It was in 1972 when Esports’ first-ever game competition was held. The game was called Spacewar. The First Esports era was from 1972 to 1989. It started to evolve after that till the present. Nobody would have believed at that time that gaming would ever emerge as a career. But today, you can become a professional gamer and earn good money. If you are also planning something similar, don’t think much as here’s how you can take forward your gaming skills into becoming a professional gamer.
Find your excuse
The first and foremost thing, to prepare yourself for a gaming career is that you must find an excuse.
By excuse, I mean that you should always stay in touch with your game. It doesn’t matter which game you play but how good you are at it. Be it Player Unknown’s Battle Ground (PUBG), Valorant, Counter-Strike, or Minecraft, all you need is to be as good as you can be.
Each field requires dedication and continuous efforts and so when it comes to a professional gaming career, you must be dedicated and consistent.
Play your game
Find the game that you feel is the best for you. Not just in terms of interest but also the one which is at the ease of your fingertips. Don’t just get involved in multiple online games at once, rather I would suggest you go for one particular game and become a master at it. Especially if you are just a beginner, it will take time for you to select which game is perfect for you.
Also, other than that, if you are confused between a few games, you must check the competitive scene of that particular game, and only then stick to it.
Go with your pace
“The expert in anything was once a beginner”. Always remember that today you may be a beginner, but you will surely have expertise in that task one day if you are consistent. Nobody becomes an expert in a day or two but it is an effort of over months and years. Just go at your own pace, starting from the very basics and slowly levelling up!
Watch streams of other gamers and the way they play then implement it on yourself.
Find out new ways and techniques to bring out the best in yourself. Slowly start pushing your limits and increasing your skills.
Connect to communities
Communities are the place where gamers congregate or assemble. Although it is necessary to improve your skills, it is just as important to know the culture and the environment of the players involved in that game. As you will get to interact with the players who are currently better than you, you will also be able to grasp their methods and tricks that will, in the end, help you in becoming even better than them.
Communities are a great opportunity to learn and be ahead of others.
Practice
Now as you are getting to know about new methods, tricks, and ways to play your game, it’s time for you to practice hard. For me, there is no perfect definition of being perfect, but I would rather say, perfection is bringing the best out of anything. After all, don’t you think that every time you play, you learn something new? This is what I want to mean when I say that nobody is perfect.
It is all about how much time and effort you put into something.
Find your type- the peripherals
There is no particular alternative for selecting the best gaming mouse, mechanical keyboard, or other peripherals for gaming but it’s up to you which one suits you the best. Even if you look at the pro gamers today, they would use the same mouse, keyboard, and other accessories when they are competing on-stage that they would use in gaming houses. Just focus more on gameplay rather than upgrading to better peripherals. Get adapted to whichever mouse or keyboard you have and feels the most comfortable and handy.
Remember, it’s not the peripherals or accessories that will improve your skills, but you who need to make the best of them!
Search & join teams
Moving to the next step is that you now have to search for teams. As of now, if you have already made a reputation as a serious competitor, find teams with whom you can play. A good selection of teams would be a combination of players who are better than you or have a different skill set than you. There are various team-based games like PUBG, CS, CoD-M, etc which will allow you to improve and play well with others. If you know about Discord, then find your team there and build connections and relations with big players.
Understand the gameplay of your teammates, gear up, and get recognized among pros.
Show your skills
When you are playing among such a large number of gamers then yes, you need to show how you are better and different from others. The competition is tough and you need to showcase your skills for being called a pro. I would suggest you compete with players who are better than you where you can impress them by showing your skills and also learn something from them as well. Remember that you are here for becoming a professional gamer and for that you need to be unique.
If you are really worthy gamer, you need to prove it.
Compete & Climb
It takes a lot of hard work and dedication to win at every phase of the competition. But as you are here to become a pro, you need to top the leaderboard, climb the ladder in matchmaking, and be the last team standing in the game and tournaments. There are different trajectories for different Esports or Online games. Climbing the ladder will allow you to create your name as a young player and get selected for strong teams which will be the small stepping stones to becoming a professional gamer.
Grow as a pro
It takes years for beginners to become a professional and get recognition. Nothing is impossible so always keep pushing your limits and never get demotivated. Maybe not today, but if you are consistent enough, one day you will get what you are dreaming of. People may discourage you from choosing gaming as a career but remember that every successful person was once a beginner and was doubted by others for what they were doing. If you ever feel disheartened, you could listen to podcasts and life stories of people you admire especially from the gaming industry.
Implement all of these steps and ways and you will definitely see the change and improvements on your path to becoming a professional gamer!
