Melon, the Caster Who Sells Motorcycles for a Career in Esports

Who doesn’t know Melon? Oops, meaning not fruit, but a man from Malang whose full name is Gisma Priayudha Assyidiq, or more familiarly called Melon or Melondoto.

Right now, it seems that almost everyone knows the figure of Melon, a Dota 2 casters with its quirky character. But did you know that the journey of a melon to become famous today is full of hard work and sacrifice?

After hearing his story firsthand, I decided to write down his struggles so you can pick up one or two of the disciplines that Melon used to keep himself in the industry. esports, known to many people, until now caster as well as CCO on RevivalTV.

Gisma, or more commonly known as Melon, begins to show her interest in esports by immersing oneself as a tournament organizer in Malang around 2012.

Although in the end he was already well known thanks to holding a tournament for the Digital Alliance which was collaborated with the Indonesian Warnet Community (KWI), but apparently the interest of players Dota 2 in Malang for “serious” is still minimal.

“Finally tired myself. Then I tried to find another way to blow up team in Malang, namely with broadcast as often as possible with the aim of showing off the pro team from here to the community via the internet,” he said.

Finally, Melon swerved to start his career as a caster, although it could not be called a “career” at the time. At the moment Dota 2 still in the developing stage, he has already started his quest to become a caster.

He did not wait for opportunities to come, but actively took them. Without any shame, he contacted the tournament organizers one by one on line and asked if he could be caster at their show.

Despite not receiving payment, Melon did not squander the opportunity. He did cast at the internet cafe where he was an operator, while recording the results. Then, from the recording he asked for criticism and suggestions from his friends, which parts need to be improved, and so on.

His presence in the world on line as caster amateurs attract people’s responses. But initially instead of a positive response, Melon actually got ridicule. Spectator chat filled with ridicule directed at him. In fact, many made friends with him on Steam just to make fun of him.

One of the people who mocked Melon in the past was the CEO of RevivalTV himself, Senz Houston. But do you know what he did? He replied with a positive and high optimism, “I’m sorry, but I’m still learning. If there are criticisms and suggestions please you know who knows what can be improved,” he replied.

However, who would have thought, that in the end, Melon’s persistence to learn made Senz invite him to join the RevivalTV team.

Luckily, Melon has the full support of his family. At that time he was married, and his wife was an Indonesian teacher. His parents are also from the world broadcasting. So, he often asks his wife and father for help to see the recording.

He also realized that if he wanted to spread his wings even further, he had to have his own tools sufficient to be able to do this cast more flexibility and build channel His Youtube by doing live streaming.

In another sense, Melon must have its own PC and also an expensive fast internet connection. Even though at that time he only worked as an internet cafe operator while running a small business at home. This has not been added to the family costs that he has to bear.

Go big or go home, Melon finally decided to sell his motorcycle. Coupled with the help of a little capital from his parents, he finally has his own computer and internet connection that is adequate for him to carry out various activities broadcasting, as well as developing channel Youtube and Facebook page itself with various video content.

Gradually, Melon’s ability as a caster began to develop. He continues to fill positions caster in various tournaments on line from the cafe he was guarding. Gradually, he also began to be known by internet cafe users in Malang as a caster tournament.

Thanks to his connections in Malang, Melon finally got an offer from The Prime to become a caster they. Seeing a golden opportunity that would allow him to further widen his connections in the realm esports, Melon took the opportunity.

His deal with The Prime entitles him to do broadcast every time they compete in a tournament. That is, he gets “flying hours” as a caster more and expand at the same time brand Melon itself to the outside of Malang.

Brand Melon finally began to be known in Indonesia. He later became good friends with the DTVI community, Main Dota 2, and eventually joined the team caster Live Gaming Broadcasters.

Together with Live Gaming, Melon gets the opportunity to do live cast The first LAN at Central Park mall, Jakarta. However, for him the salary issue is still not what he imagined. There are still some problems, such as unpaid salaries for up to nine months, up to a nominal that is not in accordance with the agreement.

Seeing that there is no future for esports in Indonesia, Melon feels that it is time to retire. However, the Live Gaming team is still highly committed and believes in the future broadcasting in the realm esports Indonesia. Many people, including fans (even though it’s still a little) Melon also continues to support himself to keep doing cast.

“In the end, I didn’t retire. I think while it lasts fans who supports it, come on, come on. Because for me, Melondoto’s life is in the fans or the audience,” he added.

One event that became a turning point for Melon was when he got the opportunity to become a caster at MOL Dota 2 Tournament Road to KL. The offer came from Ardy Dy, as the tournament committee at the same time person in charge from MOL.

Even though it doesn’t exist budget for himself (no salary was promised), Melon still took the opportunity that was offered. Moreover, the tournament is quite large and could further enlarge his name.

Interestingly, the existence of Melon as caster instead it attracted a lot of viewers and attention, which this time was quite positive. This also more or less has an impact on the exposure of the tournament and the competing teams, especially The Prime which is indeed a team partner Melon.

At the end of the event, The Prime won the tournament. They agreed to give Melon a small cash prize, so that several hundred thousand were collected which later became the “standard” for him for the next event. Not only that, they also expressed their appreciation to him, which made Melon further solidify his career as a caster.

Not long since the tournament, Ardy again invited him to become a caster in a series of events that will be held in conjunction with the opening of NVIDIA iCafe internet cafes throughout Indonesia. Another brilliant opportunity for Melon to further strengthen his career as a caster and expand its name in Indonesia.

From his story, Melon told me that connection is the most important thing to survive in esports. I personally agree with that, and maybe you can imagine what would have happened to him if he had not had a good relationship with KWI and the team from Malang, The Prime.

Thanks to that connection, he got many offers to become caster well on line until offline. Melon of course does not stop there, he is constantly looking for experiences to do cast and take every opportunity that comes up.

But connections aren’t the only thing you need to have in order to have a career in esports. Full commitment from yourself is also necessary when you are just starting out and are not yet a “nobody”. Melon’s struggle, which had to make him sell his motorbike, paid off handsomely, and now he can support his family from esports, as caster and COO of RevivalTV.

If you want to start a career in the world esports, do it as early as possible and dedicate your commitment 100 percent there. Do not give up easily. Even if your career has not produced much or even nothing, believe that all will be beautiful in time if you are sincere and believe.

Also read: Interview with Dimas “Dejet” Surya Rizki, Shoutcaster Dota 2 Indonesia