legion of fans around the world. Meet the Wheelers Hill gamer who quit school at 16, before becoming a multi-millionaire in just a few years.
VIC News
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A Wheelers Hill teen who left school at age 16 has become an international video game superstar worth millions of dollars.
Anathan “ana” Pham, 19, wouldn’t get recognised on Swanston St.
But in the gaming world he has thousands of fans and amassed more than $4.1 million in prizemoney in four years.
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The staggering figure is more than the annual salaries of three AFL players combined.
Pham, part of Red Bull-sponsored gaming team OG, grew up battling out video games with his brother before watching an international gaming tournament online and deciding he wanted a piece of the action.
His choice game is Dota 2 — a multi-player combat title popular worldwide.
“My brother started playing Dota and then I gave it a try, but I didn’t actually like it at first,” Pham told the Sunday Herald Sun.
“But later — I got interested. My mum, she would tell me to go to school, but I would get out of it.
“I would eventually get sneaky with like, how I get on the computer — I would use the camera to film what password Mum is writing. That was a cool move.
“She wasn’t angry — she was impressed actually.”
Pham, who is of Vietnamese heritage, grew up in a family of six.
He would play video games at home for 10 hours straight — so much he would forget to go outside.
On leaving school he headed to Shanghai with his brother to join the Chinese Dota Elite Community in-house Esports league, initially treating the move as a holiday.
Pham joined team OG and enjoyed success before taking time off when he became “bored” with Dota.
His “superfans” were distraught.
Just three months before last year’s lucrative world gaming titles in Canada, called The International, Pham returned to OG.
The underdog team — with representatives from France and the Netherlands — came from nowhere to beat a superteam in the grand final.
Pham was crowned Most Valuable Player.
OG split the staggering main prize of $15.3 million — Pham snaring a $3.2 million cut — and were received like rock stars.
While Pham pockets more in earnings than soccer legend Tim Cahill, tennis player Alex de Minaur and former Wallabies star Israel Folau he insists he doesn’t compare himself to such names.
His heroes are American professional poker player Tom Dwan, loudmouth UK chef Gordon Ramsay and “my brother” who has helped guide his career.
“I love how he (Ramsay) teaches people,’’ Pham said. He misses Melbourne’s fish’n’chips as his Esports journey has seen him live in China, Istanbul, Denmark and France.
Tim McGregor, who runs the Melbourne Esports Open, said Pham’s rise to fame was extraordinary.
It’s hoped he will appear at the Melbourne event in September.
“Anathan has shown you don’t have to be built like Buddy Franklin to become an Esports champion,’’ Mr McGregor said.
“His success story is amazing. He is quiet — he lets his skills do the talking.”
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