An eSportsman is a professional computer game player. Cybersportsmen are not trained in specialized educational institutions. The skill of conducting virtual games, as in any other sport, is practiced by many hours of play and the development of certain personal qualities.
Simulators and computer games bring together quite young athletes aged 14 to 29 years.
Among the main skills that an esportsman needs to have:
- fast reaction;
- the ability to make decisions quickly;
- analytical thinking;
- the ability to focus and abstract;
- purposefulness;
- ability to tactical and strategic thinking;
- despite the rather inactive nature of the sport, good physical shape to play a tense game for a long time;
- good vision;
- developed fine motor skills of the hands;
- knowledge of English;
- in team competitions – communication skills.
All these criteria will allow you to take a competitive position in the ranking of cybersportsmen.
What does an eSportsman do?
Competitions in the virtual world among cybersportsmen are held in two formats:
1. Online tournaments, where you can take part from anywhere in the world where you have access to the Internet.
2. Offline tournaments, or, as they are called, LAN tournaments (local-area network) involve the personal presence of a gamer in a club or, for example, in large stadiums, arenas, as is the case in South Korea, Los Angeles, Texas.
Main genres
The choice is also influenced by the player’s personal preferences for video game genres in general. For example, a player who has been addicted to strategy all his life is unlikely to be able to show high results in fighting games, since he has a completely different set of skills.
There are a lot of genres and subgenres of video games, but the main ones are as follows:
- Strategies – simulation games based on the player’s strategic planning of his actions to achieve the goal (most often the destruction of the enemy). The top strategy games include Starcraft, Warcraft, Heroes of Might and Magic.
- Sports simulators. The most popular in this category are football, hockey, boxing, MMA. Among the games are FIFA, NHL, NBA, UFC.
- Role-playing games, or RPGs (Role-Playing Game) belong to a category in which the story aspect is important, and the player controls one or more characters, interacting with elements encountered along the way. All actions of the gamer affect the history of the world in which events unfold. Popular representatives of this genre are League of Legends and Dota 2.
- Technical simulators convey the process of driving a vehicle in a virtual world with absolute accuracy. It can be a car, plane, train and other equipment. This category includes World of Tanks, Forza Motorsport, Rotor Rush.
- Shooters (from the English shooter – shooter) as their main goal involve the destruction of all enemies and in some cases the collection of certain items. The most popular games are Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Call of Duty, PUBG, Battlefield, Quake Champions, Fortnite.
Demand
Esports is an international industry. And, judging by the dynamics of development, it is very promising. The funds that sponsors are willing to invest are estimated at fabulous amounts. The greatest interest of both the public and the media is the transfer of players – the transfer of athletes from one team to another, accompanied by the conclusion of an employment contract for a certain period. In general, the transfer is one of the key opportunities for making business transactions and making a profit in eSports. So, for example, according to February 2021, the transfer fee of Ukrainian gamer Oleksandr s1mple Kostylev from Natus Vincere esports organization is estimated at $4.45 million.
Such colossal amounts speak of the demand for professional gamers among computer clubs around the world.
Salary level
One of the main reasons that motivate athletes to pursue a professional career in the world of virtual games is the opportunity to profit from their hobby. The path of beginners often begins with amateur tournaments. If a player successfully proves himself on them, it becomes possible to get into the club for a trial period. For example, the famous Na’Vi CS: GO player Kirill Boombi4 Mikhailov, who at the initial stage earned $500 a month. After moving to a top club, his fees rose to 5 thousand dollars.
