Cyber sports were made an official sport discipline first in 2016, but there is still a misconception that esports is not as exhausting and mentally taxing as other kinds of sports. However, this kind of sport should not be underestimated: the serious cybersports tournaments and trainings are not as challenging as long working days as a software engineer or competitions of professional athletes.
And what is important to be a good athlete? Professional athletes need to be highly motivated and disciplined to achieve good results. We all would describe a typical athlete as a strong, concentrated fit person who trains every day or many times a week. And what does a professional gamer look like? Many of us would describe the typical cyberathlete as a nerd who sits in front of the screen and eats junkfood, but it is wrong. Professional gamers are smart and motivated people with highly developed cognitive abilities and social skills. So, which skills are important to develop to become a cyberathlete?
THE ANALYTICAL THINKING
The main difference between amateur gaming and progaming is that professional cyberathletes need to play clear roles in esports competitions. They need to analyze situations in the game and be able to process information quickly, so as to build gaming strategies. So, the gamer must be able to check the current situation in the game, take in account different factors (for example, the strategy of opponent) and make using his logic quick, but calculated decisions. Cyberathletes are attentive to details and can see a large picture in a small amount of time when playing cyber sports. It is hard to believe but progamers do a great amount of analytical work during gaming sessions.
THE REACTION SPEED
This quality is critical for cyberathletes, because they do not just need to have cognitive abilities, but also need to react quickly. There are many exercises progamers perform to develop reaction speed and memory, and there are also different apps and simulators. That is why cyber-sport is not any different from competing in any other sport but here you must use eyes, arms, fingers and brain.
MOTIVATION
As in other kinds of sport athletes must be highly motivated to achieve their results and to train more. Just as marathon runners who train for marathon progamers constantly develop their cognitive abilities, reaction speed and social skills during long gaming sessions. Their training schedule doesnt differ a lot from schedules professional sportsmen have. And cyberathletes are also at risk of certain injuries such as eye strain and carpal tunnel tv bucetas syndrom. So, it is important to stay motivated and positive on long training days.
SOCIAL SKILLS
A cooperative attitude towards other gamers is essential for a professional gamer. In any cyberathlete discipline gamers need to cooperate with others and communicate in a team in an effective way. Even a good gamer would never come out on top if he or she is not able to work in a team and support other team members. And the gamer must be able to stay calm and polite even in stressful situations: toxic behaviour in gaming tournaments is prohibited. Of course, knowledge of different languages is also profitable if you want to make a career as an international progamer.
ABILITY TO REACT IN STRESSFUL SITUATIONS
Progamers are forced to play games in stressful situations. As in any other competitions and tournaments there are situations in which something goes wrong. For example, the team member has made a wrong decision and other team members must adapt to the new gaming situation and change their strategy. Or the opponent has defeated many members of the team, and the rest of the team must quickly do anything to defeat the enemy. And the professional gamer must stay calm and concentrated.
So, professional gamers dont differ much from other athletes. They are ordinary people who must develop different skills to improve their chances of winning. And of course, there is one more quality all cyberathletes have: they all enjoy gaming and are excited about it.
