Things you need to consider before becoming a pro gamer.
Streaming to improve your confidence and picking the right game to get good at with endless hours of practice. These are just some of the things you need to know before going pro playing eSports.
It's the fastest-growing spectator sport on earth, bringing the exhilarating world of video games to a broader audience but what if you want to do more than just watch? Well, if you've ever looked at a pro game, or thought that I could do that, then this is the place to start.
In this article we'll be sharing some top tips from the players at the pinnacle of their game and offering up some realistic advice about becoming a professional. Nothing in this article will turn you into a professional overnight but it will give you a great head start. These are the things you need to consider before embarking on the long hard road toward e-sports excellence.
Practice, Practice, Practice did we mention you need to Practice?
It's a pretty obvious one to start with, but we have to get it out of the way early. You're going to have to practice a lot as well as being naturally brilliant at games. The best players spend up to 10 hours a day, training, which is why they're at the top of their game. If you are not prepared to dedicate this amount of time to get good it's best to step away, your natural reactions and talent will only get you so far. It takes a dedicated regime to take your game to the next level, but not just any practice you need more than that. You can't just sit back play and watch the hours rack up you need to practice in the correct way and repeat it. If this doesn't sound like your ideal working day then its really time to start considering another career plan. Professional eSports players have spent thousands of hours playing League of Legends and other games and have dedicated years of their lives to gaming and eSports.
You must do your research
Do your research and discover what the pros do and make yourself a schedule. It might not sound fun, but the wrong kind of practice might be worse than no practice at all. Even before you've sat down to play your game, calibrated your mouse and do your exercises, there's still something else you need to do first.
Very few players, if any, can compete at the top level in multiple games, some might have played different games during their careers or childhood for example, played League of Legends before moving to CS GO but quit the former because they didn't think it was going anywhere.
The most important thing here is finding a game that works with your particular set of skills as a player. Part-time and full-time streamers got into gaming when they were young. The chances are you already know the best kind of game for you, you should also consider which games you're going to play before you make a hard choice. You can change later on but why play games that you don’t enjoy playing and can win at?
Some professional gamers first started playing as a hoppy and then went on to win major tournaments and they have found titles that align closely with the experiences they enjoy, you can also consider picking newer games since you're less likely to be competing against players who already have thousands of hours of experience. If you are better at picking up new games there is less competition with these and they can be more fun. The good news is there's more choice than ever before, eSports has gone from relatively unknown early games to a world-wide phenomenon.
You're going to be playing a lot of the games you choose, so make sure it's something you love, it's natural to dream of great lights, big games, and glamorous trophy ceremonies but you've got to start small before you can even start thinking about the big tournaments look for local competitions to improve your game. If you start winning at local tournaments it will boost your confidence and help you on the way to become a professional eSports player. Although this might sound counter-intuitive, if your goal is to travel the world visit eSports bootcamps and take party televised events in front of screening fans first.
How players get started
All these tournaments began locally, small competitions will help you get used to playing in public, which to be honest, requires a whole different frame of mind. Most players start off playing smaller tournaments for less money before eventually realizing they could make a career of it, then, off the back of that you will be able to win a spot at bigger tournaments, despite never having had the chance to prove on the international stage. Each tournament win is a step in the right direction and naturally, you'll get to bigger, more exclusive competitions. Once you've got used to those screaming crowds and unfamiliar situations, then you can start thinking about that. It is best getting used to playing in front of people. It's not quite the same as professionals playing in front of thousands but streaming your games can be an easy way that to introduce yourself to public gaming, it also helps make you more communicative, a crucial skill if you want to play as part of a team.
How Streaming can help.
It's common knowledge that starting a career streaming on Twitch is a great way to start which can lead to feedback from pro gamers encouraging you to take your hobby further. Without the streams, you might never have had the same success on top of this. Streaming can help build the confidence to communicate clearly which is an essential skill in team games where instructions can be the difference between winning and losing.
Feedback is a massive part of this. If you're going to play professionally, you'll need to engage with your fans, ideally whether you win or lose and if it's participating in forums or playing with your friends, you can't practice without hearing feedback from others and implementing change. It is a crucial skill even if you don't always like what you hear. Once your confidence enough and give streaming a try be sure to let us know the comments below, if only so we can say we helped inspire the next professional eSports player!
Getting the right gear.
This should go without saying, but we're going to say it anyway. If you're going to take this seriously, you need to get the right gear, if you've been using whatever mouse and keyboard came bundled with your PC then it's really time, you moved on. Logitech has developed a range of gaming gear that can help give you a competitive edge and in games where the difference between victory and failure which is often a matter of milliseconds, you owe it to yourself to upgrade. If you want to get really technical there are videos you can watch on youtube, but the short version is this, unless you are using gear designed for the job, other players will have an edge you don't.
We hope this may help and encourage you to become a professional eSports player.
