Going pro now

Posted by: bsl

Article by David «Olander» Persson

Do you remember the first time you sat down with a new game and just played for hours and hours and just thought it was so much fun that you couldn’t let it go? Some say this is an addiction.

I say you’re just another gamer.

Building a profile

How do you become known in a world often dominated by the players that are already very good? Well this is a tough one and by far the hardest of all the things you have to do to become a known gamer. The best thing you can do is to play with good players and watch a lot of demos, read a lot of articles on how you can become better. You have to do whatever you can to advance your game.

With great power comes great responsibility.

This means query the people you look up to on irc and ask questions, I know you probably think that we hate when people ask us about sensitivity and all kinds of things. But the truth is we don’t, but I can’t speak for everyone of course. I cherish my fans and I try to do whatever I can for them, sometimes it is very easy and sometimes it is hard. If you don’t ask you will never find out, and that’s why we are here for you.

Another good point on how you can advance your play is to play a lot of mixes and gathers with good players, for example on ESEA. If you use irc you can maybe see if someone is looking for players to mix with. For example if I’m searching for two players to mix with and you query me and ask “can I play?” that will most definitely lead to a “no” from me. But if you instead ask in a polite way for example “Hello mate, I can play if you need a player” that would give you a better chance.

Show people respect, treat others the same way you want to be treated yourself.

So you have to be polite, you have to put in a lot of time to become better in your game, what else? Well the next thing is to try to find a good team to play with. This is very hard I know. I’ve been in the same situation as you are and I know that sometimes it seems like almost impossible to find a team to play with. Don’t give up! Never give up, if you give up and start to whine you will never become a professional gamer. If you have a dream, go for it, don’t let it go.

Building your team

To become a successful team you must work out one thing and one thing only before you start. Are you going for the same thing? Are your goals the same? Do all of you want to become professional gamers or do you just want to fool around? I can say for sure that I’ve felt many, many times that I don’t think this is fun, but why I don’t quit is because I love doing what I am doing and sometimes it doesn’t have to be fun. I love winning and that’s why I’ve put so much time into it. No professional gamer can for sure say that he or she has had 100% fun all the time. It’s a lot of blood sweat and tears before you can get where you want to be.

I recommend watching this video.

So now you have your team, and you all have the same goals. You want to become the best and you think you have what it takes. Think again. This is when it starts, now you have to play, play, play and play some more. This means individual practice as well as practice with your team. I won’t lie to you but I haven’t had the time with a girlfriend for a long time because professional gaming is something I have dreamed of. That meant instead of going out party with friends I played instead because I do this for me, not for anyone else. I wanted to become the best at what I do and to become that means sacrifice.
Be selfish, but don’t neglect your real life friends of family. Show them respect and they will respect you for what you are doing.

LAN tournaments and online leagues

This is the best tip there is to become known as both a team and as players. Go to all the LAN events you can. This means that sometimes you have to pay money from your own pocket to pay all the expenses. Trust me, if you are good, it’s totally worth it.

I have two good examples for you; the first example is when the Norwegian team MultiGamer went to the Assembly LAN in ’06. One of the players had worked for the entire summer handing out newspapers just so that he could go to that event. That’s what I call dedication.

Another example is the Italian clan Catch-23. They paid their entire trip to the Experience LAN in 2007. No one knew who they where, they where the true underdogs and after that event they managed to get a top 10 in the last European rankings. Do you see where I’m getting at? You have to show that you want this, you have to show up at LANs and you have to play, play and play.

When you are at these LAN events you have to make sure that everyone sees you and know who you are, that means try to introduce yourself and get to know the other players since if you are a first time team and the other teams has met each other a lot more times you are the ones that are new. Try to make some new friends and have some fun, don’t be afraid.

Another good point is online leagues. Eurocup, SGL and ESL are good leagues and a good place to start playing with your team. I wouldn’t recommend regular ladders like ClanBase CSS ladders, since there is a lot of mix teams and not so serious teams.

Respect

I said earlier that respect was something very important and yes it is. Without this you will never get far in the professional gaming community. If you show respect to other players you will be liked yourself and that is very important since maybe one day someone will ask you to play in his or her team. That will be the best day of your life.

The best tip is not to flame on community forums or comments in news posts. Act mature and don’t express your emotions even though you hate a player, don’t say it. It’s not worth it. Focus on yourself, not someone else.

...in closing

I hope this has given you a better input on what it takes to become a better gamer. I hope you don’t feel that you will never make it. You will, but it will take some time, so don’t give up.

Remember one thing, ask us whatever you want. We are here for you and we want to help you, we are not here to ignore you. We care for our fans. Without you we are nothing. That means you are the ones that should be taken care of.

Thank you for helping us...

...it's time to give something back.