Becoming a Pro Gamer: Pros and Cons

Video games are an endless source of entertainment. Whether you want to relax after a long day at work or join your friends for a few hours of fun, there’s no denying that video games are a favorite way to pass the time for many.

However, in the ever-growing world of eSports, some gamers see video games as much more than just a fun activity. In fact, they are looking for a career in eSports. If you happen to be one of those aspiring young gamers, we’ve prepared a list of advantages and disadvantages of going pro.

Pros of Becoming a Professional Gamer

Video gaming has a lot of benefits. It can improve your problem-solving skills, communication, hand-eye coordination, and much more. Becoming a pro gamer can be very lucrative, but you’ll need some extra motivation to work harder. Hopefully, the following pros are enough to motivate you to invest your time in gaming and make a career out of it.

Prize Money

Prize money is one of the biggest reasons many gamers want to go pro. After all, who wouldn’t enjoy making money playing video games?

While virtually none of us could imagine making a career out of gaming two decades ago, things have changed significantly ever since. In today’s time, gaming is more popular than ever, which causes the entire eSports industry to grow. Naturally, as the interest in eSports increases, many sponsors are more eager to invest in tournaments to promote their brand, directly increasing tournaments’ prize pools.

In fact, tournaments like The International, the biggest annual Dota 2 tournament, continuously offer millions of dollars in prize money. In 2019, The International’s prize pool was $34.33 million, increasing from $25.53 million the year prior. Even though there was no TI in 2020 due to COVID-19, the prize pool for 2021 is over $40 million. 

Of course, because Dota 2 tournaments often have the biggest prize pools, players can also earn a lot of money. For example, OG’s N0tail earned $7 million from Dota 2 tournaments alone at the age of 27. Not only that, but he still has many years ahead of him and a good chance to increase his tournament winnings.

Opportunity to Travel

Dota 2 isn’t the only game with big tournaments. Other popular eSports events feature games like League of Legends, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege, Starcraft 2, Hearthstone, Fortnite, Valorant, and many others. Moreover, each of these games has numerous tournaments that are held at different times throughout the year.

The best part about this is that these tournaments are held all over the world, allowing you to travel from one place to another. For example, some tournaments, like the Intel Extreme Master series, are often held in the same city each year, such as Cologne or Katowice. However, other tournaments continuously change locations and are sometimes held in different cities, countries, and even on different continents.

In addition, if you ever end up in an eSports team, chances are you will play with people of different nationalities and ethnicities, allowing you to meet other cultures and make friends from all over the world. Regardless of the way you look at it, becoming an eSports pro is definitely going to help you see a little bit more of the world.

Doing What You Love for Work

If you’re not in it for the money or traveling, then what better reason to become a pro gamer than to pursue your dreams?

Doing what you love makes you more engaged in the activity. It will also make you more productive and enthusiastic, making you eager to push your limits. Instead of feeling like a chore, training and practice will become fun activities you will gladly engage in. Moreover, you will feel more fulfilled, resulting in a positive attitude in general.

Cons of Becoming a Professional Gamer

Unfortunately, as is the case with many other sports, eSports also has its own disadvantages. Therefore, before you decide to become a pro gamer, you should first check out the downsides of it. 

Not Everyone Makes It

According to the latest data from Statista, there are more than 3 billion gamers in the world. However, of that number, only a handful of gamers are professional eSport athletes. Granted, while a good portion of them might not play the same game as you are or are simply not interested in going pro, chances are you will be competing against millions of people for a “job position.”

That’s important to know because it directly correlates with the game’s prize money. Namely, the more popular the game, the higher the number of people who like to play it. The higher the number of people who play the game, the more difficult it becomes to go pro and earn yourself a spot in an eSports team.

Of course, you shouldn’t let this discourage you because dedication and hard work can get you a long way. However, it’s also important to remember that the odds are stacked against you, and you should maintain a positive attitude just in case you don’t make it.

Health Issues

Just like regular sports athletes, eSports players are also prone to injuries. If they want to climb to the top, professional gamers have to spend hours upon hours training and honing their skills. Unfortunately, this can sometimes lead to undesired effects and cause health issues like tennis elbow or carpal tunnel syndrome.

In addition, pro gamers may often experience issues such as weight gain. While sports athletes often need to keep their bodies in shape to perform better, pro gamers spend most of their time in front of a computer. This can often cause them to neglect exercising and lead to weight gain and several health risks that come with it. Moreover, all that time spent sitting can cause back problems, while prolonged time in front of a screen may cause vision problems.

Lastly, many gamers have bad dietary habits that include a lot of junk food, fast meals, or energy drinks that contain high amounts of sugar and caffeine, all of which pose several health risks. Therefore, if you ever decide to become a pro gamer, make sure to maintain a healthy lifestyle while also working on your gaming skills.

No Long-Term Plans

One of the reasons athletes are paid well is because their careers are generally a lot shorter. While you can do a regular office nine-to-five job until your 60s, athletes often end their careers before they turn 40, depending on the sport they play. As far as professional gamers go, things are even worse since most of them peak in their early and mid-20s and retire long before they turn 30.

Of course, while players like N0tail, who have already made millions of dollars, can enjoy an early retirement, many other eSports athletes can’t afford to retire. Moreover, because your early 20s are your best years for gaming, a lot of professional gamers skip college. 

In the worst-case scenario, you may find yourself in your early 30s with no college education or previous work experience. If things don’t go your way in the eSports world, this will make changing industries and finding a regular job a lot more difficult.

The Bottom Line

As you can see, becoming a pro gamer is not as easy as it may seem at first glance. While it’s certainly appealing and a fun way to make a living, a career in gaming also comes with several risks. However, even though there are some downsides to it, you shouldn’t let them discourage you and deter you from following your dreams, especially if you’re a talented gamer.