Esports Career: Yay or Nay? Sportco guide on building a career in Esports

As we all have dreamed of at least once in our lives of making a career in Esports; becoming Faker from League of Legends, or N0tail from Dota, or even S1mple from Counter-Strike, it has dawned upon us that we are sitting on our bed, stressing about the next exam that we have to write in school, or the next chore we have to complete for the house, and then we go back to reading our books or back to work. 

However, it has been proven that people who dare to dream big and work hard towards achieving their dreams have always succeeded. 

Same is the case with gaming, it started off with the gaming arcades in the ’90s from the US, and has completely taken over the world by storm. 

Most children from when I was in school, up to now have at some point in their lives requested either Santa to give them a Playstation for their birthday, or asked their parents to gift an Xbox to them on their birthdays. 

Fast Forward to today, we have an Esports gaming market that is worth 694.2 million as of 2017, estimated to go to 2148 million in 2023. Looking at these numbers, anybody would be excited to play games for a living right? 

While that might sound like a pipe dream, the sad truth is that not everybody can make a career in Esports like a Faker or a S1mple. 

These athletes are legends in their own games and have worked day in and day out to get to the success that they have achieved. 

While one could argue that their teams were also really good that propelled them to success, they were the drivers of their teams and were the main reason for the teams doing well. 

Talking about a career in Esports, there is no real clear cut way of getting into it. 

However, there is a standard plan that almost every athlete followed and had in common to become a megastar in the world of gaming. 

If you want to built a career in Esports and become the next big e-athlete, you will have to keep the following things in mind-

1. Ensuring that a career in Esports is your backup career while starting out: 
This is the most important tip to follow, as gaming as a career can be compared to other art careers like singers, painters, cooks, etc. 

The thing that is common about these professions is that they are super volatile and it takes a lot of time for you to get recognized and prove yourself. 

Also for every Faker, there have been 1000 people who have failed, so not to forget that we could also be one of them. Hence keep this as a side hustle!

2. Creating a brand around yourself: 
Popular to contrary belief, the most significant income for gamers is not actually the prize money they win through tournaments, but the various brand deals they sign and the followers they command on social media. 

After the internet boom, it was not just about the prize money but a lot more, and with brands willing to pay close to 7 figures for top gamers, you can see where the actual source of income lies!

3. Create goals for yourself: 
It's nice to be ambitious and confident, but too much of everything can be bad. Similarly, it is important to set goals and timelines for yourself and ensure you stick to it. 

If you have not been able to hit conqueror after 2 years of playing the game, maybe PUBG isn't the game for you. 

It's difficult to admit that you are not good enough, but the far better option would be to reconsider, rather than continuing with what has not worked for 2 years!

4. Be ready to accept that you may not be as good as you think: 
Esports is a domain where people start at a very early age of 16, which is the minimum age to sign contracts in the world and end their careers by the age of 24-25 on average. 

So while you’re playing, there will always be this one kid who will randomly show up and be better than you. 

It is important to recognize this, and take that up as a challenge and rise to the top. Hard Work is important, but Smart Work is what will help you become the next biggest player!

5. Being a good communicator: 
Whether it is in-game where there is a 2v1 clutch situation where communication is the most important factor to win the round, or just casually streaming to an audience where you have to talk, communication is a really handy tool that people aspiring to be pro gamers can have. 

This makes them more marketable and makes them a better brand for themselves. Having a YouTube channel and streaming makes this really easy as it gives practice for the same.

We hope you got an overall perspective on kick-starting a career in Esports? Sportco will be back with more elaborate and focused articles on similar topics. 

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