At first, video games were seen as a leisure activity most common among teenagers. But, over time, electronic games became very popular, and it was the perfect timing to start some championships to pleasure the winners of the battle.
The first game related championship was played by 20 students of Stanford in 1972, divided into teams of 5 players. The students didn’t know then that the battle would be the inspiration for the actual championships that would happen around the whole world and give to the winner teams a significant prize that can reach thousands of dollars.
Nowadays the teams are very strict about the profile of the gamers. They need to practice a lot to participate on the teams and the championships. The gamers have to show their value not only as a professional, but also as a person. The directors of the teams are looking for the best, so it is necessary to invest a lot of money and search for sponsor. And it’s also necessary to look for health professionals to help the members, for example: psychologists, physiotherapists, doctors, etc…
Becoming a pro-gamer and playing during the leagues of the e-sports isn’t a easy thing, and that’s why the professionals practice so much for this and work very hard to keep their teams calm and concentrated during the training, always expecting the better results at the championship. Besides that, they have a huge public supporting them and wishing to be like them, so it’s very important to give them attention as a good idol too.
With all of these facts, it seems hard to become a pro-gamer. The routine isn’t so idealistic like some people might think. But, for this reason, here are some of these players that know better than anyone what it’s like to be a professional in this career, and all of the blood, sweat and tears beyond their victories:
- Marina Leite
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Marina Leite is the CEO of Vorax, one of the most famous teams in Brazil for their excellent performance during the competitions, especially in the CBLOL championship (the Brazilian Championship of League of Legends), where eight teams battle for a spot in the Mid-Seasonal Invitational, the midyear championship to define the participating teams of the world championship.
She graduated in Law, but Marina found in the games the possibility to create her own business and work while she takes care of her family. When she realized that it was working, the games became a passion, even though a lot of people that don’t understand exactly what she works with. As a woman in gaming career, she recognizes her representativeness and identification for other girls that really want to became a pro-gamer. Marina believes the presence of female gamers helps deconstruct the idea of a “world dominated for men”.
According to her, the profession is an inseparable part of her life. Sometimes it’s needed to give some kind of priorities according to the day, and she has to choose the important things to do and consolidates this with her routine. During the training, Marina says she isn’t able to progress well if she is worried about personal problems, like if there’s some problem in her house or, as a mom, she won’t be calm if their children aren’t fine.
Although she likes to practice sports and physical activity, it’s not something that makes part of her life in this moment. According to her, the time that she had to practice this kind of activities doesn’t exist for this, she has other priorities now.
The public is a very important factor for the team, as influencers, her team always recognize the importance of the way they act, because they have a lot of people inspired by them – so it is important to give a good image about themselves. For this reason, the team and the fans are her everything, and it feels so good to be responsible for the public and to receive this love, at the other side, this love wouldn’t exist if wasn’t for the gamers, and health professionals of Vorax that work very hard to dignify this love and support.
- Lucas Fachini
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Becoming a pro-gamer in high school sometimes wasn’t an easy thing, according to Lucas Fachini. It took a lot of time for him to conciliate his personal life with the pro-gamer routine. He points out that there are three important things when going pro: “discipline, determination and a prepared psychological”.
The idea to start in championships came from him and his friends. The Rainbow Six Siege battles were a thing that they took very serious, and that’s why they practice for approximately eight hours a day – and it could change for more hours if the championship was coming.
Besides that, Lucas had to deal with some people judging their passion and had to convince his family about how the video-game was making him feel good. Lucas also practiced swimming and workout, and tried to work his psychological with a specialist to be 100% well during the battles.
Unfortunately, because of personal reasons, Lucas decided not to continue playing, but he guarantees that they were the best years of his life, with the best company – his team. He concludes that a person who wants to become a gamer has to work hard, takes care of its health and be surrounding by people that support its dream.
- Kaíque “KaiG” Guidotti
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Besides being a professional gamer, KaiG also graduated in Civil Engineering, but it was in the games that he found himself. At 26 years old, he is a member of the team Bravos Gaming, in which they battle in CBCS Elite, CS:GO championships and in the GAMERSCLUB, being part of the A league.
According to him, the team practices for approximately 8 hours, but it changes when the championship is approaching. All this practice is important, and that’s why he wakes up really early to start the day well. But, even with a long routine of training ahead, he doesn’t dispense a good workout routine before it starts.
Kaique said that, although he works very hard, there’s a lot of people that think it isn’t a real profession – that’s why he believes it’s important to strengthen yourself if you want to become a gamer: “believe that you are capable, and to be surrounded by people that support your dream”. In summary, what’s important is to never give up!
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The article above was edited by Isabella Gemignani.
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