Not A Child's Play: Indian Gamers Are Getting More Professional, And This Is Just The Beginning

As we take step through the doorway of the LXG Cafe in Bangalore, the decor makes it clear just what¡¯s up. This might be a well-known local gaming cafe on the regular, but for a few days, for a few minutes at a time, it¡¯s nothing short of a miniature gladiators¡¯ arena.

Team OpTic India

The electricity in the air is palpable, yet the warriors themselves are cool to the point of nonchalance. One scrims with randoms online as he jams to Punjabi hits blaring through his headphones. Another is alt-tabbing from his CS:GO practice game between rounds to exchange sick burns with friends on chat. Yet another calmly sips what¡¯s probably his third Red Bull as he practices headshots over and over and over and over. Meanwhile, one player sits in the corner and eats the banana he brought in with him, a healthy power up before the skirmish.

Stepping into their midst, you wouldn¡¯t know what to make of these 20-somethings. At least, that¡¯s until they fully mould their hands to keyboard and mouse, and slip into compete mode.

At the finals of the Indian qualifier for the Zowie Extremesland CS:GO Asia Open here, OpTic India takes the crown. They beat Entity Gaming in a nail-biter of a finisher, losing their comfortable lead early on in the match only to narrowly claw it back at the end. Yet, despite the hard-fought battle, there¡¯s no reward at the end of the night, except maybe a little time off. Instead, they¡¯ve just won themselves a place in another war; the Extremesland finals in Shanghai and a chance to win $100,000.

The sparkling promise

This is just a regional qualifier, with about as many reporters as there are pro-gamers in this room. Yet, it still makes very clear just how much the gaming industry has changed in India over the past few years. A decade ago, the only sort of gaming tournaments you¡¯d encounter in this country would be those organised by your local gaming cafe, with perhaps a few thousand rupees on the line as the top prize. Now? They¡¯ve sprouted all the trappings of professional sports, including coaches, managers, airtime, and even ardent team supporters.

There are at least a thousand professional gamers around the country, and millions of others playing competitively even if not at the pro level. These are the gamers striving for excellence in their own circles, and they¡¯re also slowly finding more acceptance among their seniors than generations past. And that may just be because a lot of older gamers today are those that grew up in the early days of the industry¡¯s foray into India.

¡°The customers that buy our gaming hardware are anywhere between 18 to 30 or so years old,¡± says Rajeev Singh, managing director of BenQ India. The company¡¯s gaming subsidiary, Zowie, is the official hardware sponsor for Extremesland. That shows just how much wider an appeal gaming has today as compared to even a few years ago. Thanks to that, he also believes it¡¯s slightly easier for parents these days to swallow the fact their child wants to play games professionally. ¡°Think about cricket 10 years ago,¡± he says. ¡°Parents did not want their kid to say they want to play cricket for a living. That doesn't exist anymore. It¡¯s the same with esports, there isn't any recognition, there aren't any role models right now, but that will change.¡±

Also Read: I Spent A Weekend At Intel Extreme Masters, The Disneyland Of PC Gaming & Competitive E-Sports

In fact, Singh believes we¡¯re truly on our way towards esports becoming a true spectator sport, much like it already is in the US and elsewhere. ¡°That shouldn't be too long,¡± he says with a nod. ¡°There's a sea change each year with regards to the number of people participating in tournaments, the size of the audience, even the prize pools up for grabs.¡±

¡°Like here in Bangalore we have Kanteerava stadium. I think in one or two years we can fill it up (with an audience)¡±

The long road ahead

It¡¯s quite something to peek behind the curtain at gaming events and the participants that throw themselves into the breach. Because while it may seem fairly glamorous to the uninitiated, there¡¯s a lot of work going into each tournament, and yet sometimes they still fail to achieve their lofty goals anyway.

We¡¯ve taken you through a day in the life of an esports team before, specifically Team Signify. We showed you there¡¯s a certain kind of dedication that¡¯s demanded for this job. There¡¯s no backup, the years in the business count against you after a certain point (because your reactions get slower), and you¡¯re pretty much required to live at the office to train and compete.

In fact, the rundown of Team OpTic¡¯s daily schedule I¡¯m given by their manager is no walk in the park, though it¡¯s certainly designed to make them as comfortable and efficient as possible. Every meal is designed by a nutritionist and cooked for them in the OpTic India house. Shortly after breakfast each day, two hours are set aside for the five to undergo fitness training and a meditation session. After all, the sort practice hours they can keep can be both grueling and stressful.

After that, the team gathers together for a three-hour-long discussion on the previous day¡¯s scrims (practice sessions). Mistakes are analysed, attack plans are revisited, and so on. Then come the four hours of actual scrim, facing off against other professional teams they¡¯ve set up practice sessions with. It¡¯s not the end of it either, each player is then also expected to continue honing their skills in solo practice. Not that any of them would skip that anyway, it¡¯s incredibly important to them t stay at the top of their game. You don¡¯t want to let the team down after all. So if you think you work long hours, think of these youngsters that put in pretty much all their free time besides to just practice practice practice.

It¡¯s all for the glory, though winning also serves as a sort of appraisal in the esports world. Like any other sports league, players are often traded back and forth between teams. The better you do then, the higher your value to your sponsors. Because the minute you start slacking, it¡¯s very possible you¡¯ll find yourself benched as a substitute in favour of a younger entry to the team.

We¡¯re still finding our foothold in the international community, as far as esports is concerned. Other countries have had a headstart, but we have no lack of talent to catch up to them. Lucas ¡°yb¡± Gr?ening from Germany, who serves as both player and coach for OpTic India, also agrees. ¡°Indian teams need more exposure to global rivals,¡± he says. ¡°The competition there is on a whole other level, and the only way to gain that sort of experience is to face it head on.¡±

Hopefully Team OpTic can prove their mettle when they head to Shanghai for the finals on October 18.