The world of esports is absolutely huge and is only going to get bigger by the year. From Dota 2 and League of Legends to Overwatch and Valorant, there are so many esports titles out there and so many different teams participating in tournaments that there’s never been a better time to get involved.
If you’re really good at a particular video game and are wondering if you can make a career out of it, then be sure to keep reading, as we’re going to talk over exactly what steps you should be taking to get started as a professional player in esports.
Let’s get straight into it.
Passion
Before you do anything else, the most important thing you need to make sure of is that you’re passionate about what you’re doing. Becoming a professional in this industry is hard, and will take a lot of time, patience, and dedication, so you really need to be passionate about esports if you’re serious about it. Don’t just try and get into it for the money, because you won’t even get close to that stage if you don’t have the passion.
Choose a game and practice
Next, when it comes to going professional in esports, you’ll want to choose a game and stick to it. If you want to be the best of the best, you’re going to want to dedicate all your time to one game, which means no double-timing. Becoming the best requires serious dedication and there’s no way you’ll reach the top if you’re trying to practice multiple different games at once. Choose one game and stick to it.
When it comes to practice, some pros will do full 8-hour days, but don’t worry about doing that much yet, especially if you have other commitments like work or school. Just do as much as you can and play consistently – that’s the most important thing. Playing an hour or two a day is better than playing 6 hours a day once a week. Create a regular schedule if you can and stick to it.
Equipment upgrade
If you want to be the best of the best, you’re going to need the best PC setup you can get your hands on. This means the best graphics card, processor, screen etc. You don’t want your gaming ability to be limited by your hardware, so make sure to upgrade as soon as possible.
If you’re still young and aren’t earning your own money, then maybe ask for PC parts for your birthday, or enter competitions online and hope for the best. Ultimately, you can get by with an average setup if you can’t afford to get something good, but you’ll be at a bit of a disadvantage and it’ll be harder for you to succeed in esports.
Coaching
Studying your game and learning how to be the best at it is great, but one thing almost everyone can benefit from is professional coaching. Getting a second opinion on your gameplay is great for improving because you may not even realise some of the mistakes you’re making.
Consistent coaching sessions can be expensive, sure, but even just hiring a coach a few times can be beneficial if you’re on a budget. As you get more pieces of advice from your coach, you’ll be able to start implementing that advice into your games, and eventually, you’ll stop making the same mistakes and play so much better.
Make yourself known in the community
Being good at a video game is great, but if people don’t know about you, then you won’t be getting anywhere. One of the biggest ways you can make yourself known in the community is by streaming on Twitch. If you’re worried about viewership, don’t be! Sure, your viewer count might be low at first, but people love watching others be good at things, so if you truly are in the top 1% of players for your game, then people will come to check you out.
Make sure to make a Twitter, too, and interact with the community as much as you can there. Twitter is one of the biggest social media platforms that esports organisations and players use, so make sure you’re using it. You can even advertise your streams there to increase your viewership!
Play in tournaments
Before you reach a professional level, you’ll want to get as much experience competing as possible, so you should sign up for as many online and LAN tournaments as you can. There are plenty of amateur tournaments around that up-and-coming players can compete in, so make sure you get involved! Most of these tournaments have small prize pools too, so there’s an incentive there. And hey, even if you don’t win, it’ll be good for practice and for getting your name out there within the community.
Join a team or start one
Joining a team can be tricky, but it’s not impossible, so have a look around at what organisations are looking for players and get in contact. There are loads of smaller teams around that compete in low-level tournaments, so consider joining one of those when you’re starting out, and hopefully, over time, you’ll get the chance to join a professional team.
Also, there’s always the opportunity to form your own team! You’ll have no doubt made plenty of connections in the community from playing in tournaments and streaming, so consider getting a group together of the best players you know and form your own team. It’s not an ideal situation, but it’s a place to start.
Conclusion
Well, there you have it, our guide on getting started in esports. We hope you’ve found our advice useful, and we wish you the best of luck in your journey to pursue a career in esports. With enough passion, hard work, and dedication, we’re confident you’ll succeed. Thanks for reading!
