Gaming is something which pretty much everyone touches at a very young age. Whether that develops into a hobby or simply a mere chore to pass the time, however, depends on the person, meaning not everyone will make gaming their pastime of choice growing up. This hobby has then evolved from a mere means to pass the time to a real and proper way of making a living.

This is because of how Esports has shaped up in the last decade. In the early 2010s, making a living by playing video games was unheard of, and probably even laughable at that stage. The biggest offline tournaments at the time featured games such as Heroes of Newerth or League of Legends, and Call of Duty 4, and had very modest payouts of a couple of thousand grand for each member of the team. Nowadays, with the massive prize pools handed out like spare change, there is a very real opportunity to make a living out of Esports, and therefore this means people actually can decide their future by choosing the correct game for them. Esports is now a common betting destination as well, even with websites offering arbitrage calculators to determine the best combinations of betting, just as any other real life sport basically.

If making a living from playing is your objective, then step no further from Twitch.tv, the premiere streaming platform internationally known to show the best live gaming footage. Twitch’s most viewed sections are generally the most popular games at the time, and these are more commonly the same pool of games – DotA2, Counter Strike Global Offensive, League of Legends, FIFA and Valorant. All these games, with the exception of FIFA are 5 on 5 team games, meaning your individual ability is still not enough to carry your team to victory. That said, it is definitely possible to find a team where one fits in and improve all together to become an ultimate whole set to beat the world’s best at the game.

“Welcome to the Mid-Season Showdown!” #LCS

🎵: “Seize the Power” by @weareYONAKA

The 2021 Mid-Season Showdown, delivered by @Grubhub, kicks off this Saturday at 12:30PM PT / 8:30PM CET with LCS Countdown! pic.twitter.com/axcQ8Qg1WO

— LCS (@LCSOfficial) March 18, 2021

In CS:GO and Valorant, which are First-Person shooters, reflexes and accuracy are of utmost importance, but experience and a strategic mind are very close seconds that can determine the difference between a loss and a win. This is doubly true at the highest levels, where one incorrect decision can mean winning or losing, both rounds or entire matches.

In DotA2 and League of Legends, the two most popular MOBA titles out there, reflexes are still important, but given the slow and steady flow of the game, it is not a core ability. Quick thinking and the ability to read the situation and the available information are the most important skills here, as a good commander can literally change a loss into a win with the proper tools. These types of games offer a wide range of playable characters as well, so that any player aspiring to become a professional in such games can choose their type of hero, as well as the actual hero they want to main.

MOBA teams, which are composed of five players, can be split into three categories – carry, gankers and support. The carry is the character which needs to get the most buff as the game goes by, and this entails opportunistic behaviour to get as many kills as possible. Gankers are continuously roaming the map looking for kill opportunities, meaning a good sense of map awareness as well as timing is imperative for the gang to be successful. Support characters then are pretty much always putting others ahead of their own character, spending money on map information instead of gearing up and other helpful actions which altogether create an advantage over the enemy.

Lastly, FIFA is the world known football simulator, with a different, updated iteration each year that keeps the core gameplay the same while changing the meta significantly. The meta is basically the most effective way to play, and while some players may go against it and still be successful, the majority of players follow the meta as it is the easiest form to gain wins. In FIFA you pretty much need to have good awareness of the whole pitch to locate the free player so that you can keep possession, as well as good offensive ability so that you can get the edge and score goals.

3️⃣ goals
2️⃣ assists@BVB‘s @Sanchooo10 picks up the February @Bundesliga_EN #POTM 🔥#FIFA21 #FUT #Bundesliga pic.twitter.com/19EyX9B8vL

— EA SPORTS FIFA (@EASPORTSFIFA) March 19, 2021

All in all, there are plenty of Esports to get into and while these do not offer very high prize money, like fighting games primarily, they are hobbies which could even become means to make a living. Not all games offer that possibility unfortunately, but there actually being games which do is already an amazing feat.