Tips for Getting Started in Esports

It’s becoming more common for the everyday user to explore the growing world of esports as the past few years have helped launch it from a more niche experience into a household name, and with a growing list of titles away from the big three that lead the esports industry to some more familiar names and genres, there are plenty of opportunities to find your own start in esports. Whether you’re looking to become a player and experience the competitive side of gaming, or you’re just a punter looking to expand your knowledge for betting on the big events available here, there’s plenty you can gain from trying it out. So, what are the best ways to get started in esports?

Game choice has some bearing – Whilst there are growing options in more familiar named titles like FIFA and NBA which are having growing support as it provides a base for traditional sporting to move into the virtual space, there are some restrictions too – notably that the games have a much smaller online presence, so it’s not as easy to find the big opportunities. Both also have a cost to purchase, and with yearly releases they can quickly add up. On the other hand, you have the big games in the market that are all free to play with the likes of League of Legends and Counter-Strike, as such if you’re looking to play the biggest games in esports, you’re able to do so without investing any money to get going.

(Image from polygon.com)

Watch the big streams – Both the big events and professional players are always actively streamed or streaming on the big platform of Twitch for free – and are an invaluable resource. Watching the professional players can certainly give you more insight on how to improve yourself whilst seeing a point-of-view of how they move around and how they play certain situations and tuning in to the big events offers much of the same by letting you see how different regions compete and how different teamplay is from individual and solo play. 

External services can be much better for some too – This is largely prevalent in one game at the moment, Counter-Strike, but other games do benefit here too – with the matchmaking system not really showing the upper limit of player ability and no way for small community run events or tournaments to run through the client, and this is where third party external services can really help – for CS, sites like FaceIT and ESEA have become the most popular, and if you’re finding yourself wanting more challenge, this will be the next step for you.