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I want to become a pro player, but is it possible?

CA Crimson·6/11/2015, 6:44:39 PM·3 votes·6,075 views

So, just a warning, english isn't my first language, sry if I make some mistakes :p

I started playing League of Legends exactly 2 years ago, mid season 3. My firend and I were getting kind of bored of Call of Duty and World of Warcraft and as we were trying to find a new game, we saw this little advertisement about LoL. At that tome, I didn't know anything about the existence of eSports or how much I was going to get hooked to this game.

I reached lvl 30 at the end of season 3 and started rankings games two months in season 4. Got Bronze II after placements (which isn't that bad imo) and started to play in average 2 to 3 games per day. I never droped lower than B2 and ranked up to Silver II with no difficulties before getting stuck in Silver I for almost 2 months (going from S1 to S2 to S1 ect). I finally ended the season Gold 4 and I was happy about my first ranked season.

This same season I started watching lcs games with Cloud 9 being my favorite. I also started to watch some streams, especially Nightblue and TheOddOne, and to learn a bit more about the eSports community and how much big it was getting (thats what she said... Sry :p ). This is when I realised that I could too be able to play on the big scene if I put enough training and thought info it. I wanted to be a LoL pro player.

Now begins season 5 and I still have the same thought. I'm playing more than casually, especially since its summer and I have no school for the next 2 months and a half (I'm 17 btw), and I already talked about this goal/dream to my friends and gf. I started the season Silver II and ranked up to Platinum IV recently, which is the top 100 000 players (or almsot).

The reason behind why I am telling you all this is that I heard from a lot of people that I should stop dreaming, becoming pro is way too hard, most pro players have been playing since season 1 or sooner, I won't make it and I'm starting to lose hope after hearing all this... So I want to know what the community thinks, I still really want to play in the lcs or challenger scene and I know the road is long and rough. Just leave your thoughts hère and thanks for reading :)

25 Comments

Rueian6/11/2015, 6:51:59 PM2 votes

You can do it, but the time and effort you need, along with needing to find a very supportive circle of people to improve with is difficult. Since people in higher divisions are typically douchebags who don't want anything to do with lower division people.

CA Crimson6/11/2015, 7:13:26 PM2 votes

Thank you for everyone answering :) It truly helps me

ShakySurgeon6/11/2015, 7:30:30 PM2 votes

I have extremely similar dreams my friend, best of luck to you. See you in Solo Q. :)

Laughing Fish6/11/2015, 6:56:24 PM2 votes

Yes, anyone can make a run for pros. First, make it to challenger, and stay there. If you are solo queue, try to contact an existing team. Alternatively, you could make your own team, and get your team into challenger. Once your are far enough into challenger, you will need to start winning tournaments. If you manage to win the Challenger series, you can make compete to make it into the LCS (with the winner of the challenger series replacing the worst LCS team).

Lugg6/11/2015, 6:56:49 PM2 votes

I see that you are already in Plat, so it is possible. You just have to realize that you will have to continually improve your game and that takes LOTS of work. You have to improve your mechanics and overall game strategy. You will also want to start specializing in a role and master that.

Yes, some pros have played since season 1, but the majority of them have retired at this point. Don't give up on your dream. Yes, it's a long shot, and you may not make it, but at least you can try. Just be sure you keep up with your studies and don't put all your eggs in one basket. You will still need a plan if you don't make it.

TurquoiseYoshi6/12/2015, 1:09:55 AM1 votes

If you really want it, you can do anything. Also, good English for being ESL.

Wickedfates6/12/2015, 1:16:46 AM1 votes

making the choice to "try" and become a pro (because there is no guarantee that any amount of work will ever get you there) is a life long career decision on par with wanting to become a doctor or an engineer, ect..... the difficulty doesnt matter its the career aspirations.... those are the same... is that really what you want for a large part of your life....

lol will no longer be fun it will be work... the 9-5 grind.... the reason people wait so expectantly for fri and dread monday so much....

why would you want to do that to yourself?

CLG Factor6/12/2015, 9:01:50 AM1 votes

Yea but u have to beat Crimsonite in a 1v1

MidriffMustache6/11/2015, 6:51:22 PM1 votes

You have to be challenger (or should be) to join a pro team. Or you could create one once you are challenger, and try to qualify for the LCS. And you probably should have a main role if you don't.

Ziatroi6/14/2015, 4:40:06 AM1 votes

The minimum age to go pro is 17, so basiclly if there is a team recruiting or a team playing in the challenger series and pick you up. You can play in the lcs/ cs. First try get to challenger first Your life do what you want as long as you enjoy :D

Ale non è male6/11/2015, 7:12:58 PM1 votes

EU Elements's new support started playing league in S3,...no matter when you started play League, if you become good enough you can become a pro. Plat IV is still a long way to go to become pro, see how it goes this pair of months and see if it is realistic to rach pro level or not

Lynxonyx6/11/2015, 7:34:53 PM1 votes

Maybe start streaming as well, attention to how good you are helps.

Photos of Ghosts6/11/2015, 8:00:29 PM1 votes

Things to keep in mind:

  • the more time passes, the higher the standard gets
  • it's like professional sports in that you have to dedicate your entire life to it, but with way less pleasant physical consequence (althought you're not forced to train until you throw up like in sports)
  • there are local tournaments, you don't need to immediatly (or ever) be lcs worthy to make money out of it So first thing to do would be to have a solid ranked team (climbing soloqueue is very long, and could make of you an excellent nobody even in challenger)
Eleshakai6/11/2015, 8:41:42 PM1 votes

The official restriction is D3 I think to be a sub on a pro team. But I would strongly recommend exploring other options even if you are pursuing a pro gaming career. So few people make it that it is not worth committing your entire life to it. But if you feel as though you're really good and you'd like to... then teams are the way to go. The era of the solo queue star is mostly over. Find a team, practice with a team. Team Team Team Team.