Do you dream of putting on your headset, your gaming glasses, placing your right hand on your mouse and your left on your keyboard, and then showing your skill to the world to the roar of a packed stadium? It is entirely possible. Many pro gamers started from nothing, playing on their family PC or living room console, before reaching the highest level. The first step to achieving this is telling your parents you want to become a pro gamer and convincing them.
First of all: how do you become a pro gamer?
There is no secret: to become a pro gamer, you have to work. But that work can take two main forms: training and education. The latter, which clearly goes hand-in-hand with the former, is more recent and proves that eSports continues to grow.
Train and develop gradually
The first thing you need to do is train. Honestly, get any hope of becoming the next Gotaga or Kayane, just to name a few, out of your head without putting in the effort. eSports is a sport: you have to train your body, your mind, and develop your skill over long hours every week. But you don't have to grind 14 hours of games a day at the start. Live your life normally, go to school or work, and train as soon as you can with your buddies.
When you feel you're starting to reach a decent level, you might be able to sign up for local tournaments, or even start streaming. Meanwhile, don't hesitate to follow renowned players, understand how they play, and be inspired by their skill to develop your own.
Take dedicated courses
It's 2025; the days of gamers being reprimanded at school are over. Now, gaming is a common hobby, sometimes even trendy. Becoming an eSports player is even seen as impressive by the average person, although some apprehension remains. Today, there are courses and even schools dedicated to eSports, offering to teach you about all the jobs related to this field. If you don't know which school to choose or if you simply want to know more about it, we invite you to do your research every year, as there are many changes as long as a truly solid structure has yet to emerge.
The arguments in your favor to become a pro gamer
Now that you have an idea of how to become a pro gamer, it's time to get down to business. The final boss of your career start. Think about getting the Hylian Shield, the Master Sword, and the Barbarian Armor: Ganon is waiting for you and has taken the form of your parents, who are worried about your interest in eSports. The solution to beat the boss: reassure them and earn their trust.
"You know, making a living from your passion is living happily"
This is no secret to anyone. Work, when it is in a field that doesn't really appeal to us, isn't always very pleasant. Sometimes starting a job in a field we don't like ends up working out, but one thing is for sure: if you start or continue your professional life in the video game world, whatever the job, you will inevitably be happier to get up at 7 AM on a Monday morning. Journalist, tester, developer, PR agent, or pro gamer, all these jobs that touch on what we love are more exciting than others—at least for us gamers.
And your parents only want your happiness. Any career begins with taking a risk; no one starts their first job earning thousands of euros a month. It is perfectly normal to struggle at first, and if it's for something you care about, it won't even scare you. If your future happiness comes at the cost of a few years of struggle, then it's worth it. You must always ensure you land on your feet and not make life too difficult, but risks are there to be taken. If your parents believe in you, they will believe in this dream.
"I've been training for this my whole childhood"
Generally speaking, a person wishing to enter eSports is not trying it for the first time. The path is often the same: from childhood, the person becomes interested in video games. They might start with single-player, adventure, or platform games, etc. Then, over time, they start discovering competitive games: Rocket League, Call of Duty, League of Legends, etc.—you surely know the list.
By constantly discovering, trying, and enjoying these games, you have been training without even realizing it. If you have a decent level, it would be a shame not to try to capitalize on it, wouldn't it?
"eSports is like sport with the same values"
Since eSports started to become mainstream, we have all run into a boomer looking to criticize the youth: eSports isn't a sport, you don't move your butt, you just sit in front of your screen. The same person who will cry foul every time the Olympic Games don't include petanque as an official sport. Jokes aside, it is worth noting that the term "sport" comes from the Old French "desport" meaning "entertainment, physical or mental pleasure" (source: Hubscher Ronald, L'histoire en mouvements, 1992); chess, like eSports, are above all mind sports.
Nevertheless, it must also be remembered that a professional eSports player also demonstrates physical capabilities: the concentration and agility required during competitions demand a healthy body, a healthy mind, and an impeccable lifestyle. Beyond that, eSports shares certain clear values with sport: sportsmanship, sharing, respect, and solidarity, among others. Beneficial things that can only be learned through this type of activity.
"It can bring in quite a bit of money..."
Well yes, let's not kid ourselves. Many people will tell you not to think about money, that it's not important at all, and that the main thing is to have fun. On one hand, that's true: but it's less so when you have to make the choice to stop your current job or studies to jump into eSports. You have to understand that a person without income will need money to live. eSports, after many months or years of effort, can be profitable and allow you to make a living from it. Hence the idea of becoming a pro gamer: you can't be a pro without making a living from it.
"eSports is better and better managed"
There was a time when eSports was limited to LANs between friends or in small local tournaments without real management. But those days are long gone: there are now official eSports teams, operating with sponsors, offering salaries, and trying to win cash prizes in tournaments held in stadiums and watched by millions of people.
And if it helps to get through to your parents, you can always explain that the Ligue 1 has created an eSports division, simply called the eLigue 1, in which teams with well-known names compete: Paris Saint Germain, Olympique de Marseille, the Lille Olympique Sporting Club, or even the best club in France: Racing Club de Lens. Fun fact: Lens was eliminated right at the start of its first participation in the eLigue 1. But we are still standing. Still alive. Still smiling.
"No dad, it's not (necessarily) bad for your health"
We said dad, but we could have said mom—the idea is the same: many parents have a poor image of eSports regarding its impact on health. It's true, staying in front of a screen for several hours a day isn't the best idea. But that's also what becoming a pro gamer is about: knowing how to take care of your body and mind while doing what you love.
All this involves good physical condition (doing activities that make you move) as well as a steel-trap mentality (decompressing is essential). But the part of your body that will be most affected by a lack of a healthy lifestyle is your eyes. It is very important to protect them, and we are here for that: we advise you to get blue light glasses dedicated to gaming.
Beware of bad arguments!
But you know better than anyone that parents who are a bit doubtful about your future in eSports won't hesitate to pull out any biased argument to use against you. Okay, put like that, it sounds like all parents are monsters: that's completely false, they are potentially worried about you and it's possible they don't understand eSports. So to avoid scaring them, watch out for bad arguments.
Choose your game examples wisely, you never know
Some games are necessarily better managed and more highlighted on the eSports scene than others. If your parents plan to look into what you tell them, it would be wise not to give them the names of games disliked by the eSports scene. This is the case, for example, with all Nintendo games with a competitive dimension: despite all the qualities of this publisher, they are currently unable to properly manage this facet of their image.
Getting into eSports on Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is essentially throwing away your career as a pro gamer. If you want to give them names of big, well-represented games, talk about Rocket League, Call of Duty, or League of Legends instead.
Do you have the necessary equipment?
Like any sport, when you start a career, you need the right equipment. If for football it means a license, optimized clothing, and comfortable cleats (among other things), eSports will require you to have either a good console or a relatively powerful PC.
Let's obviously not forget the gaming headset, glasses, keyboards and mice or controllers, etc. If you don't have a PC on hand yet, it can be quite a dealbreaker: your parents (if you don't earn your own salary yet) might not want to buy your equipment. If the budget is tight, we advise you to look toward a setup designed for beginners.
However, are you sure you have the skill? Because, you know...
Alright, this one is a bit of a troll. No, because we've seen 14-year-old Fortnite players who think they can get into pro gaming. If you plan to seriously look into this field, ensure you have a minimum level of skill; take a step back and look at your performance, test yourself against potentially better players, and see if you improve over time. Taking risks to start such a career without "it" factor is really not a good idea. It's like trying for a career as an accountant without knowing how to file your invoices, for example.
Don't forget us when you're on top of the eSports world
We hope our guide can help you embark on your future career as an eSports player! You should have the keys now to convince your parents; if you find other foolproof arguments, don't hesitate to give them to us in the comments. And if you become a talented player, why shouldn't we offer you some gear to protect your eyes? You never know.
