It’s official – these days, it’s totally possible to make a living by playing video games.
The rise of esports has been fast and furious, and joining the right team or clan can make or break your career as a professional video game player.
From the seasoned pros at some of the world’s most prestigious esports teams, to the superstars breaking into the scene for the first time, there’s a new generation of players who’re making names for themselves on the pro gaming circuit.
Here’s what you need to know to get on top of your game.
While there’s a global diversity of players, there are always a few players who stand out above the rest. The most recognizable names in the field include popular gamers like Faker, Hauntzer and Team Liquid’s TaeJa.
Esports organizations have also become very interested in signing top-level players to contracts and sponsoring them, sometimes to the tune of millions of dollars.
For example, in 2019, gaming giant Epic Games held a Fortnite World Cup that had total cash prizes worth $30 million.
Yes, you read that right. The winner of the ’19 world cup walked away with $3 million alone.
The potential to make big money is the main reason why esports have become so popular among those at the top of their game (pun intended).
Professional gamers are seen as big attractions at tournaments, as the top players are paid to travel and perform at live events, so it’s becoming much more of a job than a hobby.
If you want to go pro as a gamer, you need to start taking your gaming seriously.
Before we dive into ways to be noticed by top-tier esports teams, let’s quickly go over another route to esports fame.
Keep in mind that there are plenty of lower-tier teams that hold open tryouts or otherwise give interested gamers a simple chance at making the roster.
For these teams, you can simply head over to an online website or an app, and register yourself.
If you’re very serious, you can become a full-time professional gamer by joining one of these lower-tier professional gaming squads, with the organization paying all your living expenses and providing you with a moderate salary.
Sure, you won’t get the kind of exposure you would on a top-tier team, but for many, this may be an effective way of starting their career.
This sort of thing isn’t for everyone, but there are loads of players who do this successfully. Some who started small are now sponsored by multinational corporations.
With that out of the way, let’s jump into ways you can get noticed by big-time esports teams.
Streaming your gameplay is a surefire way to start building a following, assuming you have the skill required to attract attention.
If your gameplay is impressive, this will be easy to do.
Lots of places now offer video streaming services such as YouTube and Twitch, that give you the chance to show off your gaming prowess and even earn money from your audience while doing so.
There are several ways to set up a channel, but the easiest and best-known way is to simply go to one of the streaming platforms and select “Create Account.”
Once you’ve done that, you can start hosting content and even begin earning money from your viewers.
To be clear – if your goal is to attract the attention of esports teams, don’t feel like you have to be a Ninja-style entertainer when you stream.
While developing a personality can help you grow your fanbase, it’s not totally necessary to have charisma if you want to be noticed by esports teams.
Sure, it can be helpful to have a significant following of your own.
Why is that?
Having a following may entice esports teams to give you a shot at making their roster since whatever fanbase you’ve already built for yourself will likely extend to the team itself.
But in esports, results and win records often speak for themselves.
If you’re 100% focused on your skills as a gamer, you’ll turn heads regardless of whether or not you can crack clever one-liners.
That said, remember that esports are big business. So long as you bring value to the team (whether by way of a fanbase or the win column), you’ll score that contract.
Esports is a relatively new phenomenon (i.e. it’s barely 10 years old), which means that there are relatively few media outlets that regularly cover all things esports and/or streaming.
This means that as of yet, there aren’t a ton of de facto authorities in esports when it comes to blogs and other media outlets.
That said, if you want to get noticed by esports teams, it can be insanely helpful to get interviews and write-ups in various esports blogs.
This makes it easy for coaches and team managers to find out about you when they run your name through Google or another search engine.
If team managers and owners see that you’re getting written up and that there’s a buzz around your name, they’ll be far more likely to consider giving you a chance to join their team.
The reality is that the narrative about you as a gamer can do a lot when it comes to convincing team managers and owners that you’re a legit up and comer.
Make the decision to call you up to the big leagues easier on these folks by building and improving your online reputation.
While you can take the time to reach out to esports writers yourself and try to sell them on an interview or similar, it’s far easier to use a service like Promo Panda that can do all the necessary outreach for you.
Just create a profile to start building a professional media portfolio today.
Our final tip for getting noticed by esports teams is simple – whenever possible, join local tournaments and leagues.
This will allow you to get as much competitive gaming experience as possible.
Plus, by the time you’re smoking the competition at a local level, it’s only a matter of time before people at higher-profile organizations will take note.
Think of it this way: if you’re placing first or second in an ultra low-level tournament but can continue to place first or second at a level above that, and then place first or second at the level above that, before long, you’ll be placing first and second against serious competition.
At that point, you won’t be worried about esports teams noticing you – they’ll be fighting to sign you!
If you continue to sharpen your skills as a gamer while building up your fame with the tips we’ve outlined here, it won’t be long before you’re fielding all sorts of opportunities from various esports teams all over the world.
Remember that you can use a service like Promo Panda to start building your media portfolio so you can stick to boosting your skills and getting those dubs!
