I’ve seen a few posts recently on various forums where gamers want to get to the top or want that elusive free ride where LAN’s are paid for and they get given the best equipment but it’s time to make a few things clear.

The 2 options for gamers are online or offline play. For online gamers you will find it very difficult to make it into the big teams that will deliver on those promises. If you were to play on some pro team public server and get to know the team members over a long period of time by being skilled and polite and showing respect to your peers then you might be lucky enough to be picked up as an online sub but that’s about as good as it’s going to get.

LAN events are where most talent is discovered and this is where any gamer is going to make his mark. If you are going to an event and you want to be noticed then consider carefully who you’re going with as your team mates are going to be that additional influence.

Always be friendly at a LAN and if you want to be known as a pro gamer and reach those dizzy heights then you have to act like one as you will never know who is watching.

Never bitch about your equipment letting you down as an excuse for losing. As a matter of fact, don’t make any excuses for losing, just congratulate your opponent and move on. Losing isn’t the end of the world. The top team managers know talent when they see it so losing is nothing to worry about.

So what are team managers looking for?

Well skill and natural ability goes without saying. If you haven’t got one or both of those qualities then you’re flogging a dead horse.

Now the rest may come as a bit of a shock but here it is. A team manager will look for gamers that are easy going and easy to get along with. They will look for people that want to be and act professional and mature. They will look for people that they believe have that passion in their chosen game type and are going to be committed and dedicated to the team. They are going to look for people who are polite and have a good nature and perhaps can speak their respective languages without swearing every other word.

Believe it or not, appearance matters. I know when at LAN it is difficult to keep that suit pressed but the basics of keeping clean are not too difficult for most and packing the right amount of clothes should be planned for.

You have to remember that if you are attending a LAN event and it’s in the back of your mind that you hope to get noticed then planning should start way before you get there.

Kirkyboy, manager for Team-Coolermaster states:

‘I always look for... (skill) ...dedication, commitment, passion, willingness to improve and importantly, at all times be professional. This then benefits the organisation, the player as well as UK e-sports.’

Adz, manager for Infused states:

‘Picking up teams or players is something that every organisation manager has to take into good consideration and there are a lot of factors to consider. For me dedication and a good willingness to play and invest their own personal time is a big factor as this can often be hard to come across in typical gamers. It’s every managers dream to pickup some undiscovered talent that they can nurture and build a strong relationship with and a good sign of this is the player or teams dedication to gaming, there are too many players around that expect things out of their ego and aren’t willing to put in the effort. My advice to anyone out there wanting to make a big break would be to find other people with the same mindset, determination and drive and then create a team where you can each benefit from this. Hopefully, this will then give you stability too; this is another aspect of gaming teams that is hard to come across!’

Why is a team manager looking for all this?

Well the answer to this is quite simple. If you want all those free goodies and nice perks then they have to be paid for and many of the top e-sports teams rely on sponsorship to achieve this. To understand this better, let’s move up a tier from potential gamer and team manager to team manager and potential sponsor.

Most sponsors that look to invest or re-invest monies into e-sports receive many calls, faxes and emails requesting sponsorship every day and it is down to each company to choose the right organisation that will best represent their company and ultimately lead to an increase in sales. Now we are into the business end and you can start to see the beginning of the spiral. The first question any sponsor would want to know is, ‘what can you do for me?’ or ‘what do I get in return?’ and to answer this, the team manager knows he has to have the confidence in his team to be able to deliver what he has promised to the sponsor.

So I go to a LAN event, now what?

The LAN you choose to go to really matters. It isn’t enough to just go to any event as you are not going to meet the right people and your talents will go unnoticed. Check out the events thoroughly and be prepared to pay that bit extra to go to the right one. At the end of the day, if you’re not prepared to invest in yourself, why should a professional gaming organisation?

When you get to an event, try and find out who the managers are. Ask the players in the teams or the event organisers. Don’t be shy at introducing yourself but be unobtrusive and very polite as these guys are very busy and already may have multiple teams to look after.

There is no point trying to chase down all the team managers, especially at a large event. The best thing is to do some homework before you set off by looking on community forums, irc channels, team and e-sports news sites etc and try and identify those teams that may hold that opportunity you’re looking for. As Adz has previously stated, there are other gamers out there looking for the same opportunity and it is better to look at this more as a positive than competition. Organisations are more likely to want teams than individuals and if you choose your team mates wisely you could go far.

The manager of XXXXX is interested; surely the hard work is over?

How wrong you are. If a manager shows some interest it doesn’t mean that you’re in. Most top managers will do their homework and check you out. They will ask other managers if you’re known to them and will also look to the community for answers, so any dodgy forum posts will come to light. You have to remember, being a professional in any walk of life leaves no room for egos. If you’ve said or done anything in the past that you think might affect your chances then it is best to be upfront and honest at the beginning and then you can sleep at night.

If you do make it into one of the top teams through hard work and perseverance then it’s a job well done and you deserve it. If you sit on the fringes of community forums whining that you haven’t been picked up yet or please pick me cos I have skillz then you do not have that professional attitude that most top teams look for.

Just remember, getting to the top is the same in every profession or sport and e-sports is no different. Dedication and perseverance will win through and getting there is only half the story.

For the players, managers, sponsors and people that work behind the scenes helping to make e-sports a recognised sport I’d like to say thanks and I hope their hard work will be justly rewarded.

Phillip ‘Flip’ Ambler

Infused