For many, esports commentating would be a dream job. Who wouldn't want to get paid to travel around the world and talk about their favourite games for a couple of hours?

But what we don't see is the hours, days, months even years that these professionals have put in to honing their craft. It takes time, dedication and most importantly a ridiculous amount of passion.

It's undoubtedly an incredible job to have but as Overwatch League commentator Mitch 'Uber' Leslie knows, it doesn't come without sacrifice.

Being an esports commentator is a lot of fun but as Uber (left) knows, it takes sacrifice

Uber has been commentating video game tournaments since 2009. What started out as a hobby has not only become his job, but his life. He started taking it more seriously in 2014 and in the following year, he was part of just under 200 ESL broadcasts across multiple games.

He cut his teeth with Call of Duty and World of Tanks before moving through some of the biggest esports titles in the world today: CS:GO, League of Legends and now Overwatch.

He has already had an incredible career at 26-years-old but this hasn't come through sheer talent alone. For Uber, it's a struggle to keep esports off his mind: 'Even when I'm at home, I pore over my work with a fairly fine-toothed comb. No matter what I'm always thinking about it, this job, the games and keeping my eyes on developing fans and social media.

'It's my responsibility and I'm being trusted to be an expert in this scene and that's a 24-hour, seven days a week commitment. When I worked for ESL, I decided to not take a holiday for two years. I couldn't fathom the idea of putting my feet up when I felt like I had so work to be done and I had goals that I was working towards.'

Uber is a perfectionist, he couldn't fathom the idea of taking a holiday while working with ESL

Having to put that much time and effort into your work is always likely to put a strain on your personal life and relationships. Uber admits it is has made it hard to find a significant other but also says he's lucky he no longer has to travel: 'Managing your personal life and relationships as a caster is a problem and if you're travelling, it's even worse.

'It doesn't matter what caster you speak to, if they had a choice they'd be localised and work in one city. You see casters who are in a different country every other week.

'Personally, I have definitely attempted to have relationships with this career but it's tough. It's not even the fact that you're away a lot, it's more also that even when you are home, you're still in another world.

'My ex hated the fact that I would wake up and sit at the breakfast table and scroll through Reddit because I was in Europe at the time and so much happened overnight in American Overwatch that I had to be up-to-scratch on before I started my day.'

He adds that he has seen his co-commentators make relationships work but even then it isn't plain sailing: 'A lot of my co-workers are in relationships, many are married or in serious relationships. Take DoA for example, his wife lives in Korea and isn't able to enter the United States yet. They only see each other every now and then.

'I'll let you know when I figure it out but a lot of my co-casters are married and they're slightly older. Maybe I'll get lucky but for the time being, I don't have the spare mental bandwidth let alone the time to even think about a relationship.'

Uber obviously loves his job but his work has taken his toll when trying to be in a relationship

With work always preoccupying his mind, Uber tried dating people who knew nothing about esports but says he quickly realised that wouldn't work either: 'I actually have tried to date outside of my industry because it was something different, I could get me away from esports for just a little bit.

What I didn't realise was I DID want to talk about esports all the time and I was in a relationship with someone who maybe doesn't understand the importance of the things I give my time to.'

It must be frustrating but without his love and dedication, Uber wouldn't be in the position he is now - commentating one of the most popular video games in the world today. As he touched upon earlier, his mind is occupied by his job 100% of the time but in his case, it works.

By never switching off, Uber is continuously striving to improve and looking for feedback. On his days off, he reviews his own commentary performances on Twitch to show the public just how challenging his job is.

Uber's schedule is already jam-packed, so it's rather remarkable that he also finds the time to stream. The caster was one of 100 people interviewed in a study on Twitch streamers held by Mark R Johnson, Computing postdoctoral fellow, Goldsmiths, University of London and Jamie Woodcock from London School of Economics and Political Science.

Apart from a need to be socially savvy, the research revealed the highly demanding schedules of streamers who aim to be successful in what is an extremely competitive market. Interviewees described the meticulous planning that goes into scheduling a stream and online discussions, and the pressures of establishing and developing a unique social media brand.

It's incredible how much work Uber has to do in order to stay on top of his game. Despite having a wealth of experience through multiple games, Uber concedes that casting Overwatch is a monumental task and the biggest challenge of his career so far: 'We have top casters from some of the worlds best games like LoL, CS:GO and Cod but we're in agreement that Overwatch is the most difficult we've ever cast.

'It's great because we're continuously have to be refining our craft, even when I'm not casting that day I'm still in the arena with my co-commentator where we will just try to analyse ever game as much as possible.'

Overwatch has previously received a lot of criticism for being difficult to watch. While CS:GO is also an FPS game, it's easy to spectate because it's intense and slow paced. Overwatch is fast-paced and turbulent - making things fairly confusing for spectators.

The Overwatch League is very popular despite how difficult it can be to watch at times

That's why Overwatch is such a struggle to cast according to Uber: 'I think helping clarify the action for fans is the most essential part to being an Overwatch caster because, while I loathe to say this, the game is chaotic and it can be over-stimulating.

'As a play-by-play caster I really to make sure there's a coherent story so that even if you don't catch 100% of what happened in a fight, that the top 10 most important things are conveyed clearly and the implications of those events being made very clear.

'It is like trying to catch a waterfall with a spoon. You have a lot of information and some of it may not be important but the vast majority of it is so you need to package it up quickly and deliver it with context in an understandable way.'

It's a strenuous task but if it was easy, commentators wouldn't be as passionate and dedicated as they are. It has caused Uber to make all kinds of sacrifices but he doesn't begrudge it - this is a labour of love.

He is spearheading an growing industry that he adores, that he is desperate to see succeed. Every week he gets to share his passion with thousands in-person and millions more online.

He says it is almost 'evangelical' - spreading the word of what he believes has a bright future. He has a wonderful life but the work and sacrifice that esports casters put in should not be taken for granted.