Last updated on November 18th, 2024 at 02:44 pm
The world of eSports has exploded in recent years, catapulting gaming from being a casual hobby into a lucrative yet highly-competitive career. If you’re an avid gamer, or follow streamers with thousands of viewers hooked to their gameplay and thought “I want to do that”, the good news is, it’s certainly possible to do so here in the 21st century.
The bad news, though, is that becoming a professional gamer isn’t just about playing video games all day—it’s a challenging and demanding career path that requires skill, dedication, and an airtight plan. If you’re serious about going pro, here’s everything you need to know to get started.
What Should I Play?
First and foremost, if you want to accelerate your career as a pro gamer, you need to find a game to become a specialist in. The eSports scene today is huge, with hit titles like League of Legends, Dota 2, Counter-Strike 2 (formerly known as CS:GO) and Fortnite dominating the competitive events. These games are contested in worldwide tournaments and feature established communities, as well as plenty of resources to help you improve.
But what if your particular passion lies in a less mainstream game? While it’s beneficial to focus on popular titles, there’s also value in mastering a niche game with a dedicated fanbase, particularly as an up and comer. Games like Rocket League or Rainbow Six Siege are building a substantial tournament base. Meanwhile, becoming a top player in a smaller eSport can sometimes open more doors than trying to break into the most crowded scenes.
If you’re already excelling in a particular game then, chances are, you’ll likely do well in more advanced competitive scenarios. Even if you aren’t especially strong in an eSports title yet, don;t worry. Consider trying out a few different games to see where your skills naturally shine. Remember, becoming a top professional isn’t just about playing what you enjoy, it’s about where you have the potential to dominate.
How Often Should I Play?
Becoming a pro gamer requires a serious time commitment. The world’s top players often train for anywhere between 8 and 12 hours a day, honing their skills, learning new strategies, and studying their opponents.
To get to elite levels, this amount of dedication is essential. This level of dedication is essential, but it also demands careful management of your time and energy to avoid burnout. We recommend starting with playing a few hours of focused gaming a day for three to five days a week. Since you’ll likely have to balance things like a full-time job or study commitments, you simply won’t be able to maintain elite pro levels at this stage.
It’s also important to “cross-train” by varying up your routine with different types of games. You’ll be surprised just how much of a difference playing supplementary games can make to your overall development and skill level, even a genre like online casino gaming (which you could be mistaken for thinking is all about entertainment).
If your main eSports title of choice is an RTS game, playing a casino classic like blackjack in one of its numerous digital formats can teach you about probability and risk management. As long as you don’t overwhelm your schedule, diversifying what you play can give you an edge in your chosen discipline.
How Do I Start Competing?
Once you’ve chosen your game and begun serious pro gamer training, the next step is to start entering tournaments. Platforms like Battlefy and Faceit make it easy to find tournaments and events in your local area so you can start to test your skills against other players.
No local tourneys near to you? No problem, thanks to the rise of platforms like Discord and Kafu Games you can participate in pro competitive gameplay online in titles including Call of Duty. Starting in smaller, community-driven or online tournaments is a great way to gain experience and build your reputation.
So that’s finding events taken care of. But, how do you know when you’re ready to compete? If you consistently rank high on leaderboards or find yourself regularly beating skilled players, it’s time to enter your first tournament!
