How to Become an Esports Player

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#esports

How to become an esports pro

2021 was a great year for esports. Worlds went the full 5 nail baiting games that included a 2 man baron sneak. The miracle-producing Disney land that is Dota's International provided another Cinderella story, and Simple finally got his CS major victor. You've seen the plays, you watched the confetti fall, the pyrotechnics fire off and awed as the trophy was lifted and thought, man… I want to do that.

But how do you get there? What does it take to become a pro?

Before we talk about the road map on becoming a pro, you may need to know or at least be reminded about a few things.

First pro players play a lot. If 10 hours or more a day of a particular game for weeks or months on end sounds like a quick way to pull your hair out then, this might not be the career for you. And I'm not talking about tournaments. I just mean day-to-day life. But it's not even the hours in the game that's the sacrifice but rather the opportunity cost of spending hours in a game. That's hours not spent elsewhere. That's little to no social life, little to no time on other hobbies or even other games. No time for relationships or further education etc.

Second is pro players travel a lot. And even the top teams in the top esports rarely get to travel in luxury. Most of the time, you'll be napping at Airport gates, eating single-serving meals, and waiting in queues. If the stress of visas, departure times, and folding your body into coach seats; while your friends and family wave goodbye sounds like a price too high to pay. You should know you'll be paying it a lot in a pro career.

Next is job security. While the bureaucracy of contracts is getting better at protecting players, it's still not where it needs to be especially compared to traditional sports. A poor tournament result, a stressful environment, or just negativity in the wrong place can cost you your spot on a pro team. Sometimes through no fault of your own, or over something you had no control over. Even winning the largest prize pool in esports didn't secure Aui_2000's job as he was kicked days after winning TI.

Finally, pay. While along with protecting players, esports organizations are getting better at this, esports pay is still very top heavy. The reality is that if you're not entering every tournament as one of the favorites, you're probably only just scraping by, and one too many poor tournament showings can be enough to completely dissolve a team.

I'm not trying to dissuade anyone from chasing their dream. But if this is something you want to pursue, you should absolutely be aware of what kind of life you're chasing. And if this doesn't sound like something you want, that's fine. We get one shot on this earth. It shouldn't be spent doing something you don't want. And playing stress-free games with friends is fun. Duo lane top, why not? Run down dust_2 with knives, only it'll be a laugh. How many times can you dummy the start before your opponents catch on? And if you're passionate about games and still want a career in gaming but not pay the price of a pro player. There are tons of jobs available in gaming that don't pay that price.

But if you've only ever cared about the competition, if you go to sleep thinking about how you need to improve and wake up hungry to get back into the queue. If you dream of lifting trophies, then this is how you become a pro player.