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On December 10 2010 14:05 compscidude wrote: i'll be realistic here. you will have a greater chance if you stop school and play games from a younger age. This was the case for Flash, one of the dominant player in SC history. He started when he was 15, and big portion of his time went to practices.
If your motivated to succeed in e-sports, i recommend having your priorities changed. Gaming would have to be your first not school, and by all means, this doesnt mean you must drop out. But rather, you have to understand that doing good in school is not what you would be expecting, given that you are motivated to succeed in gaming.
So my point is, set your priorities. How are you going to spend you time?
I don't want to be negative here, but the old man in me is feels obligated to say that becoming a professional SC2 player seems about as easy as becoming an NBA player. And the sport hasn't matured yet.
There are 250 NBA players. There are 32 Code S GSL players.
There are plenty of pro's out there, but not all of them make an easy living. The only viable league right now -- with enough money and sponsorship to support players on a regular basis -- has to be GSL. All the other players are subsidizing their income some how, through commentating, coaching, websites, content production ... all while scrambling to play as many tournaments as possible.
I'm not saying that it's impossible -- but you have to prepared to work really hard, and even then you're not guaranteed anything.
You should pursue it if you LOVE it, even if it doesn't love you back.
But I'm speaking out of turn. Hopefully one of the pro's on this board will give you the real scoop.
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Id say just compete in all small tournaments you can, or ones that are kinda known, like if husky and hd do a tournament or go to all the ones blizzard posts on their website that are in america and if some clan or group likes your play then they will grab you. Or try to get your games casted on youtube or cast your own and maybe you can get noticed even easier.
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the fact that you ask this in the forums tells me that your not gonna make it.
Pros do not care what random forumers advise for their career.
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Start here man. Enter as many Open online Tournaments on TL as you can. Try out for all the MLGs you can. If you do well, you'll get invites to invitationals and invited to teams.
Start low. Go slow. Become pro. :D
edit:
to Defacer: There are plenty of professional basketball players not in the NBA like abroad and such. Also there are plenty of professional Starcraft players not code S in the GSL.
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You need to practice alot more. And also try to get connections in "the scene" go to mlg's try to get practice game with people who know people. Like whiplash who streams here. he knows alot of guys in the scene etc. Then i think the key to getting into a good team is to show of that youre capable of doing good. IE play in every online tournament you can and get as far as you can get.
Then you also need to be super dedicated to PRACTICE. that is number one. not just grinding games, but also getting better at what youre doing.
Also, if you never give up, you never fail.
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Although you're pretty good, you're going to have to practice extremely hard to be as good as the people that play in the tourneys now. They are on a totally different level, way above even diamond. I'm not saying it's impossible, but you have to be totally committed. I would like to be a pro as well, but being in bronze isn't as good a start as what you have :\ Good luck man, I hope to see you in GSL soon (:
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Professionals support themselves by doing what they do. Amateurs of high skill and rank can become professional only by making enough money from their game to pay rent and bills.
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If u achieve to finish the campaign on brutal mod u can easily become pro, just post rep and sponsors inc
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On December 10 2010 14:03 CanucksJC wrote: You don't simply walk become a pro
Hahahahahaha XD
If you're really dedicated to this, take small steps. Ladder like crazy, earn the top spot in your diamond division.
Apply to open tournaments listed here on TL. Compete in those and see how well you match up against other semi-pros.
Practice with a partner. Its good to have someone to run ideas off of and practice builds!
Watch all of your replays, especially the ones you lose! You want to make sure you know how to fix your mistakes and adapt in different situations.
BE OPEN TO CRITICISM. You don't play perfectly and you never will. Advice should be accepted so that you can improve.
Don't give up! Keep trying and you'll make it one day
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I'd say that you have to play a ALOT...
You need to start playing wayyy more if your are thinking about coming pro.
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If you have intrinsic skill and RTS ability, you might be able to do it. Working your way up from top 4k in US is not a realistic goal. Pro-gamer's don't actually make that much either. From sponsorships alone(tournaments excluded) you would probably make more having a part-time job. The exceptions are those at the very very top of the game, but be realistic with yourself. The guys at the top often have had 5+ years of RTS experience. Sure I may be good enough at starcraft 2 to absolutely crush most of my friends, and make them dizzy with how fast my screen jumps, but I would never be able to beat a pro.
If you've played ANY other competitive game, you know that there is such a thing known as a skill curve. Almost anybody can get to 80% of the pro's skill level with 2 hours a day for a month or two. It's the last 20% that very few can achieve, even with practice. Back when I played CSS, I played servers where I would be considered "good", 2.X kd etc. But even though I was good, there were a few people who would routinely just go around and stomp on everybody. You know the guy who you are proud to have a 1-14 kd against? That is what you are trying to become right now, and it's nearly impossible.
Edit: I noticed a friend of a friend of mine is in your division. FYI he only plays ~5 hours a week, but has the intrinsic skill to back it up to be that much better(#2)
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Just to add to what other's have mentioned, you need to get used to playing for 10+ hours a day. If you cannot handle that kind of game time then I would suggest that you focus on school.
Most teams usually have a minimum amount of training duration which takes up almost the entire day.
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What is the end goal besides being "pro"? What dollar amount would you have to make to justify skipping out on the money you could make at a regular job or investing in college? How many years would you want to be pro?
How high is your IQ? How much do you want carpal tunnel syndrome?
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If you think Flash said, oh man.. I'll never be like "Slayers_Boxer" when he was first stepped into the programming scene, do ya think he would have made it this far?
If you have the will and power and see yourself winning GSL times and times after another. Then go for it, otherwise its not worth it. No money in e-sports. MLG alone will not support you with enough money to sustain gaming life. GSL is the future. There will be far more foreginers who will try their luck in the upcoming seasons. afterall, 85Grand is enough money, but is it enough for you to live an entire life knowing that you gave up your education for it? What if you dont win? Whee will you go? This is just like starting a business, you have to look at your backup plans, how will you bounce back if things go wrong
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On December 10 2010 14:35 TributeBoxer wrote: What is the end goal besides being "pro"? What dollar amount would you have to make to justify skipping out on the money you could make at a regular job or investing in college? How many years would you want to be pro?
How high is your IQ? How much do you want carpal tunnel syndrome?
TributeBoxer is being a little snarky, but he has a point.
Define some of the goals/outcomes that would make you happy as a "pro".
Weigh it against the costs/risks.
Ask yourself if it's worth it.
Seems like an oversimplification, but if you can set some goals, commit to the work and be happy with that commitment, you'll be way ahead of the average person.
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Dedication, patience, passion, willingness to improve and having fun. There's a whole list that could be created about the requirements to go far in something, not just in Starcraft.
My advice is to be dedicated, but not obsessive, and work hard. It's not healthy to let anything consume all of your time unless you're in a situation that you're able too, so don't overdo it. Know that it will take time to improve, nothing happens instantly unless you're one of the lucky few who has the natural talent to carry them (and even then the amount of work is still relatively the same).
Play every practice game (including ladder) to improve and push your skill to the next level, don't play to just get a win. Analyze your mistakes, play with other people and when you're able to, join a team. StarCraft is really a social game, you will learn leaps and bounds if you're able to interact and discuss it with other people that are playing.
On top of all of this, have fun and be passionate about the game. If you truly want to be good, and want to be a "pro", then you have to love and enjoy what you're doing. Without that you will burn out very fast. If it ever feels dull or like it's your job; take a small break, do something else. Without enjoyment you're going to fail.
If you really put in the time and effort you have a chance, but realistically it might take even more than that. Be aware that it may not work out. If that is daunting to you, if you're worried that you may fail, then I suggest stop now, and just enjoy playing the game without trying to become a professional. You don't have to be the best to be competitive, but to be the best you have to work the hardest.
With that said, the task of being recognized comes from tournaments and performing well. Play in every tournament you can and keep your ladder rank high enough that you're able to get into tournaments. Winning, or placing well in tournaments, opens a lot of doors. You might get team invites, or just invites to tournaments, both of which help promote you as a player and expose you to the community.
Best of luck, and don't let anyone really say you can't do it. Realistically it will be hard, but if you want it, and won't back down, then go for it.
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You definitely need to start competing in as many tournaments as possible as soon as possible. From your profile you obviously have a long way to go, but that doesn't mean it's impossible. Just that you have a ton of room for improvement in your game. Practice hard, attend tournaments, and practice properly. If you do those things and have success, you will eventually be scouted by a good team.
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I dont want to upset you, but is almost impossible to live from a game right now, its even harder than living from other sport imo. If you are dedicated, sure you will be great at the game (2ks its pretty good, but i started played just one month before the end of the beta and im at 2.4~ wthout any RTS before just) to notice, not that 2.4 is something) but to be a PRO you have to be very talented or have A LOT OF EXPERIENCE, and thats not just 1 year, most of the guys at the top has been around for like 5+ years in other RTS so it will be very hard to catch up.
But I can tell you that getting into a clan, or getting a bunch of active practice partners will help you like 10x improving than mass laddering, so it will be a good point to start, searching for that and start practicing one thing at a time, lets say you struggle with 4 gates, then go with your protoss partner and tell him to 4 gate 20 games or more if needed until you feel confident with that kind of play. Other than that, i cant help you further than this because im not a pro myself, but as some other guys said before, try to play in all online tournaments you can, meet people, and try to practice against the guys that can crush you, because that way you will learn faster than practicing against someone of your level or a little bit below.
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it would be terrible life advice imo for anyone to suggest you try to become a pro gamer. go to college man, that would be the smartest thing to do.
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