What is it like to be a professional eSports gamer?

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What is it like to be a professional eSports gamer? image

 What is it like to be a top level competitive gamer? Originally answered on February 28th, 2013

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Answer by Alexander Zavoloka, Works in the eSport Industry

I've spent last 12 years working in the e-sport industry. I've seen it grow year by year, it's a fascinating thing, really. 

Most of e-sport stars are male, aged between 19-25. They've started this as a hobby, but now their salary and lifestyle allows them to experience things they never thought were possible. 

There is not a lot of rockstar halo among them though. You have to be looking at South Korea for these things. League of Legends and Starcraft players get a huge cult following in South Korea. Fans go crazy for them, they appear in TV ads, and such. 

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It's not that crazy for US and EU. There are stars, personalities fans love, but it rarely goes beyond autograph signing at e-sport events. We're just not there yet.

As I've said, best players earn a decent salary, which alongside the tournament winnings gets them a very good source of income. Add streaming revenue and you'll end up with a young guy making solid amount of money, traveling around the globe, playing the game he really likes. Sounds both crazy and exciting. 

Getting to play in large arenas is an amazing feeling. The crowd goes wild when you're doing a sick move. It's no doubt a challenge to play against people's favorites, just like any other sport. 

I believe these gamers are doing both, feeling their superstar status and still being rather down to earth and modest about it in the outside world. 

There aren't many of those after-parties with supermodels floating around. It's usually all the gamers and their friends gathering in one place and having a good time. Fortunately, this industry doesn't have any TMZ-type material, which is a blessing.

 



 

 

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