You are a gamer, you love spending time on PC or Console, and you say to yourself: why not make a living from this passion? Others do it, why not you? Imagine, you get paid to play all day!?
But where to start, is it complicated, do you have to train, how to become a pro gamer?
We explain to you in this article how to become a pro gamer , and therefore live from your passion, or even make it your job. It's not easy, and it takes energy , but it's possible!
---------------------------------------------
IN THIS ARTICLE
- The key to success
- Training
- Which game
- training
- Collective
- Stream
- Attend trade shows
- Tournaments
- Languages
- Equipment
- Health and performance
- The final word
To be passionate
You can't get into esports without the love of competition , the satisfaction of improving as a player, and the desire to contribute to a team.
"SUCCESS IS A JOURNEY NOT A DESTINATION"
In the long run, positive motivations are what keep players engaged in a process that can be nerve-wracking. Gamers motivated solely by money, fame, and quick success will likely burn out before becoming a pro .
The simple love of the game will make all the difference during the daily training sessions, which allow you to gradually acquire the skills necessary to enter the professional world.
And it will also make the difference in the first defeats and hard knocks in competition.
Where to train to become a pro gamer ?
Often, to be able to do a trade, it is necessary to attend courses or training, to acquire the basics of said trade, which then form a soil on which the worker relies to perform professionally.
So the first question a wannabe gamer is entitled to ask is: “ where can I train? »
In France, several places reveal how to become a pro gamer . Some universities provide general courses on the world of e-sport, in terms of marketing, communication, game design or animation.
But in terms of schools to become a pro gamer strictly speaking, they are rare. You can turn to the Gaming Academy in Lyon, which presents itself as the first independent training center - and free! - in Europe, in addition to “collective video game coaching” at a low price - 9.90 euros per month.
The Helios Gaming School , which has three establishments in France, also prepares you to become a pro gamer , at a somewhat high price - 7,900 euros per year -, as does the Montpellier Gaming Academy , at 5,900 euros.
And then that's all.
The number of places is limited, and places in these places, expensive .
The future gamer must therefore often be self-taught, perfecting himself to reach the very high level, before entering an e-sport structure - like Vitality -, which will be able to develop his potential.
Choose your favorite game
There are many video games that are likely to interest you in your intention to become a pro gamer . The average gamer, in general, plays several games, whether dedicated primarily to solo or primarily to online .
The ideal, however, is to focus on a game that you like, and that you are good at, and not necessarily the game that you think can more easily make you a pro gamer.
"I WOULD RATHER DIE OF PASSION THAN OF BOREDOM"
If you think you're more likely to turn pro playing League of Legends , while your bedside game is FIFA , focus on the latter instead. The pleasure, the passion must initially direct your choices , because when the difficulty gets in your way, it is the pleasure that will make you persevere.
If the latter must therefore predominate, you should nevertheless know that it is more difficult to be noticed in the professional universe of established games , such as LoL or Counter Strike .
Lesser known games are more accessible, but then you have to bet on the right horse and not be wrong, because there is the risk that the competitive scene of the game in question does not break through.
In short, it's a roll of the dice if you choose the path of games – for now – less exposed.
Train yourself
If you want to win, you have to practice first. And there are several things to do for that.
First, master the mechanics of the game. Focus on learning specific skills , until they become natural to you. Whether it's the last skill move in FIFA , shooting practice in an FPS, or maximizing the number of actions per minute in an STR, there are several essential skills to acquire that never lose their importance.
Professional players train relentlessly to stay precise and make tiny improvements to their overall skills , but that over time aggregates into an unstoppable set of techniques.
So before becoming a pro, work as much as them, if not more, to improve your level.
"YOU GET WHAT YOU WORK FOR NOT WHAT YOU WISH FOR"
You also need to find strategies. Becoming a good gamer means having several methods and tricks to win.
To do this, never hesitate to draw inspiration from the best players. YouTube videos and live streams, especially on Twitch, are great places to learn game mechanics and put them to good use.
Then, do not forget the analysis of your own meetings , in order to break down your style of play and identify your mistakes. If all the best players do it, it's because there's a reason: it's hard to move forward without taking the necessary step back!
Our advice: Join a team & Play it collectively
Becoming a pro gamer is a long solitary quest, but that shouldn't exempt you from thinking about the collective.
Pro gamers have generally not received any training: they have mainly made themselves known to a small team , then to a larger one, etc. It is better to start small and then evolve than to aim too big and not succeed in making a name for yourself.
Try for this to fit into a team, where you can measure your talent to that of your teammates, and that of opponents also gathered under the same banner.
Blending into a collective, while making your own skills shine, will allow you to improve , sometimes making you see the game differently.
And it can also, and this is not negligible, make you known: regularly participating in team tournaments is a fundamental step that can propel you into the professional world.
And then being integrated into a community is an important motivational lever, where solidarity and group spirit can make you move mountains. Don't miss such an opportunity.
Our recommendations for finding your team:
Dedicated sites:
Facebook groups:
On Discord:
Locally:
Start a Twitch or Youtube channel
There's nothing like launching a Youtube or Twitch channel to broadcast your games and make yourself known.
Start by following a few channels of very motivating gamers, and possibly launch your own , without copying what is already done, but by asserting your style, just to make yourself known a little.
Even if you are not yet a professional gamer, a lot of other gamers might want to follow you to find out how to get started, how to evolve little by little.
Nothing like an epic where the hero is not yet at the top of his game at the start of the adventure: He will learn, evolve, sometimes fail, but bounce back and start again until he wins the quest. You may even be able to earn some money with partnerships or other means, although at first it will not represent large sums. Many pros started out small.
So… why not test with YOUR story?
OUR ADVICE: It is better to start small and grow than never to start!
Attend Trade Shows
If you live near a city, do not hesitate to take a look at the gaming lounges. You will find a lot of gamer communities, possibly find a team, test new games, and maybe even attend mini tournaments.
Mandatory step for a future pro!
Example :
- Gaming Fair in Lyon
Take part in tournaments
Nothing like tournaments to put your foot in the stirrup.
This is the basis for a pro gamer, or wanting to become one. However, it is worth remembering. Do your best to participate in tournaments , even minor ones – the one organized by the video game store on your street is also good to take.
This allows you to be exposed to real conditions, with this small dose of additional adrenaline , to put your level in perspective, or even to improve when adversity rises. Competition, for pro gamers, that's the only real thing.
The question of languages
Languages are important, but do you have to speak English to become a pro gamer ?
Honestly, it's not useless . If no one asks you to be perfectly bilingual, having solid notions in the language of Shakespeare can always do you good service.
Both to be able to follow live the biggest tournaments that take place abroad, generally in English, and to decipher the words of the developers of the game that interest you when you cannot find French sources to translate them for you.
Admittedly, almost no game is translated into French, so it will rarely be useful to you in game , but English is always a good skill to take.
If only to play narrative games often designed in English , such as The Last of Us II or Red Dead Redemption II , in the original language, without losing an ounce of the authenticity of the game.
Gear up: adequate and efficient equipment
Can you imagine Cristiano Ronaldo playing football in sandals? No.
For the gamer, it's the same: he must be well equipped to perform. Without investing huge sums in a complete kit to become a pro gamer , the apprentice player must at least have some essential accessories:
- An ergonomic seat
- A quality screen
- A high-performance console/PC
- An ultra-precise gaming mouse
- A super fast gaming keyboard
- An "immersive" headset
- Anti-glare and anti-blue light gaming glasses
There are a multitude of gaming accessories, each more advanced than the next, but this small list is essential for a good professional gamer.
A good seat, which keeps him in a comfortable position for prolonged practice of the game. Then, if he is a PC gamer, he must have a machine at the top in terms of performance, an ultra-precise wireless mouse, a keyboard adapted and a helmet to hear precisely everything that happens around him, in the game – it is all the more useful in FPS, to know where the enemy is.
In the case of a console gamer, a really good TV is required.
To protect these performances and because health is very important, it is also necessary to think of glasses protecting the eyes from the harmful effects of screens .
So we agree, it's not necessarily the hardware that makes the gamer. But at the highest level, better hardware can mean the difference between bitter defeat and resounding triumph.
Don't forget to pause
Becoming a pro gamer requires real discipline to be on top: you have to sleep well, so about 7 to 8 hours a night, but also eat a balanced diet, and practice a sporting activity on a regular basis.
The recipe is simple but not so easy to maintain over time!
Being seated most of the time, a gamer must exert himself physically in his free time, to be in good health and to have optimal reflexes when playing.
We call all this “invisible work” , that is to say what must be done, but which is not directly correlated with the practice of video games.
Also take breaks, recharging your batteries away from your controller. Your family or your friends are just as important in your conquest of the high level of e-sports. A support system is essential for your psychic balance.
Live like a pro
Becoming a pro gamer takes not only talent but years of hard work . To be able to evolve as a player, it is important to follow a few essential points: broaden your knowledge of the game(s), look for sources of positive motivation, develop your social skills and adopt a healthy lifestyle. And of course, a mind of steel!
