Playing games for a living is a dream many gamers have. While many of us continue to spend long hours over video games after a long day at work or school, there are those who actually manage to make playing games their primary bread and butter.
So where do you start on your journey to become a pro eSports player? Read on to find out:
1. Practice makes perfect
You cannot be good at a game just after 3-4 hours of playing it. In fact, even the pros typically spend 8 hours and more in a single day just playing matches over and over againā to familiarize the gameās objectives and formulate different strategies.
For instance, Eli Gallagher, who plays competitive Overwatch for Evil Geniuses, currently plays the game around 10 hours a day:
āWhen the game came out it was closer to like three to four hours a day, because I didnāt really know anybody in the professional scene, so I was playing with the friends I have from school. But, now that Iām on a pro team, I try to put in as many hours as I can.ā
So if youāre eyeing to become a professional eSports player at a game you love, get ready to spend long hours playing the title. Even if you get sick of playing the game, you have to continue and keep going as the eSports scene can be very competitive as it can get.
2. Improve your stats
Many pro eSports players were first scouted because of their impressive game stats. This may be in the form of making it to your serverās top leaderboards or maintaining an impressive K/D/A. With many other good players out there who are also hoping to break into the pro scene, how do you ensure your profile will stand out?
Keep in mind that being a pro eSports player means you have the skills to compete with others, being āso-soā at a game doesnāt count. Make the numbers one motivation to do good at every match.
Continue playing the games you’re most passionate about until you reach the level where you can make money off your skills and compete at a high level. Once you’ve achieved this, you might hear more often from gaming organizations and talent scouts.
3. Networking is key
How do you go from a nobody to an instant sensation at the game you play? One way is to form connections in your community of choice. For one, start joining public groups on social media, or be a part of official Discord community groups of the game you play.
You also have to be active in the online gaming communities you are a part of, especially if they are multiplayer titles. If you had great games where you dominated the match, attach a screenshot and let others know. This is a good way of making yourself known in the community.
This way, you may also meet like-minded individuals who might help you achieve your pro eSports dreams, such as gaming talent scouts. Do not be shy and always stay friendly! Be ready whenever the opportunity presents itself.
4. Try out for competitive eSports organizations
Perhaps the most straightforward way to make it into the professional eSports scene is to join an established or competitive eSports organization. If you have what it takes to go pro, put your in-game skills to a test!
Joining an eSports group will also allow you to meet other players who you may play with, especially when it comes to team-based games. You can learn and study the gameplay of others, plus chances areā you will know which role is perfect for you.
For instance, in most FPS multiplayer games, not everyone is suited for the āslayerā role. You may be better off securing the objectives for the team instead, such as planting or defusing the bomb.
But before you can even secure a shot at joining established eSports organizations, they will most likely ask for your in-game stats. Work on your stats first and hone your in-game skills further. Be flexible, don’t stick to just mastering one role. It’s better to master multiple roles or guns to adjust properly whenever needed.
5. Play the game that interests you
Career-wise, it’s better if you play a game you actually enjoy if you’re going to spend so many hours playing it. It’s going to be hard to put so much time as you set out into your journey into pro eSports if you’re playing a game you don’t even enjoy or you’re just forced to play.
Remember, having a strong passion for what you do should be one of your top priorities if you want to be a professional gamer. A passion for the game will motivate you to know the META, effective strategies, and new tricks from other distinguished players.
If you enjoy the game, the drive to improve and become one of the best players will come just naturally. Keep in mind that it’s going to be your career and it’s what you’ll do every single day… so pick a game you can stick with in the long run.
6. Stick to one game
In professional eSports, it’s better to stick to one game and concentrate on honing your skills there. Mastery of a specific game is what matters in winning different leagues or tournaments. You must have good knowledge of the game you want to be best at, from item builds, spawn locations, and loot strategies.
Although there are general skills that can be applied across most games, nothing beats mastering every rotation, spawn points, and crucial positions in specific multiplayer games.
If you’re better at pulling clutch moments, try to stick to your FPS title of choice. There’s the good old Call of Duty or Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS: GO) with lots of classic multiplayer modes.
But if you want your every FPS match to be different from the previous one, you might have a knack for Battle Royale titles instead. Try PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG) for that.
7. Know the game’s meta
“Meta” refers to the āMost Effective Tactics Availableā in your chosen game. It’s usually the most effective way in the current patch to achieve the game’s goal, whether to beat other players or the game in itself.
Know all the ins-and-outs of the game’s current season, and use it to your advantage. This includes knowing which guns are OP (Overpowered), or which characters belong in the utmost S-tier.
That way, you’ll know how much damage your build can do, how to counter pick properly, or when’s the perfect time to take the fights to the enemy team.
The META usually changes whenever there’s a new season or a new patch update, so the most effective way to be familiar with the current META is to play the game often.
8. Upgrade to a nice gaming rig
How do you keep up with other competitive players in your games? One good way is to ensure you have a great gaming rig (gaming laptop or PC set) to avoid in-game issues like latency, power outages, or FPS drops. High frame rates and refresh rates are essential to competitive play regardless of the genre.
Professional eSports players often have a great gaming build to work with, so if you’re eyeing to make this a long-term career, you might want to invest in a rig that’s perfect for you.
Of course there’s nothing wrong with working with what you have at the momentā given that it can run the games you play, but consider upgrading your PC specs little by little if you’re looking to make a break into professional eSports.
9. Check out tournament live streams
One way to make it in the eSports scene is by keeping up with other established pro players in the industry. Therefore, you should make it a habit to frequently watch broadcasts of international leagues or competitive live streams. Twitch recently introduced its own eSports directory, making it easier for interested players to tune in and watch how the pro plays.
By watching the pro players, you might pick up some in-game skills and know effective strategies which you can use in your own matches. Think of it as an immersive studying experience!
Keep in mind, however, that what works for one player might not work the same way for others. The least thing you can do is to at least try it out (the strategy, move, or item build) to test if you can pull it off the same way as the pros do.
10. Take good care of yourself
It’s important that you take proper care of yourself, whether physically or mentally, if you want to pursue eSports as a career in the long run. Being a pro player can be draining and may take a toll on one’s mental health, but if you’ve taken good care of yourselfā it’ll be easier to deal with such problems whenever they arise.
Keep in mind that being a professional eSports gamer means you’ll have to play the same matches over and over again, with no guarantee of a victory in the end. Team morale can only go as much as giving you a boost, but it’s ultimately up to you to continue motivating yourself even if you’re underperforming.
Eat healthy food, get proper sleep every night, and take good care of your eyesight and hands. After all, they’re your shot at securing a spot in professional eSports teams.
What the Pros say
Eli Gallagher, a professional Overwatch gamer tied up with Evil Geniuses esports, opened up about how he ended up in the pro eSports scene:
āIt wasnāt really something Iād set out to do originally. In my school everyone was really excited about esports, and League of Legends was really cool, so I really just enjoyed the concept of it. And I thought āwell, I like strategy games, this might be something that Iām interested in!’ I then started playing casually and ended up getting scouted. I was thought of as a really good player and ended up getting picked up.ā
If you’re playing well at a certain game, making it into leaderboards and winning tournaments, thereās a chance you may get noticed by talent scouts:
āI had posted in a Discord channel, which is a chat service which a lot of gamers use, that I was looking for a team. I got approached by a coach, and then going from amateur team to amateur team to amateur team I finally landed on the team Eastwind. And then we had a good tournament performance and we ended with Evil Geniuses, which was really awesome”.
Who would’ve thought Discord could serve as a gateway for many gamers’ dreams? Certainly, getting found by a coach on the platform helped the Overwatch player hone his skills further.
āI like to think I had the basics of the game down, but Iām sure there were many things that he taught me that I may not have figured out on my own. Itās really helpful to have multiple perspectives when you think about the game, because sometimes you can miss something thatās really important. He definitely really helped my development in the game.ā
Sharing more details about what his typical Overwatch training looks like, he says:
āUsually, the way I practice is I try to get ten hours of serious game-play in a day, where Iām taking the game 100% seriously. That means Iām playing to win, Iām playing to do the best I can in each of those games. That wasnāt always easy when I started, because I had high school. Balancing playing Overwatch and sleeping and going to school was a really tight fit.ā
A path full of challenges
OG’s Anathan “ana” Pham is one textbook example of how the road to becoming a professional eSports player isn’t just a piece of cake.
Before he was able to win The Internationals (back to back) with the rest of OG’s Dota 2 team in 2018 and 2019, he had to work his way into the professional gaming scene and even left Australia to pursue his dreams.
For one, he decided to drop out of high school and move to China at such a young age to further hone his skills and career in Dota 2. He first played as a substitute player for Ferrari_430 in Invictus Gaming, but his opportunities back then were very few and limited.
As a newbie, he did not get to play on the main team at most LAN events. The silver lining to it all was he did gain 8,000 matchmaking points on the Chinese serversā thus topping the leaderboards.
With such impressive in-game stats, Ana was able to play in the Chinese in-house leagues like CDEC to further his career in the competitive Dota 2 scene.
His big break in the industry came when he joined the newly-rebuilt OG team after The Internationals 6.
Ana had to deal with massive amounts of pressure being a relatively unknown player who had to step into the shoes of one of the best Dota 2 players at the time: Miracle, who just left the team for Team Liquid.
Regardless, he accepted the challenge and worked his way to blend well with OG. With Ana as the mid laner, they won two consecutive majors at Boston and Kiev.. but they were unable to push their great form toward an Aegis win.
Ana left OG and went on a four-month hiatus, even trying his luck with a few SEA-based Dota 2 teams.
During the run-up to TI 8, neither Ana nor the OG team looked like they had a great shot at the Aegis. But because of a massive roster shuffle that saw s4 and Fly departing OG for Evil Geniuses, OG charged ahead at an attempt to do what has never been done in the history of Dota 2ā aiming to win an International after starting out in the open qualifiers.
The team expectedly came in as the underdogs, but they managed to surpass all initial expectations as they secured a place in the upper bracket.
In the grand finals, a powerhouse team (PSG LGD) had to battle it out with the underdog, OG. OG secured one win, but PSG LGD were within clinching distance of the Aegis at 2 back-to-back wins. However, OG managed to claw their way back and put in a performance worthy of the Aegis.
Ana’s underdog story shocked the entire Dota 2 community, inspiring other players who also want to be professional eSports gamers.
He has faced so many ups and downs in his journey, but his determination and skills ultimately managed to steal the spotlight in the end.
A male-dominated industry?
Although the eSports scene has been long established as a male-dominate industry, there are female gamers who rise up to the challenge and step into the competitive scene just like their male counterparts.
It’s still very rare to see co-ed eSports competitions, though. If you’re a female gamer who wants to go professional, brace yourself for separate female-only competitions and eSports leagues.
There are a number of girl gamers who successfully made their break in the professional eSports scene. These pro players do not just fake the “gamer girl” persona to be an instant online sensation, a lot of them even regard video games as one of their biggest passions in life. Just like the other male pro players, they too have committed a lot of their time into improving their game sense skillsā¦ maybe even twice as much as the others do.
But when it comes to competitive gaming, these girls have remarkably fast in-game reflexes and critical thinking skills to amaze just about anyone in the gaming community!
Striking a Game-Life balance
Striking a healthy balance between attending to your real life responsibilities and improving your in-game skills is crucial if you want to establish your name in the industry.
You wouldn’t want to be known as the player who has neglected every single one of his life responsibilities in favor of playing long hours of a certain video game. The fame and the prestige of winning major leagues is not all worth it if you’ve neglected yourself in any way.
Realistically speaking, becoming a professional gamer isn’t something you just decide to be in a night. It takes an immense amount of effort, both physically and mentally, so all you really can do is keep at it.
Commit yourself to make a deadline with achievable goals for your eSports career, which could be skill goals or tournament placement. Set up a schedule to actively train at the game too, like professional athletes do.
Give yourself a reasonable timeline and go for it, but don’t beat yourself up if you’re feeling stuck in a rut or when you’re falling behind from your initial schedule. Achieving the “professional” status takes time, just like any other real-life endeavor out there.
Instead, consider making each second you play the game as valuable as it could getā in which you improve at the fastest rate.
Bottomlineā¦
Like many other careers, being a professional eSports gamer doesnāt happen overnight. In most cases, it took months and years for a player to make it into the competitive gaming sceneā pair that with proper timing, right connections, and a bit of luck.
Remember that youāre not the only one with the knack and the talent in the games you love. There are countless out there who also want to make it pro one day, but donāt let that discourage you! Instead, turn it into a motivating force to improve and be better than them.
Remind yourself of the many reasons why you want to make it as a professional eSports gamer, and always hold onto that motivation during days when you feel like quitting. Game on!
