6 Top Things You Need to Become a Professional Gamer
Internet gaming has become huge. Whether you enjoy solo slot games Book of Ra or multiplayer first-person shooters, you can find it all online. And the best part is that there’s no shortage of big tournaments all over the world. Professional gamers can win big, and the prizes are only getting bigger. Plus, thanks to numerous platforms that provide a steady flow of esports tournaments, it’s pretty easy to start competing and grow your skills. So it’s no wonder that people who love video games are interested in turning their hobby into a money-making career. But to make it to the top, you need some guidance. And this article is here to help you with that. We bring you our 6 top skills you need to become a pro. Ready? Here we go.
1. Pick the Game You’re Going to Master
The first step in your professional gamer career is picking the games you’re going to master. The good news is that Xbox offers you plenty of opportunities to hone your skills against stronger players. Choose a game that you’ve played long enough to be good at it. Some of the most popular games that you’ve probably played at some point are League of Legends, Heroes of the Storm, and Fortnite.
If you’re mainly after high rewards, you can skip the racing, real-time strategy, and first-person shooter categories. The most lucrative prizes get handed out in multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) competitions. Plus, established MOBA games like Dota 2 and Fortnite have all the infrastructure to support professional gamers, meaning that the tournaments are well sponsored and the player bases are big. Obviously, the high number of competing skilled players makes it harder for beginners to start winning. The only way is to practice a lot. So choose a game you enjoy playing.
2. Make a Choice: E-sports or Streaming
Can you be a professional gamer who doesn’t compete? The short answer is yes. Using popular platforms like Twitch and YouTube, you can post a live stream of you playing. And no, you don’t have to be exceptionally good at the game to entertain an audience. Medium-level skills are enough to attract viewers and start making some money.
3. Join the Community of Professional Gamers
To become a professional esports athlete, you need to start living the professional gamer lifestyle. Ultimately, it’s the fun culture that surrounds gaming that keeps you invested in advancing your skills. Plus, a professional gamer benefits immensely from interacting with other players. Many effective gameplay tactics are discussed only on YouTube channels and various forums. Staying up to date with the evolving meta allows you to iterate on it. So go ahead and find the online forums and Facebook groups where the pro gamers come together. Keep track of popular discussion topics and be an active contributor. Soon you’ll be fully immersed in the gaming scene, and all the gained knowledge will only speed up your development.
4. Keep Practicing
Look, you can become a professional gamer in only one year. But this can only be possible if you practice a lot at home. The first thing you need to do is learning the game’s mechanics. The game-specific moves need to get repeated so often that they become automatic.
Secondly, tune in to gameplay on Twitch and watch the pros compete. There’s a lot to learn from watching experienced gamers playing. You’ll be able to pick up good in-game habits and start seeing different strategies in action. Next, once you’ve acquired enough skills to compete, use services like ESEA to find other players. Take every match seriously and record it. Reviewing replays later enables you to spot errors in your gaming style and correct them.
5. Get the right gear
Having complete professional gamer gear is essential to improve as a player. A mouse, a mechanical keyboard, a PlayStation, and an Xbox are all you need to get started. But since most video games require you to make lots of quick, decisive moves, it’s a good idea to invest in a fast keyboard. Too much lagging gives your competitors an unfair advantage. Before making the purchase, verify the sensitivity of any professional gamer equipment. The same goes for getting a new computer. It needs to stay up to speed during playing and show the game graphics perfectly all the time.
When buying anything new, remember that you should be taking your practice gear to all on-stage competitions. So get the best pieces you can afford right away. They will increase your chances to win tenfold, and you’ll be comfortably familiar with the equipment once it’s time to step into the limelight.
6. Become a Member of a Team
Once you feel like you’re skilled enough to compete on stage, it’s time to join a team. How do you choose the right group of people around you? A typical professional gamer age is around 25 years, but that number shouldn’t guide your decisions. Some players are as young as 16 and competing on high levels. The primary factor in choosing a team should be the team members’ skill levels. You can only improve by playing alongside people who are better than you.
If you win enough tournaments, a team will approach you to become a member. But you can also try gaming websites and forums to communicate with other players and form a team together.
Conclusion
So these were our top tips on how to get started as a professional gamer. Follow the advice from this article, and you set yourself on a path of a long, lucrative career in e-sports. And if you’re still not convinced to get started, check out these professional gamer facts:
- The Dota 2 World Championship has a record-breaking prize pool of $34.3 million.
- Fortnite World Cup’s prize pool was a staggering $30.4 million in 2019.
That’s a lot of money. And you could take some of it home with you. So take the next step and start practicing. The cool thing about honing your skills in gaming is that it’s fun and social. What could be better?
In what tournaments will you compete this year? Leave a comment below.
