Making it big in eSports

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Professional gamers spend hours with their eyes glued to their screen and keyboard displaying their talent in winning or losing a competitive game and also for thousands of dollars. It has transformed from a small indoor game into a huge money-making sport. Some professional gamers specialised in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS: GO), Dota 2 are even making it big in eSports.  One such gamer is Roshan who is a professional CS: GO player. His tryst with gaming began many years ago. Currently, he is handling the Business Development of Meteor Media. Meteor Media is a digital media and advertising agency specialised in eSports event management and production based in Mumbai.

He says, “My brother was a big influence for me to get into gaming. Watching him play and visiting the local gaming cafe got my interest in gaming. Back in the days, seeing people play in LAN Party and Zapak tournaments were instances where I got hooked to gaming.”

With video games to be featured as a full sport at Asian Games 2022, the competitors in electronic sports are set to receive medals for their digital prowess. Roshan says, “It will open up opportunities for gamers as gaming is not yet a career option. Even the parents will be able to differentiate between the deadly online games and the professional and unharmful ones.”

Besides this, there are many opportunities for professional gamers. Sunil Linus, one of the CS: GO gamers from Jaipur says, “For eSports events, the prize is around Rs 1 lakh to Rs 5 lakh. Now more gamers are coming into this field because of the opportunities available. Often the positive side of gaming is never seen.”