The path to professional play can be a confusing one. With hundreds upon thousands of players attempting to get their names above the rest. But what does it take to truly get noticed and succeed?
The path to professional play can be a confusing one. With hundreds upon thousands of players attempting to get their names above the rest, getting started and getting recognized can be almost as challenging as playing the game itself.
So what does it take? How does an average nobody start their ascent in the competitive world, and what are good practices that will help you stand out from your peers?
No matter what rank you are or how “bad” you or others may perceive your play, remember that every professional started somewhere. Find other like-minded individuals through ranked matches, interest groups, or even your school club! Once you build a foundation with people who have goals similar to yours, you can grow together and learn! You even built your first team!
Play in some tournaments, rank up together, and have fun! There are tournaments for every rank, so no matter where you are, you can start somewhere.
The best thing a new player can do is to start thinking like a professional player. What do the pros do that you can incorporate into your everyday routine? Do they take 30 minutes to warm up in the practice range every day? Do they get in custom matches and practice line-ups? What ideas can you take to make you the most effective at what you do?
Mentality is a very important part of being a competitor, and I’ll write more about this topic as a whole separately, but don’t forget to be okay with not getting the result you don’t want. Losses aren’t always inherently bad. Think about what can be gained from defeat and learn from it. The best at anything have lost hundreds of times! No one is an expert off-the-bat, so keep realistic expectations and an open mind to improvement.
Consistency is what breeds champions. Whether it’s VOD review, where you’ll watch your past matches back, or 8 hours or ranked matches a day, similarly to the last section, find out what works for you, and do it consistently, with a schedule that you enforce for yourself. Self-discipline is important in any context, whether it be personal, professional, or anything in between, you know yourself better than anyone else, so be sure to hold yourself to the schedule you set up.
In the team context, find times that work for all of you. The top VALORANT teams will scrimmage (scrim for short) other teams for up to 8 hours a day! Now you don’t need to do that, but take some time out and organize a schedule to practice with your team. Whatever it is, do it often and get everyone on the same page. Which brings us to our next topic...
In some respects, teamplay can change the way people play and experience the game. However, the process of synergizing, motivating, and staying on the same page with four other people can be a difficult process that requires a commitment to successfully pull off. A commitment to each other as a team.
The truth is, getting everyone to mesh together as a team and have similar goals and expectations is hard, and it’s why top esports organizations will even hire people to assist with this task alongside coaches.
When you find those people who you want to play with and believe you mesh well with, sit down and get some goals together. What are you playing for? Do you want to qualify for a major tournament? Do you want to get signed by a professional organization? Are you competing just for fun?
Whatever it is, find out together and yourselves up for success by being on the same page. In a lot of aspects, a simple conversation as a group can avoid future conflict and confusion. So use that time to set up expectations and get to understand each other.
Once you’ve established those goals with your team, think critically about them. Are they realistic? What can be changed about them? Are they even attainable? Think about these questions as you review your goals together as a group. A great way of making sure your goals are keeping you and your team within the bounds of reality is by using a method called S.M.A.R.T. Goals.
S - Specific. (i.e. “We’re going to get Top 8 in at least one 64 team tournament,”)
M - Measurable. (i.e. “We want to win this tournament so an organization takes a look at us!”)
A - Attainable. (i.e. “As a team of all Gold players, we should aim for Top 32 at least,”)
R - Realistic. (i.e. “We’re playing against Sentinels! Let’s try to win at least 5 rounds,”)
T - Time-bound. (i.e. “Let’s win three tournaments by the end of the year!”)
With proper goal-setting techniques, and a focus on making said goals realistic. Improvement can feel much more consistent.
While yes, having your best clips posted to YouTube, Twitter, and Reddit constantly would be amazing, understand that not being the playmaker for your team is perfectly okay. For every TenZ at the top of the scoreboard scoring frag after frag, there are your players like Zombs who may not stand at the top of the pack, but set up their team the huge plays you see.
Recognize that not everyone on the team can be the best player. Now, if you are that player, great! If you aren't, that's still perfectly fine. At the end of the day, both groups of players need to focus on one thing, and that's trying to create situations for their teammates to thrive in.
Esports and all of its many quirks, isn’t for everyone. It can demand and expect a lot from those who compete, taking a rigorous toll out of people’s personal lives. A large thing in the esports community is the “grind” mentality, where if you keep pushing no matter what and putting everything else behind you, you may be able to get some success. And while this may be true for a small subsect of people, the majority of esports competitors don’t make it to the top.
If you as a competitor ever feel like it’s not your thing, or you feel like you aren’t going anywhere with it, it’s fine to recognize that maybe it just isn’t in the cards for you. That’s not to say that you should abandon your dreams if you have any doubts, but if it’s taking away from your life and it feels unrewarding, it’s okay to take a break from competing or even quit.
It’s important to love what you do, and you, as a player, know yourself better than anyone else. If it doesn’t feel right, do what you think is best.
Being a professional gamer is tough and can ask for a lot, but if you’re up for the challenge, the outlined info above may be able to give you an upper hand.
To review one last time! Find your start and get in the right headspace. Figure out what you can do to succeed and how your mentality affects your play.
Practice, practice, practice (and do it consistently)! Discipline yourself and work towards improving your skills through a consistent routine that rewards you for working hard.
Find a team of people you click with and make realistic goals. Make sure those goals are S.M.A.R.T. though, and actually attainable. Find out what you’re actually competing for.
Set your teammates for success by playing the best you can, and know your limits. If it doesn’t feel like it’s working out, don’t push yourself further than you need to. Take breaks when needed and remember that it’s okay if it isn’t your thing.
If you put all these together, you’ll be on a successful path towards a blossoming career in VALORANT esports.
All you have to do is take the first step.
