How to Become an eSports Player

We  talk about the first steps to the career of a professional gamer.

1. Select a game

If you want to become an eSports player, then you have most likely already decided on discipline. If not, just try some games in which the championships are held. The most popular are Dota 2, CS:GO, Overwatch, Heroes of the Storm, Fortnite, League of Legends and StarCraft 2.

ESports tournaments are held in dozens of games of different genres: strategy, shooters, fighting games, races, sports simulators and so on. A good option may be a project that more of your friends play: together with them, it is easier to understand the rules and mechanics. The main thing is to remember that the more popular the game, the greater the prize pools of the championships for it.

2. Play a lot

This is the obvious but most important point. To really succeed, you need to treat the game like a job — at least part-time. It is necessary to train at least 4-5 hours a day. It is better, of course, to devote at least 40 hours a week to the chosen discipline, but for a start half of this time will suffice. Among successful eSports players, it is considered normal to spend 16 hours a day in the game.

3. Learn the game

Of course, just playing is not enough. It is necessary to live the game, to study and explore it thoroughly. Know all the characters, all the classes, modes, weapons, possible tactics, even minor changes added in the new patches.

Any piece of information about the project and how it works can be the reason for winning or losing a match. You can search for this knowledge on thematic Wiki-portals and forums. Another good source is the broadcasts of championships or pro players. Watching professionals and listening to commentators can learn a lot.

4. Find the command

Depending on your luck, this step can be very simple or very difficult. Teams are usually searched in thematic communities and on sites dedicated to the game. To find a suitable team, you need to soberly assess your skills. The pros are unlikely to want to take an inexperienced player. And being in the same team with people who play worse than you is simply unprofitable: they will not be able to teach anything and will pull down.

That is one of the difficulties. All players must be of approximately the same level to be able to develop together. In addition, you need to converge on characters, views on life. After all, if everything works out, you will have to spend thousands of hours with these people in the real and virtual worlds.

Perhaps you will be lucky, and the team will be organically formed from a group of friends, or the right people will find you themselves. But if not, just keep searching. Create topics in forums and communities. Sooner or later you will come across the right players.

5. Participate in online championships

In addition to major tournaments like International or DreamHack, thousands of smaller competitions are held in the world every year. They involve teams of various levels – from beginners to professionals.

Most of these championships are online. To participate in them, you just need to register on the site and apply. There are special services that allow you to track new tournaments and register for them. For example, ESEA and FACEIT. On some of these platforms, you can study your statistics of victories, hits, kills and so on.

6. Attract the attention of sponsors or team representatives

To start making money on esports, you need to either get a sponsorship for your team, or get into a team that is already supported by brands.

If you want to achieve success, develop, improve skills, participate in competitions that seem suitable for your level. When you score enough victories, you will be noticed.

If you dream of getting into a well-known team, you need to gain an audience. It is worth creating pages in social networks, channels on Twitch and YouTube, regularly broadcast your workouts and post recordings of successful matches.

This activity has two functions. First, broadcasts can become a source of income: viewers will send donations, and brands and companies will order advertising. Secondly, representatives of well-known teams follow what is happening in the competitive community, and know all the major streamers. If you are good enough, you will be contacted and offered a place in the team – if not in the first team, then in the second or third. Either way, you’re going to get paid just for playing.