Originally Published: 16th May 2020 on eGG Network

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Entertaining Khmers from his gaming chair.

Ream Angkor might be an unfamiliar name to most of the non-Khmer-speaking regions of the world, but if you’re in the PUBG or GTA V scene in Cambodia, it should ring a bell. From a small-time PUBG Facebook page for the Cambodian community to an official Facebook Gaming partner averaging 1-3k viewers a stream (and still growing); Seihaream “Ream Angkor” Dyna has come a long way since his humble beginnings.

Ream started playing games when he was a young boy, sharing fond memories of running a farm with his sister in Harvest Moon on the original PlayStation – a gift from their father. Even though the first-person shooters he enjoys now are a far cry from the farm simulator games of the past, he is grateful to his dad for sending him down the path he now travels.

He has since doubled down on the hobby and turned it into a living, leaving behind a white-collared job at a telecommunications company in the process. No regrets for the 29-year-old who looks forward to a long career in this industry.

Ream’s foray into content creation started in 2017, when there wasn’t much localised PUBG content for Cambodia – it was a niche he wanted to fill with his Facebook page. Influenced by summit1g and Dota 2 Cambodia, he decided to start live streaming on the page, which was when he took off. He then created a YouTube channel to share his gameplay videos, which subsequently became an outlet for tech reviews as well.

The streamer’s passion has always been for the people of his country. When asked about his decision to stream in Khmer instead of English, Ream replied, “At first I started streaming in half Khmer and half English but later switched to focus on the local language when I realized that the country’s esports industry needed more help.”

His initiatives to bring vernacular gaming content to his countrymen included a well-received GTA V roleplay server, which he set up to educate Cambodians about roleplaying. The streamer also mentioned that he had quite a number of Khmer viewers living abroad, who get a sense of home through his content.

In addition to creating content on the fly on his live stream, Ream hasn’t stopped making his regular pre-recorded videos even though he seems to prefer the former over the latter these days. “Streaming can be more enjoyable as you are playing your favourite games with your favourite people. You are allowed to be yourself, make mistakes, and correct yourself on the spot. For YouTube, you have to think a lot about what to include in a 10-minute video from hours of preparation and footage! Once it is out there, it is harder to correct yourself.”

When asked about what a typical day was like, he responded, “My day usually starts just after noon, beginning with administrative duties – replying to emails, calls, meetings, and so on. I will then shoot videos for final footage, B-Roll, or test out products I am going to review. I would also try to find time to work out for about thirty to sixty minutes, then wrap everything up by about six or seven PM and stream until one to two AM. After that, I would have dinner and edit some videos until four to six in the morning. If I’m feeling lazy, I’ll watch summit1g instead.”

Talk about a day packed with activities! Well, nobody said the grind would be easy. Fortunately for Ream, his hard work and dedication have paid off, after all, he has been recognized by Facebook Gaming and picked up as an official partner. Since then, his viewership and popularity have steadily increased, allowing him to even branch out into casting gigs for competitive PUBG Mobile – which he is a fan of.

When all’s said and done, Ream isn’t content with just being a streamer. He plans to be much more involved with esports in Cambodia, with hopes to develop, consult, and promote projects for the scene. He also has aspirations to be the go-to content creator for tech products, PC, and mobile games.

Even though Cambodia has its fair share of streamers, Ream stands out due to his maturity and passion for helping out the community. He had some advice to share with aspiring streamers: “Don’t focus on your viewer count – they are a blessing and a curse. Instead, focus on building a community around your personality and what you love. Also, start it as a hobby. Work smart, not hard to grow this hobby into a job. Once you have a good following and steady income, you can consider going full-time. Also, collaborate with other streamers to learn, share, and expand your reach. Staying and streaming within a small group of friends or streamers can cause you to grow and learn slower.”

Ream also spoke about the benefits of Facebook Gaming as a streaming platform. “Facebook is the go-to place for gaming for Cambodians. If you do it right, it is a lot easier to get recommended through Facebook Gaming than other platforms. And a lot of ISP (Internet Service Providers) give extra speed to Facebook.com, which makes it easier to stream (and watch streams) on Facebook.” He also found their events like the Creator Summit helpful for his career.

Till this day, Ream remains grateful to his loyal fans. “Thank you for your support over the years. I am not the most entertaining streamer out there, but in every stream, I will try to make you laugh at least once and hope to brighten up your day!”

Catch Ream Angkor in action live on his Facebook Page – he plays PUBG, GTA V, and looks forward to Valorant when it is released in the region.