If you are reading this you probably know something about eSport — a team, game, player, investment, or a brand. At some point of our lives as fellow gamers, we have all probably thought that we were good enough to become the next SKT.Faker — League of Legends version of LeBron James in NBA. Well, not everyone can be LeBron James, and most of us will fail to become a professional or settle as your average professional gamer like Jeremy Lin prior to his short-lived fame versus Kobe Bryant. Like any other sport, eSport competitors are subjugated to uncertainty and prejudice. We will focus on exploring various fields of prejudice and uncertainties in hopes of aiding gamers who aim to become professional competitors in the future.

The “Right” Game

Choosing the correct game to compete in is a no-brainer. Even if you are the best player of all time in Hello Kitty Island Adventures, if there is no eSport scene, there will be no competition. The dilemma here is having to choose between a game with an established Esport scene or games with a potential growth in the eSport scene.

On one hand you are diving into a game with a massive amount of players and heavy competition. To catch up with the professionals will take at least a year or two of commitment, on top of the uncertainty of whether this game will remain a strong eSport title by the time you’ve caught up. The other option is to invest into games that have the potential to become huge titles. This option has two main benefits and cons — less competition and seniority versus uncertainty and transition difficulties.

Both of these choices are less than ideal when it comes to push and shove. Going into a well-established community as a newer player will invite negative criticism and skepticism, while choosing a growing eSport scene may lead to an end in your gaming career, especially if there isn’t enough support for a competitive scene. The very idea of prioritizing the success benefits and cons over something as primary as happiness in pursuit of eSport is absurd and incredibly difficult to do so. I mean, who wants to choose money over happiness?

Hellokitty & Suppy at LANHAMMER 2013 in San Francisco

Foul Play and Favoritism

Ever watched your favorite team and players and thought that there was a bad official call against them? These “bad calls” are more likely your imagination as teams do make mistakes, calls will be made against them whether you like them or not. In eSport there are people who are willing to openly manipulate and harshly punish those as they see fit. A player or team is often deemed as “good” or “bad” based on an administrator’s personal agenda rather than a sensible clause.

What does this mean to you as a competitor? Well, you will likely get a be treated differently to your competitors, if they are more well-known. A few of the incidents that I have personally experienced with my opponent include zero-punishment on delay of arrival, clear avoidance of rules and regulations, and multiple other counts of favoritism towards my opponent. Want your voice and complaint to be heard? No problem, post on Reddit and the community will laugh it off while perceiving you as being “salty” against a more well-known player. As an average professional gamer in your respective eSport title, you will likely be subjected to some form of prejudice a few times in your career. Your voice will have little to no impact as a mid-tier professional competitor.

Community and Top-Heavy Industry

Like all sports, eSport players who are “mid-tier” professionals typically goes unnoticed. You are far more likely to have infamous remarks than breaking out into the scene. What this means is that as a newer player, you will be criticized and often antagonized by the community regardless of whether you win or lose. The community often does not realize that they are putting an incredible amount of pressure towards players who fails to win over and over again — the majority of us. And let’s be honest, everyone wants to stand behind a player that can win majority of the time.

Final Thoughts

I believe that anyone pursuing a career as a professional competitor has a possibility to succeed as long as he or she accept the hurdles as part of the challenge. There will be difficulties throughout this journey and sometimes it is within your control while others are completely external — game rework or decline in popularity. It is imperative to understand the stigma within the eSport industry to better strengthen yourself from prejudice and minimize uncertainty in your career.

This article has been brought to you by @hellokittysc2 from streamplay.io

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