If you are a gamer then you have definitely thought of going pro (especially now that esports and gaming is at the forefront of attention), no matter what you play. After all, esports players can easily make six figures or more, which is very tempting to say the least, especially because all you need to do is sit and enjoy something you would spend a lot of time with anyways. It would be like a dream come true!
But let’s talk about the reality of it shall we? Training like an esports athlete is much more difficult than you would think at first, it’s not just sitting around playing aimlessly at your most favorite game. There’s more to it than meets the eye if you want to have a chance at excelling within the very competitive world of being an esports athlete.
How Much Time Does a Professional Esports Player Spend Practicing?
This question is the key to it all. Any normal person would think that this time can’t be more than your regular 9-5 job you go to 5 times a week. Well, let me shine some light on the matter, as this is pretty far from the truth. In fact, esports athletes will work and train longer than most people would commit to their full-time jobs, let us explain.
If you play League of Legends then you probably look up to Faker (I don’t blame you), but what would it take to be as good as him? First of all, a lot of luck to get through ELO hell and get noticed. Besides that, you need to know how to do a lot of things. Just a few important examples: last hitting, kiting, baiting and dodging. These are all key skills you need to gain gold and stay alive in the game of League of Legends, in a nutshell it’s the basic mechanics of the game you need to perfect in order to become one of the best. They can take months to perfect. But let’s say that you have done it. You are in Challenger (the highest ranking in the game itself) and have the ability to keep your rank. What does it take to stay at that skill level?
Faker has said that he plays 12-15 hours a day. Yes, you’ve read that correctly, it will consist of him solo queueing ranked games, playing scrims with other high-level teams and strategizing with his own professional esports team. Members of Team Liquid have claimed that they usually play for about the same stretch and that they regularly only sleep 4-5 hours a night. But keep in mind, these are mainly Korean players, people who dedicate all of their energy to improving at the game.
North American players tend to play about half as much on average, but of course, the difference is very clear when we look at their games. This is mainly because people from NA usually want to spend less time with actual training because they would rather just play like normal. Though some say the work ethic in Korean players outshine others and therefore they’re always known to be one of the top 3 competitors in the world, go figure!
What Happens During Esports Practice?
To reiterate, for some reason many people think that all esports athletes do is sit and play. Over and over again. This is true to some extent, but there is actually much more to it all, as this is a very oversimplified picture.
Analyzing the Game in Real Time
Firstly, a pro player can’t get more skilled if they are just mindlessly clicking on the play button and going on autopilot. This is why it’s much more difficult to play competitively, as you need to be present. You can’t just put yourself at risk and say “I’ll do better next time” when you die. A pro player needs to focus and they can’t zone out while playing. They analyze everything they hear and see, then draw conclusions that can help them win. PowerOfEvil (currently playing League of Legends in CLG at the time of this writing) has said the following.
“I normally see a lot of young players, people who just came into the scene, they’ll just spam games, and I’d see so many of them surrendering, or not giving one hundred percent.“
PowerOfEvil
This clearly shows how being on autopilot can easily ruin your chance at improving and ultimately becoming one of the very best that can compete at the highest level in esports, specifically League of Legends.
Strategizing for Improvement
Secondly, strategizing. An esports athlete always has a plan and knows where their place is. They know when to improvise, and it’s never the case of them being too lazy to follow a tactic. If they work in a team then this is even more crucial, as the members need to be predictable enough so they can work together. Imagine if someone went off to do their own thing that just popped into their head in the middle of the game, going against all strategies and plans made beforehand. It would be chaos as you can imagine!
Quick Adaptation
And finally, they adapt to their game. For example, you may ask yourself does your gameplay need more teamwork? Then you might just play with others in a better way and learn how to cooperate more effectively as a team. Just like how communication is very important in any other traditional sport, esports communication might just be even more important. The fast reaction times and attention to details will ultimately allow you to “snowball” into victory as the game progress, whether it’s Dota, League of Legends, Counter Strike, Fortnite, Overwatch or any other popular esport title.
Another element to adaptation is the ability to manage stress during high competition. As players lose or do not perform time and time again, you may be coined by the term “titled” in which you have been so defeated that you cannot focus correctly and as a result your gameplay is not as great as it can be despite how hard you try. You’ve essentially let the emotions get the best of you, this is what esports athletes have to manage time and time again in order to get through the difficult times and persevere to greatness. They will learn how to cope with stress and possibly anger that comes with potential defeat.
Keep in mind, practice doesn’t necessarily involve the game itself. Just like how football teams take the time to look over game footage, esports athletes will do something similar. Whether it’s reviewing strategies or team building. Either way, the goal is to improve the player’s chances of winning the game, which can be achieved in many ways.
Long Term Effects of Being an Esports Athelete
If you have a little bit of common sense then you are probably a little bit worried. Wouldn’t sitting in one place for 12-15 hours a day be unhealthy? And you are completely right. Living this kind of lifestyle comes with a couple of risks to say the least.
The first thing that people think about is the weight gain. This isn’t necessarily the case with every single pro player, but it can easily happen. A lot of them completely stop exercising and start snacking a lot more (essentially called the gamer’s diet), which will eventually result in a couple of gained pounds if not more. And of course, we all know what obesity can cause in the long term.
If you sit for too long then your body might also form blood clots. These are usually nothing serious, but if they pile up or block veins in the heart or the brain then they can cause trouble. These blood clots can also cause thrombosis, which means that your blood flow will be slowed, possibly even stopped. In some extreme cases, this can cause permanent damage, you know what that saying is “use it or lose it.”
It’s great to watch esports athletes play and get excited over their wins. But now that you know what goes on behind the scenes, you might even respect their career a little more. They put in a lot more work than you originally thought. As esports grows more and more you’ll begin to realize why there is so much passion behind these players both because of what they endure and because of their ambition to be the best.
