Just like any other sport, practice makes perfect. Esports is no exception to this.

Regardless of what game you have chosen to get into the Esports scene of – it’s going to take hours and hours of practice to get to the highest level. It’s not unheard of for professional esport players to put in 10 – 16 hours a day of training.

However, you don’t need to be at that level quite yet.

Here are some tips to prepare you for the grind and get your ready for your next esport tournament!

1. Ranked Gameplay

What better place to start than your chosen games ranking system? If you’re breaking into the esport scene of games like Valorant, League of Legends, Counterstrike, Rocket League or Apex Legends you will be able to start playing their Ranked leagues after you reach enough normal games to be eligible.

This is where you will want to hone your skills and get to know your games meta, champions, weapons, map and abilities.

It is generally good advice to stick to 1 playstyle while you learn a game, often referred to as “one-tricking”, as you’ll be able to focus your skills on 1 particular expterise while passively understanding the larger meta of your game. Once you start to feel comfortable in 1 playstyle, look to expand your larger game knowledge while playing.

You should notice a steady climb in rank if you stick to this strategy. If you find you have a more tactical mind rather than a mechanical one – opt for playstyles that help your team with objectives, rather than flashy plays.

2. Don’t Waste Your Time

Grinding soloQ or spamming hours isn’t always useful. What’s important is the quality of the gameplay that you acheive during your session. If you are only able to play 2-4 games a day, then make sure those games count! Focus on winning – always. It’s better to win 3 games a day out of 5 than spam 15 games and lose 9 of them!

Pay attention to your mistakes and use your game time valuably. It’s important to remember that if you want to achieve greatness in Esports, consistency is absolutely vital to performing at the highest level. If you do want to spam games, then don’t do it in a competitive environment. Do it in normal games where your risks and learning can be punished without consequence (but obviously don’t feed in your games on purpose!). Have fun, but remember if you want to get to the top you have to be focussed!

3. Download Aim Training and Practice Tools.

Some games, like League of Legends, allow you to spend countless hours practicing combos and perfecting mechanical skills in their practice tools or custom game modes. Make sure to jump into these modes when you’re learning a new skill, champion or damage combo so that you don”t mess it up in your competitive games!

If you want to really refine your skills – look to download some tools like AimLabs or Aim Trainer. These are especially useful for FPS titles like Valorant or Counterstrike where mouse familiarity and reaction time are incredibly important skills to master.

4. Get Comfortable With Your Set Up
Find a keyboard and mouse that feel really comfrotable when using them. Then, refine your mouse DPI and keybinds to a combination that you enjoy. Don’t worry about default keybindings and standard mouse speeds – experiment until you find what suites you best.

There is no “correct” answer when it comes to set up – however, you can follow some guides in places like Setup.gg which will help you get an understanding of what Pro’s in your scene are doing. Feel free to copy them and see if it feels good!

5. Build Connections
As you climb your ranked ladder, make sure you are respectful and enjoyable to play with. As your climb, you will notice the same people in your games as the field of players are your level gets smaller and smaller. If you’re already experiencing this, then make sure that you don’t come across negatively! You might build some in-game beef or rivalry with other players, but remember that the competitiveness stops once the game is over. GGWP and Go Next! Don’t get stuck in in-game arguments.

Although being toxic may get you some infamy – it’s not going to work out for your in the long run. If you look at players like Tyler1 and Tarzaned from League of Legends – they might be popular becuase of their aggressive nature, but they would never be allowed into a professional esports team.

There have been countless example of toxic players kicked from Esports over the years, make sure you’re not one of them!

If you follow these steps and implement them into your strategy to becmoing an Esports player – we have no doubt you will succeed!

GGWP