Five Ways You Can Become a Professional Gamer

A 16-year-old from Pennsylvania hit headlines around the world this summer when he won the $3 million first prize at the inaugural Fortnite World Cup. Kyle “Bugha” Giersdorf spent six hours per day playing the battle royale game in order to prepare for the tournament, and he was handsomely rewarded. 

He is just one example of a growing that sees teenagers and young adults to strike it rich by simply playing the games they love. It sounds like a dream come true, but becoming a pro gamer is harder than it initially sounds. These are the five key considerations you need to keep in mind in order to thrive in the burgeoning world of esports. 

Find a niche and practice hard 

Most casual gamers enjoy playing an array of different titles on a rotating basis, but professionals cannot afford such luxuries. You need to dedicate yourself to one specific game and become a master of it if you are to make a living in the world of esports. First you must find a genre that appeals to you. The professional gaming scene is broken down into multiplayer online battle arena games like Dota 2 and League of Legends, first-person shooters such as CS:GO, Rainbow Six Siege and Overwatch, battle royale titles like Fortnite or PUBG, and real-time strategy titles including StarCraft II, plus a smattering of sports and fighting games such as Fifa or Madden. 

Some require more patience and strategy, while others require boldness, fierce concentration and brilliant dexterity. Try to analyse your strengths and weaknesses, find the right genre and then pick a game you enjoy and one that is lucrative. The best esports for making money right now are Fortnite, Dota 2, LoL, CS:GO, Overwatch, RS6 and Arena of Valor. They have the largest prize pools, the most fans, the biggest sponsors and the biggest footprint on betting sites like Unikrn.com. 

Once you have chosen the right game, you must approach your training schedule in a relentless fashion. Bugha trains for six hours per day, even on school days, and that really is the bare minimum that you should be putting in. 

Invest in high-end hardware 

You cannot hope to crack the world of competitive gaming if you are lumbered with sub-standard equipment. You need to speculate to accumulate. Save up and invest in the best gear, such as the Intel Core i9-9900K, a MSI GeForce RTX 2080 Gaming X Trio, a SteelSeries Apex Pro and a Logitech G502 Proteus Spectrum. 

It might be painful for your wallet in the short-term, but it will give you the best possible chance of success, and it will be well worth it if you ended up scooping a major prize in the future. The five members of Team OG each took home $3.1 million for winning The International 2019. That could be you in future, but not if you have a broken old keyboard and a crumbling desk. 

Build your profile on Twitch and social media 

Many of the young adults making money from the gaming industry are not even the best players. They succeed due to the sheer magnetism of their personalities. 

Ninja did not qualify for the Fortnite World Cup, but he remains the most popular streamer on Twitch and for that reason he is a multimillionaire. Tfue did qualify, but struggled to make an impact, yet he still has an extremely healthy bank balance thanks to his profile as a streamer. 

Subscribers can be worth $4.99, $9.99 or $24.99, depending on the subscription tier, and Twitch takes 50%, leaving you with the remainder. If you have thousands of subscribers, this really adds up. You just have to work out a way to deliver engaging content and to build up a captivating online personality by providing a lively commentary of the action. You should also work hard to build up your social media profile. This allows you to engage with the community, gain valuable advice from your peers and build up a personal brand. This will help you sign for a team and secure a sponsor, both of which are potentially crucial to your chances of succeeding as a pro gamer. 

Find an academy or college 

Young, aspiring pro gamers can enroll in an academy that strives to create ideal conditions for advancing esports athletes. A career in esports sounds great fun, and it is, but it can also prove to be extremely demanding. 

Esports academies aim to offer young gamers pedagogical support, while creating grassroots teams that compete in events. The Gaming Campus in Lyon is a great example, while many traditional universities and schools are embracing the esports revolution. The Robert Morris University in Illinois has a scholarship sponsored League of Legends team. Boston-based Emerson College is offering an esports course, the University of California offers LoL scholarships and Columbia College has a gaming arena. In the UK, Staffordshire University offers a degree in esports, while Informatics Academy in Singapore has an esports diploma. 

There are many more colleges offering courses on esports, and they offer a great way to network, understand the trade and prepare for a career in competitive gaming. 

Join a team 

If you check out the esports betting odds at Unikrn.com, you will see several team names cropping up time after time. Team Liquid, Fnatic, Evil Geniuses, Cloud9, mousesports, Team Dignitas, Invictus Gaming and Virtus.pro are all examples of big franchises with multiple teams spanning a number of esports. Landing a place on one of these teams represents the Holy Grail for aspiring esports stars. 

However, the world of competitive gaming is still relatively embryonic and bursting with dynamism, so exciting new teams are springing up all the time. If you identify the franchises that are in the process of making a name for themselves, you will stand a chance of gaining a place at an organization that could be massive in future. But first you need to pick a game, buy the right kit, practice like a demon, build up your profile, ramp up your Twitch channel and grow your network.