The Intel® Extreme Masters (IEM) tournament has grown from a corner of a German tech expo in 2007 to a global event hosted in sold-out stadiums with millions1 of viewers tuning in. Esports has followed a similar path as a whole. At Esports events like the International DOTA 2 Championship and the Intel® Extreme Masters Grand Finals, today's professional gamers compete for major prizes and renown from all over the world. Meanwhile, Blizzard* constructed a specialized arena in Los Angeles to host and broadcast Overwatch League tournaments. Esports scholarships are available at some universities.
Anyone who enjoys video games has undoubtedly fantasized about becoming a professional gamer. There is a pattern for starting a gaming profession, whether you want to compete alone or in a team.
How to Become a Professional Gamer in 9 Easy Steps
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1. Locate Your Inspiration
It's essential to play Esports for the correct reasons, just like everything else in life. The thrill of competition, the pleasure of progressing as a player, and the feeling of belonging to a team and community are all compelling reasons to participate.
Positive motivations are what keep players engaged in the long run. Players who are driven by money, celebrity, or fast success, on the other hand, are more prone to burn out before ever becoming professional. As you progress toward being a pro, having a passion for the game will make a huge impact on your everyday practice.
2. Select a Game
The following step is to locate your game. There are two schools of thinking here: either go for an up-and-coming game or stick with a tried-and-true game.
The advantage of choosing a game that has already been established as an Esport is that the infrastructure and resources to enable professional gaming are already in place. Long-running Esports games such as League of Legends, Dota 2, and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) have huge, devoted fan bases and, as a result, sponsored events with large prize pools. The disadvantage is that they are more difficult to break into for newcomers.
When a game is in its early stages, players have the chance to help develop the game and progress the meta, which is more dynamic and tolerant of many play styles at first. For example, founding players of games like Rocket League2 and PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds3 have been pushed to the forefront of the Esports scene. However, there's a chance that a game's competitive scene won't flourish, in which case you'll have to choose a new game.
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Our recommendation is to test a few and then stay with the one you really like. You'll be playing it often.
3. Participate in the Community
Pro gaming is as much about individual skill as it is about the community that surrounds the game. Spend some time snooping on forums and other areas where players gather before spending too much time studying the guts and bolts of a particular game. The experience will give you a clearer idea of what lies ahead, and you'll be able to choose whether or not the professional player journey fits with your own objectives and motivations.
Immersion in a game's environment is critical for advancement, so make sure you like the company of other players. For one thing, message boards, forums, and YouTube channels are great places to learn about a game's meta. Players must engage with one another in order to keep track of the changing meta and iterate on it, thus contributing to the scene they are a part of.
Furthermore, the community is a strong motivator for long-term engagement in a game.
4. Prepare yourself.
Make sure you have the proper equipment, beginning with a decent gaming mouse and mechanical keyboard. When it comes to peripherals, there are many choices ranging in size, form factor, and sensitivity, but it's important to choose the one that works best for you. Hear what Esports professionals have to say about the gaming accessories they use to gain some ideas.
Whatever peripherals you choose, it's a good idea to utilize the same mouse and keyboard for each scrim and game. Take a peek at today's professionals. They will compete on-stage with the identical equipment they use in the gaming house. It's simpler to adapt to a tournament setting when anxiety and pressure are present if you've been acquainted with your peripherals.
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When it comes to hardware, consistency is also important. Professional gaming event organizers are careful to choose system components that will not cause latency or inconsistent frame rates during games. Your gaming laptop's or PC's performance should reflect this. Check out our articles on what to look for in a CPU, gaming display, and storage space to learn more about how to improve your gaming experience.
5. Practice
It's simple to find someone to play against thanks to in-game matching and paid third-party matchmaking services like ESEA. However, if you want to win, you must practise.
Master the game's mechanics first. Concentrate on mastering game-specific abilities until their second nature to you. These abilities are important in every game, whether it's last-hitting in a MOBA, shooting with precision in an FPS, or maximizing actions-per-minute in an RTS. Professional players devote a lot of time to practicing mechanics in order to remain sharp and make little improvements, but players who are just starting out should see a significant improvement with practice.
Start studying the game's overall strategy while you're refining your talents. A good Esport includes several levels of strategy, from situational strategy (like as a jungle lurking across lanes) to top-tier meta. Understanding your position in a particular scenario is a smart place to start, since the meta employed by the professionals — such as the almost unbeatable GOATS approach that dominated Season 1 of Overwatch League — may be too difficult for newcomers to coordinate.
Even so, there's a lot to be learned by watching professional athletes. Both videos and live streams are excellent tools for acquiring good in-game habits and serving as a point of reference for how you should play the game.
Reviewing replays of your own matches as you improve can enable you to break down your play style and learn from your errors. It's something that all of the greatest players do.
6. Climb the Ladder
To become a professional, you must have a strong drive to win at every level of competition. This entails finishing first in pick-up games, climbing the matchmaking ladder, and becoming the last team standing in tournaments.
Make yourself familiar with the hierarchy of competition levels, since each Esport has its unique method for bringing new participants into the fold. In Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, for example, a player usually advances from public games to matchmaking, then leagues and competitions. Distinct Esports will have different paths.
Young players may create a reputation for themselves by climbing the ladder. This may help them find a place on an amateur team (or a home in a sub-community for solitary games), which can lead to a professional gaming organization.
7. Find a Team of gamers
Find a team after you've established yourself as a serious contender. One of the most beneficial experiences a player can have is playing with others, particularly those who are better than you or have different skill sets.
If you're really talented, a team will most likely seek you out. If you don't have a team, you may try out for one. For instance, the website Team find offers forums and tools for teams and players to interact. Amateur teams may also find members via Discord servers, subreddits, and Steam groups.
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For team-based games like CS:GO and Dota 2, learning to play effectively with others is essential. So pick a job that you like and a group of people with whom you get along. Even for solitary games like Hearthstone or StarCraft 2, engaging with a similar-minded sub-community may be beneficial.
Only half of the fight is won after you've mastered the game. The other part of your job is to make relationships that will help you climb the corporate ladder. Start networking after you've established a foothold in more competitive lobbies. Make the most of your position as a good opponent to make connections with stronger players.
Building connections with better players may lead to larger opportunities, such as invitations to secret Discord channels where you can participate in special scrims and rub shoulders with top players. Players are more likely to be noticed by professional organizations in environments like these.
8. Maintain your equilibrium.
While the grind mindset is prevalent in Esports, professionals must learn to strike a balance between their practice schedule and their off-screen interests. A holistic approach to practice, according to the professional gamers we spoke with, enhances mental concentration and avoids burnout by including an appropriate diet, exercise, and active social life. Maintaining a healthy lifestyle will enable you to remain motivated for extended periods of time, allowing you to build the abilities that will eventually attract professional organizations.
9. Live Like a Professional
It takes years of dedication and effort to become a professional gamer, but there's more to it than just grinding. It's critical to adopt a well-rounded approach to training in order to progress as a player – one that involves social skills development, game knowledge expansion, finding positive sources of motivation, and keeping a healthy lifestyle.
If you follow these guidelines, you'll notice a difference both in and out of the game.