What it takes to be a professional gamer in South Africa

Competitive gaming is a rapidly growing industry worldwide, with many professional gamers earning salaries and making a living playing video games.

The world’s top gamers can become millionaires by winning high-tier tournaments such as the Dota 2 International, which featured a prize pool of over $20 million.

Many South Africa gamers are becoming serious about competitive gaming, and we have seen a steadily increasing interest and investment in professional gaming recently.

MyGaming caught up with Wesley ‘Odu’ Rose, one of South Africa’s top Dota 2 players from Bravado Gaming, in order to find out exactly what it takes to become a professional gamer in South Africa.

What games should you be playing if you want to become a professional competitive gamer?

The games that have big eSports scenes: Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Dota 2, League of Legends, and Hearthstone.

How long should you practice for each day?

I would say that you should practice for 6-12 hours a day if you are taking the game seriously.

What are the best ways to quickly improve your skill?

In Dota 2, there is no way to quickly improve, it takes hard work and dedication.

Watching your replays and fixing your mistakes, as well as just playing a lot of Dota, are what I suggest doing to improve.

How important is physical fitness for competitive gaming at the highest level?

I think this differs from person to person, but generally being healthy definitely improves your state of mind and the way you think about and play the game.

How can competitive gamers get noticed by South Africa’s top teams?

I would say the easiest way to get noticed by a top South African team would be to get a high matchmaking rating (MMR) by playing on European servers.

If you manage to get 6,000 and above, you will definitely get noticed.

Is it necessary to join one of the big MGOs (Bravado, Energy) to compete at the highest level?

No, there are plenty of open tournaments where anyone can enter and if you do well in these you will eventally go up against South Africa’s best.

With the introduction of bigger prize pools and increased international recognition, do you think professional gaming will soon be a feasible career in South Africa?

Professional gaming in South Africa is growing at an alarming rate.

I wouldn’t say it’s feasible just yet, but in the next 3-5 years it should become a full-blown career in South Africa.