The question is, do YOU want a future as a pro-gamer? Do you want a living by earning money with e-sports? Do you see gaming as serious business? Or will you compete the rest of your gaming life on local LAN’s, trying to win a keyboard, mouse or a ticket for a boot camp? Or are you playing / streaming online & fooling around with pubic behavior and yelling to every competitor you loose from? Poor boy. You will never make it.

Let us make one thing clear. It is – again – like any serious sport. You can play, drink, smoke, behave childish, and have fun with some guys called friends in some kind of an amateur team. You can choose that option. It is just not the real thing. Go and play non-competitive. There are thousands and thousands of gamers doing that, just for fun. The other option you have, is to take E-sports seriously. You want to earn money with it. You want to be the best. You want to become famous. But: what does it need to reach goals like this?

So let’s set up a list of 10 golden rules in 4 major areas when you want to become a PRO-gamer.

Strategy

• Set your goals and stick to it

Development

• Practice regular and intensive 
• Learn from others
• Develop your physics
• Develop professional behavior

Marketing

• Plan & Play to build value
• Extend & Maintain your business network
• Maintain an active social network 
• Stream & publish vids

Common Sense

• Rely on yourself & be reliable

Strategy

It is so easily forgotten by so many. You like a certain game and you start playing. You achieve some fame as a local hero and you spend more and more time (and money) gaming. You want to become a Pro. At the same time the results do not improve very much anymore. Frustration starts to play a role. Ask yourself: there are so many games which are fun to play. But which are worthwhile all the trouble, money and time? 

So you want to become a pro player? It starts with the question: Do you really want to become a pro player? First take a look at yourself. Do you have the character to become a champ? Do you have the drive? How about your skills? You can practice to improve them, but do you also have the potential; talent? Meaning: strategic overview, fast physical and mental reaction speed, ability to function well in a team, individual supreme skills. Do you? 

If so: Do you have the possibilities to create the perfect circumstances? Do you have a computer with the right specs? Do you have an internet connection which fits your needs? Do you have the time to play a lot? Does your family and dearest friends know and understand what you are trying to achieve? Do you have money to enter tournaments? Really? 

Remains the question: Will my efforts pay back? It’s elementary to analyze the environment. First, how popular is the game? How about its lifetime? Is there a major industry with the power or potential to develop the game during many years? Second: Are there many tournaments, cups and ladders? Is there a solid structure of supporting organizations for World cups, Championships? Are there sufficient possibilities to play online and offline to present yourself to the world during the various stages of your development? Third: How about competitors and earnings? Are there many pro gamers and are the earnings high? Is there enough competition to give new orgs and gamers a chance to reach for the top? Or is their domination by a few?

Only if you have satisfactory answers on those topics, you should go for it.

Development

So you decided you want to be a superstar. Footnote? You will have to work hard, for a long time. 

Your first steps on the road to fame should start with learn all about the game you have chosen. Learn the details of the rules; the characters of the game. Do research on the maps (e.g. when it comes to CSGO/LoL/CoD) & start to learn them by head. Find yourself at the local tournaments, cups and ladders. Learn their rules too. 

Next step is you start playing local (e.g. in your home country). Find out which teams are best, what players are most popular. Add them to your (gamers) network. Look at their streams, look at their vids. Spend the next weeks every day to get a first impression on the capabilities of characters and weapons, tactics and strategy.

Improve your skills

Start daily practicing. Plan the next 3 months - and do that the rest of your gaming life - taking care of all other occupations and obligations you have. Implement several types of practicing like building routines in the game itself (maps, characters); practice reaction-speed, practice teamwork. Game as guest player or together with friends in 2vs2 3vs 3 matches. Play friendly games versus top gamers. Do not use your (official) gamer tag. Do not enter a team yet. Learn whilst being anonymous; till the period when you make your biggest and most stupid mistakes is over. Then you find yourself a gaming community to be part of.

Stay healthy

Start living a regular life. You need regular sleep to function best. You need good & regular nutrition to stay focused and strong. Build your routine in life with different timeslots for practicing and for serious gaming. Do not smoke; do not drink. Be sportive on a regular base. Jog, run, bike, do some fitness. Pro-gaming is top sport. 

No pro without professional behavior

You can only develop yourself to the appropriate level if you follow your schedules under all circumstances. Analyzing, practicing, learning, regular sleep & nutrition, building up routines. It structures your career possibilities. And keep in mind: You cannot do it all alone. Find role models, find coaches. Find people who want to advise you. Add them to your (gamers) network. Listen to them, discuss with them. Learn from them.

Marketing

Ok, you developed yourself to the level where it’s appropriate to show yourself. To start branding yourself. You want to earn money, don’t you?

First look around you, look at the community you are part of. It helped with your first steps on the path. But is this still the community you want to be part of? Are they able to bring you to the next levels? Find yourself a team and a community where you can grow together. Where they have a vision and a business plan too. You should not be the only one with a professional attitude. 

Plan & play. Every week you need to show your qualities, as an individual and as a valued member of the team. Plan this well for a fixed period, and execute your planning! This is a long term investment; in fact this never stops. And remember, the competition is killing, but 90% of your competitors will dwell soon in the dark dungeons of amateurism and disappear. They saw only the quick wins and made the wrong decisions in the end. You will stay and so will your fans.

Networking: the new Holy Grail. Expand your “business” network now: get in contact with international organizations, players & teams. Get in touch with publicists, video makers, YouTube specialists. You will need them for various reasons. Some become friends and you can help each other. You need help to create content, to visualize your successes. Some are interested because they have related business. Others might become sponsor in the future. 

Own your own social media. It is important to have your own gamers FB page, so fans can look at your latest news and can (re)act on that. Keep FB interactive! It is also worthwhile to have your own Twitter account, so you can spread your gamer activities, and your followers can spread it too in their networks. And yes, it is useful to have other social media like Pinterest (to share your gaming pictures) or even a website, to archive most material and to build during the years a vast database of publications, news and media.

Vids & Streams matter! Take care you create your own YouTube account, to show to your (potential) fans AND (potential) sponsors your vids and recorded streams. And it is absolutely interesting to have a (shared) Stream channel where you and other gamers stream on a regular base. Own it together! There are thousands of individual streamers who will never be found & followed. Be smarter.

Let me end with some common sense:

There are a lot of dreamers; a lot of persons who would love to develop their own ideas, with your notoriety, your help and your money. Do not start daydreaming with them. Everyone has to contribute with their own skills, experience, network and financial means, if they want to accomplish dreams together. Never forget that balance. No balance? No deal!

Learn from abusive behavior on the internet. Look at social media and vids. Work on your own professional behavior: no cursing, no yelling, no disrespectful behavior at any time. What you do need to do? Always respect others. If they want to f#$%k around, neglect it, dissociate from that and let them bear the burden of it in the future themselves. It will bounce back on them! Be integer!  Keep your promises when you make them; do what you say & if you fail be sure to compensate generously. Be wise: play only for organizations which offer you a crystal clear, balanced contract. It helps you to know what you are obliged to and what you are entitled to.  Integrity and wisdom create trust and faith in the whole of your gaming environment. Always be ready to communicate. But prepare answers on potential questions. Either sponsors, interviewers, or fans: decide what you want to tell about yourself, your dreams and your way of living. Know in advance what you want to tell about your e-sports vision, plans, career, tactics and/or battles. 

Remember: Sponsors pay money because they want to reach a huge audience, but they want to be associated with you in a positive way. You are not a reality-star. Maybe you have the attitude, but surely you do not have the looks of Kim Kardashian.

There is so much more to say about this subject. So much to achieve together. So many valuable opinions of others. Would be nice to share, wouldn’t it?