eSports as a whole has taken a similar path. Professional gamers now participate in Esports tournaments like the International DOTA 2 Championship and the Intel® Extreme Masters Grand Finals for big cash and fame. Blizzard*, meantime, constructed a specialized Overwatch League venue in Los Angeles. There are Esports scholarships.
A lot of gamers question how to become a pro gamer. Whether you choose to compete alone or in a team, there is a path to success.
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Find Your Drive
It's essential to play Esports for the correct reasons. Playing for fun, improving as a player, and contributing to a team or community are all acceptable motivations.
Positive incentives keep players interested in the long term. Those driven by money, celebrity, and fast success will likely burn out before ever becoming pros. Having fun with the game can help you improve your abilities and become a pro.
Pick a Sport
Next, find your game. There are two schools of thought here: either choose a new game or stick with a classic.
The benefit of choosing an established Esport is that the infrastructure and resources for pro gaming are already in place. A big and devoted player base translates into massive and profitable competitions in Esports games like League of Legends, Dota 2, and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. The disadvantage is that newbies have a harder time breaking in.
Players may assist dig a game and develop the meta, which is more dynamic and tolerant of various play styles at the start. Founders of games like Rocket League2 and PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds3 have found themselves thrust into the spotlight of Esports. However, a game's competitive scene may fail, forcing you to choose a new game.
Try a few and stay with the one you really adore. You'll be playing it a lot.
Become a Member
Pro gaming is about culture as much as it is about individual skills. Make use of forums and other areas where players gather before spending too much time studying a game's ins and outs. The experience will help you determine whether the pro player career fits with your own objectives and motivations.
Immersing oneself in a game's setting is important to progressing, so have fun with it. For starters, game meta is discussed on message boards, forums, and YouTube channels. Players need to communicate with one other to keep track of the meta and iterate on it, thereby adding to the scene.
Plus, the community is a big reason to stick with a game.
Prepare
Invest in a decent gaming mouse and a mechanical keyboard. There are several peripherals available, ranging in size, shape, and sensitivity, so choose one that works for you. Hear what Esports professionals have to say about their gaming accessories.
It's best to use the same mouse and keyboard for every scrim and game. Look at the pros now. The same equipment they use at the gambling house they will utilize onstage. Getting acquainted with your peripherals helps you adapt to a competitive setting when anxiety and pressure are high.
Hardware consistency is also important. Pro gaming event organizers choose system components that won't cause latency or inconsistent frame rates. Your gaming laptop or PC should perform similarly. Check out our tips on what to look for in a CPU, gaming display, and storage space.
Gamer desktop illustration
It's simple to locate opponents using in-game matching and paid third-party services like ESEA. But winning takes practice.
Preparation is key. Focus on mastering game-specific abilities until they become second nature. Skills like last-hitting in MOBAs, shooting with precision in FPSs, and maximizing actions-per-minute in RTSs never go out of style. Pro players train mechanics endlessly to remain sharp and improve minutely, while new players should improve significantly with practice.
While you're practicing, start studying the game's overall strategy. A good Esport contains several levels of strategy, from situational to top-tier meta. The professionals' meta — like the almost unstoppable GOATS tactic that dominated Season 1 of Overwatch League — may be too complex for novices to coordinate.
Even still, great players can teach us a lot. Videos and live streams are excellent tools for learning good in-game habits and showing you how to play.
As you improve, you'll be able to analyze your own matches and learn from your errors. The greatest do it.
Ladder Climb
To be a pro, you must have a tremendous drive to win at all times. This includes winning pick-up groups, climbing matchmaking ladders, and winning tournaments.
Familiarize yourself with the competition hierarchy, since each Esport has its unique method for bringing in new participants. Playing public games, matchmaking, and subsequently, leagues and tournaments is common in CS:GO. Distinct Esports will have different paths.
Climbing the ladder enables young players to get recognition. This may help them get on an amateur team (or into a solo gaming sub-community), which can lead to a pro gaming organization.
Seek out a Team of PC Gamers
Find a team after you've earned it. A player's most beneficial experience is playing with others, particularly those who are better than you or have diverse skill sets.
If you're talented enough, a team will discover you. Those who don't can try out. Team find, for example, offers forums and resources for teams and players. Amateur teams often recruit via Discord, Reddit, and Steam communities.
Team-based games like CS:GO and Dota 2 need good teamwork. So pick a position you like and a team you enjoy playing with. Even for solitary games like Hearthstone or StarCraft 2, engaging with a sub-community may be beneficial.
PC Gamers at Award Ceremony Illustration
Good play is just half the fight. The other half is networking to assist you to climb the competitive ladder. Start networking after you've mastered more competitive lobbies. Use your status as a good opponent to meet better players.
Building connections with better players may lead to larger things like secret Discord invitations, exclusive scrims, and meeting top players. Pro teams prefer to notice players in these types of settings.
Keep Calm
While Esports is known for its grind mentality, professionals must learn to balance practice with off-screen activities. Healthy eating, exercise, and socialization are all recommended by professional gamers we spoke with. In order to acquire the abilities required by pro organizations, you must maintain a healthy lifestyle.
Pro Tip:
Pro gaming requires years of dedication and practice, but there's more to it than that. To improve as a player, you need to build social skills, learn more about the game, discover positive motivation, and live a healthy lifestyle.
Follow these rules and you'll improve in and out of the game.