Who would have thought a few years ago that enjoying video games could be a way to earn a living? As eSport athletes, people are actually making money, a lot of money. The US iGaming Market is worth literally hundreds of millions of dollars, with eSports players like Kyle “Bugha” Giersdorf having career earnings of over $3,000,000. Sure, that number is still way below what mainstream athletes are making (NFL GOAT Tom Brady is making $15,000,000 a year), but eSports players are getting there.
As the iGaming market is expanding, so are the player salaries. It wouldn’t be shocking if we saw eSports athletes overtake their mainstream counterparts in the next couple of years. Knowing this, no one can blame you if you’ve started thinking about becoming a professional eSports player. The question, however, is whether you have it in you.
What Skills Do You Need for eSports?
To become a professional basketball player, you need to be taller than average. The average height of an American man is 5’9, while the average NBA player is 6’6 tall. If you’d like to become a soccer star, you need to be pacey and agile. To become an MMA fighter, you need to be tough as nails.
In order to become a pro eSports player, you don’t need an extraordinary physique. You do, however, need some other skills. The good news is that most of those skills can be polished with practice over time.
That said, one thing that all eSports athletes have in common is determination. You need to have the willpower to practice even if you don’t feel like it. The more you practice, the better you will get. But what does “a lot of practice” actually mean?
It means that you will have to treat eSports as a regular 9-to-5 job, where overtime work happens regularly. You need to train for hours every day, meaning that you won’t have too much time for other activities. So, only if you’re ready to go all-in on your eSports dream, you can hope for success in the iGaming universe.
Tips & Tricks for Polishing Your iGaming Skills
After ending his career in athletics, Usain Bolt decided to give soccer a shot. How did it go? Not great, if we’re being honest. But that’s no surprise – in order to become a GOAT in one sport, you need to focus only on that sport.
Multitasking won’t get you anywhere in the world of eSports either. Rather than competing in dozens of different eSports disciplines, you need to focus only on one video game.
We’re not saying this without proof – only two of the 500 highest-earning American eSports athletes are competing in multiple disciplines on a regular basis. You need to pick your discipline in eSports and you need to do it carefully. After all, this game is going to become a crucial part of your life. So, make sure to choose one that you won’t get bored of after a few months.
The next piece of advice we got for you is to team up with better players. It’s easy to grow when you have experienced tutors to guide you.
You also need to take part in as many competitions as possible. Sure, you probably won’t win many of those (especially not at the beginning of your career), but you will gain valuable experience.
How to Kick-Off Your eSports Career?
Not only do you need to invest your time and energy to become a pro eSports player, but you also need to invest a lot of money. This is a sport that requires proper equipment. That said, the logical first step on the road to becoming a pro iGaming athlete is to buy a gaming computer.
Then, it’s all about practice. You need to play the game ferociously for weeks or even months before applying for your first eSports tournament. When the time comes, our advice is to go slow – apply to a low-tier iGaming event, either online or local.
The reason why you shouldn’t apply for a prestigious tournament straight away is that the organizers (almost certainly) won’t accept your application. Taking part in low-level tournaments is a great way to build up your reputation. Another trick to achieving this is to start streaming your eSports exploits. By using Twitch or some other streaming platform, you can get plenty of exposure, thus putting yourself on the radar of big eSports organizations.
It takes time to rise through the ranks in the iGaming world, so make sure to arm yourself with patience. Success doesn’t come easy, but eSports could be your ticket to fame and fortune.
