From Couch Surfing to Champion Gamer - The Story of Doublelift

In 2011, Yiliang “Doublelift” Peng was a homeless kid in California. 6 years later in 2017, he is now considered one of the best professional gamers in the world. So how did Doublelift defeat the odds to become one of the first professional League of Legends players? It’s simple, actually. He believed in himself.

 Like most professional gamers, Doublelift started playing games at an early age with his older brother, Yihong. With an age difference of 7 years between the two, video games were the only thing the two brothers had in common. Always playing whichever game his older brother was on, Doublelift found himself in constant competition with Yihong. His brother never let the age difference get in the way of their rivalry, though. In many ways, this early exposure to constant competition helped develop Doublelifts’s competitive spirit. Doublelift played various different games growing up, but where he made his name was League of Legends.

 League of Legends (LoL) is an online multiplayer battle arena, also known as a “MOBA”, where two teams of 5 fight to destroy the other team’s nexus. The first team to have their nexus destroyed loses. The game is centered around player on player combat and requires quick reaction times and strategic planning to be successful. If Doublelift could have had his way, he would have played League of Legends all day, every day. His mother, Weipeng, a first-generation Chinese immigrant, was understandably skeptical of her son’s extended gaming sessions. Although Doublelift’s grades were never in jeopardy because of his gaming, his mother still maintained a close eye on his gaming habits. When Doublelift turned 18 and it was time to enter the real world, his mother became unhappy that he was choosing to pursue gaming as a career rather than a real job. This lead to a strain on their relationship, and ultimately ended with Doublelift being kicked out of his home right before his first semester of college.

Doublelift was accepted in to the University of California, Irvine after graduating high school in 2011. He had never cared much for high school classes and he felt similarly about college, but he was obliged to attend UC Irvine to please his parents who were both Biology degree holders. One day before his first semester had started, Doubelift and his mother got into a spat. His mother told him to pack his bags and get out. Dejected and clueless what to do with himself, Doublelift went to his best friend’s house. Determined to prove his parents wrong, Doublelift posted on the popular website Reddit and asked for tips. You can still view his post here.

 Most users commented helpful advice on how he could rebound and still go to college. He would have to work a full-time job on top of classes to pay for school, but he could theoretically make it work. But Doublelift was still clinging to his dream of becoming a professional gamer.

(Image courtesy of Pinterest.com

Things seemed grim for the aspiring gamer. His options were slim. He would have work full time if he wanted to pay for school and rent. Conversely, he could move back in with his parents and admit that it was foolish to pursue a career in gaming. Either option would have lead him down a path were being a pro gamer wouldn’t have been an option. With nowhere else to turn, Doublelift was out of options.

“Doublelift- I private messaged you on reddit. E-mail me” read a comment on his Reddit post. Travis Gafford, a complete and total stranger to Doublelift, offered to let the fledgling gamer stay with him until he got his affairs in order. Gafford was an up and coming video game commentator, so he was aware of who Doublelift was at the time. This selfless act not only gave Doublelift a home, but also reignited his chances of becoming a professional gamer. Doubelift had found someone who believed in him as much as he believed in himself. As it turns out, that was all he needed to fuel his explosion onto the professional League of Legends scene.

Doubelift made money to pay Gafford rent by writing guides on how to play certain characters in League of Legends. Meanwhile, his gaming career seemed stagnant. He moved from team to team, and was never able to find his niche. Continuing to hone his skills and perfect his craft, Doubelift was willing to be patient until he got his big break. Luckily for Doubelift, his dreams would come true soon after moving in with Gafford. In late 2011, the very same year he had become homeless, he was offered a starting position on the well-respected LoL team Counter Logic Gaming. The team was full of big personalities, but Doublelift was determined to make a name for himself. His combination of high level play and excessive off-screen trash talk quickly earned him a reputation as the player to look out for.

Doublelift on his competition - (Reddit)

Over the next few years, Doubelift would establish himself as one of the best players in his role as carry. The role of carry on any LoL team is a highly coveted spot. They are the player responsible for dealing the damage and ultimately can decide who will win the game. As his level of play increased, so did his trash talking. He became branded as the king of trash talk, and although he did not always deliver on his promises to stomp the competition, he was always fun to watch.

Today, Doublelift plays for team Liquid in the North American League Championship Series (LCS). He is one of the deadliest carries in the game with over 1000 kills in his 6 years as an LCS player. Although he has never won a major tournament with any of his teams, he has always been entertaining to watch. It’s impossible to say what the future holds for Doublelift. At the age of 24, Doubelift is in his prime. He has plenty of time to win a world championship or even capture success in the North American LCS with team Liquid. One thing is for sure, though, as long as Doublelift continues to believe in his ability, the sky’s the limit.