There are so many things you can do to get professional eSports organizations and teams to notice you— an aspiring pro eSports player with promising skills. Of course, the process isn’t exactly gonna turn out easy but it is certainly possible.
One trick is to make a good first impression… but you may also give it time as you build your online reputation and make yourself known in the competitive eSports scene.
If you aspire to lift the Aegis or be hailed as one of the World Champions, here are some other tips you might consider doing as early as today:
Get your name out there
How do you turn from a mere Nobody to an official pro eSports player in your chosen game? First, you have to start somewhere. Gather all the publicity you can get and let your name bask in the limelight.
Create a gaming channel or page and let the world know who you are and who you aspire to become. Just get noticed.
In order to be recognized as a pro, you must work on your in-game skills. Other people will only begin to acknowledge your talent if they see it for themselves. You have to show them your skills as proof, or else you’ll end up as an online douchebag bragging about nothing.
Once you manage to convince them you’re a force to reckon with, they’ll start talking about you in various game forums and online communities.
Post YT videos
Think of your in-game skills as a valuable source of content. Not only will this build your online brand as a pro eSports aspirant, but you will also reach new audiences to check out what you got.
Who knows— you might stumble across an eSports team recruiter who’s keeping an eye out for new talents to scout. Other pro eSports players might also be blown away by your talent and can personally refer you if they’re looking for new members to aff to their team. Although the latter is unlikely, there’s always a chance of it happening.
You might also earn some few bucks from your YouTube content, especially if you’ve built quite a following. This can somehow help you manage your finances as you begin on your journey to become a pro eSports gamer.
Be active on social media
Opportunities aren’t found on YouTube alone. Other pro eSports players or teams might discover you on Instagram, Twitter, or through your FB Gaming page— so keep your options open.
Post consistently on your social media accounts and establish your reputation as a pro eSports aspirant. Upload game highlight clips and montages that prove your talent.
Pro tip: include relevant hashtags in your posts, such as the respective game title or the name of the eSports organization you’re aiming to join. You can also mention the official accounts of the team or its current players. This will effectively increase your audience reach on any platform.
Make sure to follow other pro players and eSports teams on your platform of choice as well. This can act as a bridge between like-minded individuals with the same passion for the game.
Strive to improve
There’s no use trying to aspire to go professional if you’re not working on self-improvement. Work on your skills, learn new strategies, and listen to what the other pros say.
Remind yourself there’s always room for improvement. Even those who won back to back eSports world championship titles have something new to learn by the day, considering how a game’s META is often changing.
You won’t reach the top if you become complacent with the skills you have right now. There are hundreds to thousands of other gamers who are aspiring to make it into the professional scene as well, and if they consistently put on the effort whilst you don’t— they might surpass you.
Participate in scrims
In gaming, joining a scrim or a scrimmage means taking part in an online practice match against several players or teams who are most likely participating to improve on their in-game skills, learn from other players, practice before a big tournament, or just generally improve at the game.
It is basically a competitive game where you play against other competitive players or teams in unranked matches. However, to participate in scrims means you must have a line-up of teammates at the ready. You can’t join a scrim if you’re mostly playing solo queue.
A word of advice? Search for clans or guilds and become an official member of a specific team, which conveniently leads us to our next suggestion.
Join a clan or a guild
There’s always the possibility of being discovered and scouted by eSports professionals even as a lone wolf. Joining a clan or a guild, however, will greatly increase your chances of making it into the competitive scene with the help of your teammates whom you can play together with on various tournaments.
What other benefits can players expect from joining a team? For one, you can learn from other players to improve your in-game sense and skills. There might also be pro players on the team who currently participate in the competitive scene, so they may even train you or help you debut in the game’s competitive picture as well.
Think of it as networking with other like-minded individuals. Joining the right clan for a game you play will help you meet other people who play the same game and they will certainly make the experience of grinding your way to the top a bit easier to manage.
Join official pro Discord servers
Some competitive eSports teams are active on Discord, where interested players and enthusiasts can join and connect with others. Find out if your games or teams have their own Discord servers— and take it upon yourself to become active on that online community.
You can take part in the scrims they have or just volunteer around if someone asks for assistance. Doing something on that Discord server might make its members get to know you, your online brand, and your in-game skills if you post your gameplays on a channel or page.
It might even be the reason for a pro team to express their interest in what you can offer them, thus potentially scouting you as a member of their organization.
Prepare accordingly for try-outs
Once others are convinced of your skills, they might invite you to a try out. Here’s when you should show them what you truly got and prove yourself in the game. There might also be instances where some players will just be interviewed and hired right away to join a sub team or the official main team, but these cases are rare.
Keep in mind that being at the top of the ranked leaderboards and pro play are two different things. You will need a different skill set and in-game mentality if you want to thrive in a game’s competitive scene.
One way to notice the difference is to watch how the pros play in competitive tournaments, whether it’s a minor or major one. Once you do, you’ll know exactly what we’re referring about.
Create your own team
If joining a pre-established team who’s had a lot of history playing together competitively isn’t your cup of tea, you may opt to form your own competitive roster instead. Joining a premade team only to discover your game styles don’t complement each other can happen sometimes.
Regardless of the adjustments you make, it seems like it’s not working out the way you want it to be. Hence, consider finding other players who share the same ambitions and determine if your playstyles complement each other especially on pro play.
With proper networking, mad in-game skills and reflexes, and just the right amount of luck— your small team might get sponsored by a big brand or organization.
There may also be other pro eSports rosters who are looking for a 5th man, so they might consider recruiting you as well.
Be friendly
Nobody wants a snob on their team. If you’ve got quite a temper and tend to be toxic in competitive matches, this will surely turn off recruiters as you might only bring down a team’s morale while in play. Keep your feet on the ground and stay humble— even if you’re the MVP in every match.
Flaming others for their shortcomings is a sign of in-game toxicness. Although it’s quite a normal habit to develop in competitive games, it’s generally frowned upon as you work with others on the professional level of eSports.
Sportsmanship is the key. Turn your agitation from hostility to inspirational, and cheer up your teammates since it’s still a team-based game at the end of the day. Believe in each other!
Bottomline
Even if it feels like a long shot at times, you always have a chance at making your way into the competitive pro eSports scene.
Keep in mind that all the pro players you currently idolize started out somewhere. If you want to follow their steps, you may also make it and join their ranks one day!
