What Is a Pro Gamer
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With obsessive fans, cutthroat competition and thriving rivalries between teams, pro gaming competition has more in common with “real” sports than you might think. Like any athletic sport, from the NFL to Olympic figure skating, to become an elite contender in e-sports demands intensive practice.
Massively, a site dedicated to the broad genre of “massively multiplayer” online games offers this advice:
Practice is the only thing separating novice League of Legends players from experts. No pro player got to where he is today by playing only one or two games a day.
Mastering the jargon of a given game, the names of its character classes, moves, strategies and greats, is a feat of its own.
Like athletic sports, e-sports can fill a stadium too: last year’s League of Legends championship sold out 13,000 seats at LA’s Staples Center, with millions more watching live online.
Become a Pro Gamer in 8 Easy Steps
Easy to understand, that is. Playing for a living isn’t all fun and games. It takes time, skill and determination to win in today’s competitive circuits. If you’re up for the challenge, here’s what you need to do:
Pick your game. With a service like Xbox Live, you can practice and compete around the clock both with and against very skilled players. It’s not about randomly finding people to play against. You have to find a game you’re good at and become exceptional at it.
Once you find that game, build your reputation as both a skilled single player and a team player.
Stay motivated. Winning and money are big motivators for pro gamers; so are family and passion. Pro gamer Marcus “ShoNuff2025” Davis has been practicing the latest Call of Duty game, Advanced Warfare.
When asked why he wanted to go pro, Davis said, “First, I want to be the best so my Dad doesn’t think I’m asking for all these games and PC upgrades for nothing. Then I want to have fun doing what I already love doing.”
Practice. Study the best tactics, watch a ton of gameplay and learn how to lose. Even when you lose, you’re practicing, and practice really makes perfect. Tyler “Teepee” Polchow, who was part of the team compLexity (now Evil Geniuses), which won the Call of Duty World Championship in 2014.
Polchow
“Winning the championship was the pinnacle of my professional gaming career,” Polchow said. To get there, Polchow practiced with his team eight-plus hours a day, live-streamed the games and created other content.
“We were up against the best and had to prove we were better. The grand finals against Team EnvyUs was a quick 3-0 sweep for us, and it was in the last minutes of the third map where we secured the victory,” he said.
“A $100,000 check and the prestige of being a world champion is what all pro gamers strive for, and having that become a reality was one of the most gratifying and relieving feelings.”
Gear up. You need equipment that allows you to properly test your skills against the competition. It might be nice to have the hottest PC, but the most important thing is to choose one with the right performance that suits your lifestyle.
You can get a thin and light gaming notebook to bring to meet up with teammates or make sure practice doesn’t slow down when you travel.
A highly customizable desktop will help ensure that you have the most up-to-date hardware for your ever evolving games. As long as you have an Xbox or PlayStation, you’ll be able to compete.
Join the community. As much as pro gaming is about individual talent, it’s also about the community and being a team player. Before starting, get to know the rules of being part of a particular gaming community.
Find a team. Once you build a reputation as a serious competitor, find a team. If you’re really good, the team will probably find you. If not, try out for teams. MLG has dedicated spots to communicate with other teams and players. There are also communities where you can foster your own team.
Enter tournaments. When you get good enough to compete in singles or with a team, start entering tournaments. Test your skills in as many online and local tournaments as possible. Tournaments happen year round, so you’ll always have a place to compete. The unfortunate news is that no matter how many tournaments you win, your status as a pro gamer is truly only solidified when you win at the pro circuit level. Winning at live events brings you not only respect, but also money. Pro gaming is a legitimate job.
Get sponsored. Today’s pro gamers benefit from sponsors who provide the necessary equipment to compete. If you want to earn a living as a pro gamer, find a way to get sponsored.
“Gaming isn’t just a hobby anymore, it’s a career path and a lifestyle for some people,” Gretsy said. “The dedication and the time put into playing is more than a 9-to-5 job with overtime.”