A person who has the ability to make quick decisions. A person who is mentally and physically tough enough to maintain concentration for long periods of time.

e-sports is an abbreviation for "electronic sports" and is often spelled "esports" in English. Competitive computer and video games are now recognized as sports competitions, and gamers who participate in competitions are called e-sports players. With the spread of the Internet, competitions attract attention from around the world, making it easy to obtain influential sponsors and offering huge prize money. Many players belong to professional gaming teams run by corporations and compete in tournaments with the support of related companies.

No special qualifications are required to become an e-sports player, but it is difficult to become a professional just because you love games. Acquire basic knowledge and skills at a vocational school, a specialized digital course, or a high school or university with a department. The National High School e-Sports Championships, in which high school students compete, are now being held, and more and more schools are focusing their attention on e-sports.

If you perform well in e-sports competitions after or during school, you may be scouted by a professional team. However, it is possible to compete in tournaments without belonging to a corporate team. There is no professional ranking system like in golf or tennis, but the Japan eSports Union (JeSU) issues its own professional licenses based on performance in tournaments, which is used as an indicator of ability.

Major e-sports tournaments are held all over the world. English language skills are needed to compete in these events. Communication is essential for confirming tournament regulations and progress, and for communicating with related parties and overseas sponsors. If interpreters are used in between, it is impossible to proceed with a sense of speed. English language skills, a universal tool, are indispensable.

The popularity of e-sports overseas is even greater than in Japan, especially in China, Korea, and the United States, where prize money is also high. In addition, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has begun considering e-sports as an official sport, and with gaming companies and countries showing a high level of interest, it is a profession with a promising future. However, competitive games are demanding, requiring long hours of tension, and it is said that players can only be active from their mid-teens to their twenties. Although the life of a player is not long, after retirement, there are also opportunities to become a game commentator or lecturer.

When you join a professional team run by a company, you are guaranteed a certain amount of salary. The amount varies from company to company. In many cases, prize money from tournaments is added to the salary. Individuals who form their own team and participate in a tournament receive prize money, sponsor contract fees, and event appearance fees as their main source of income. Some Japanese players have won prize money of 1 million dollars (about 110 million Japanese yen) at overseas tournaments.

There are no fixed vacations like salaried workers. Since they practice every day at their gaming machines, it is safe to say that there are no holidays that seem like holidays.

Dedicated national and international e-sports facilities and venues where tournaments are held.

It's a chart that shows at a glance the main routes to getting a job as an e-sports athlete!