I always wanted to go pro, but I wasn’t always sure that I could do it.

From the moment I saw players like Gotaga, who support themselves by competing professionally, I knew what I wanted to do.

I have always been an avid gamer. To think that I could make money from doing the thing I loved absolutely drew me in.

While I’ve been able to achieve success in Rocket League, in truth, this wasn’t my first attempt at going pro. Like many kids growing up, I played a lot of Call of Duty and by the time Call of Duty: Ghosts came out, I realized I was a talented player.

I wanted to go pro, and I tried to, but it didn’t really work out. I really think I had the skill to be a pro player – or at least a semi-pro – but I got in my own way and never truly found out if I could do it.

Ghosts was released nearly 5 years ago. The world of esports looks a lot different now than it did back then.

Esports is way more popular now than it was back then. I knew that playing professionally was something I wanted, but the idea still seemed strange at the time. I was really nervous and never fully committed to going pro until later.

I am also a top level player in a game that many people might not realize has a tournament scene – Pokémon. I played on Smogon rules, for those who know what that is.

In 2015, I had great results, but unfortunately, there was hardly any prize money unlike if you played the Pokemon Card Game or competed in doubles. So once again my dream of being a pro was put on hold.

Luckily, 2015 is the same year that Rocket League was released and like many other players, I tried the game because it was free with my Playstation+ membership. The game was so fun and I played – a lot.

Once I saw some of the legends like Kronovi, Marky, and Kuxir and what they were capable of doing, I immediately knew I wanted to take the game seriously and play it at that level.

I knew that the journey wouldn’t be easy, and I actually stopped playing a few times… but something kept pulling me back.

I was playing with Ferra and Breker at the time. We were playing really well as a team and only a week or two after I made the transition we beat Supersonic Avengers – that team had Snaski and Doomsee, who were considered top players at the time – at that moment, I started to believe that I could go pro.

The reality wasn’t so simple.

My first time trying to qualify for the RLCS was in Season 2, but I missed out. I was disappointed to say the least. I knew I was capable of being a pro, but I hadn’t made it yet; I needed to keep practicing if I was going to make it.

I started with playing a lot of doubles with Kaydop after Season 2 and he asked me to team with him for the upcoming season along with Miztik. Both of them had experience playing in the RLCS so I definitely felt good about our chances.

We ended up qualifying. It felt so good.

I achieved my goal of being a pro player, but in many ways, it was only the beginning. We played really well during the regular season and placed 1st. I think we had surprised some people, but by the time Worlds came around, we were the team everyone wanted to beat.

We made it all the way to the finals but lost in a bracket reset to Northern Gaming. Losing was tough after coming so close but I tried not to let it bring me down since it was my first ever RLCS. I still consider this to be my biggest accomplishment ever.

That loss motivates me now, just as every single game I play motivates me. Every win, every loss, every moment, I use it as fuel. I just want to be the best. I just want to win Worlds.

While I am happy with my career so far, I’m going to keep training hard until I’m able to accomplish my goal.

Image Credit: Gfinity UK