Five Ways that Esports Pros Look for an Edge in Games

With esports reaching the point where millions of dollars are up for grabs for winners of big tournaments like The International (TI) and Intel Extreme Masters (IEM) Cologne, the pros naturally try to find any razor-thin margins or angles that will give them an advantage. While you might not be playing at the same level as s1mple or the boys in Gaimin Gladiators, some of the techniques that they employ to get up on their opponents are easy enough for anyone to replicate. This article will cover five different techniques and strategies that esports pros are using to try and claw their way ahead of the competition.

Meticulous practice and game-specific drills

To start off with, it’s probably a good idea to lay it out immediately, none of these techniques are going to suddenly catapult you into esports stardom, and many of them, like this one, are hard work. When we talk about meticulous practice, we don’t just mean putting in the hours and getting used to the ins and outs of the game. Pro players in any game are sure to put themselves through very specific scenarios and situations and to learn drills that will make their response times lightning-quick. Different types of games require different types of drills, but things like accurate clicking under pressure, fluid chains of commands and higher-level strategic thinking are all things that would fit under the umbrella of drilling.

You may think that this sort of practice doesn’t sound that much like hard work, but we aren’t talking about simply logging in and keeping in mind that you want to play well. Drills usually involve very repetitive actions and in many games specific mods or environments are built for pros to practice in. Spending a few hours doing nothing but click targets doesn’t sound like a riot to me, I’ll stay trash thanks.

Choice of crosshair

This one is pretty specific to one genre of esports games, but it’s a pretty big deal. You might be forgiven for thinking that crosshair choice would render little to no advantage, but actually, esports pros have very specific thoughts on different crosshairs. In games like CS2 and Valorant, having the right crosshair can mean the difference between making the shot and whiffing. There are a number of factors when it comes to crosshair choice and design, the size, how dynamic it is, the colour and the opacity all play important roles. 

In many games, pros will take different crosshairs depending on the map or even which side of the map they will be playing. For a fuller breakdown of crosshair choice, finding a list of CS2 crosshairs that includes the reasoning behind why some are good and some bad could be what you want. You obviously don’t want a crosshair that is the same colour as any of the background textures on the map, but as to the other specifics of crosshair choice and design, that is beyond the remit of this article to investigate.

The best players use the best equipment and settings

You might say that this is a no-brainer, and maybe it is, but it still bears discussion. While it might be obvious to have the best hardware, when it comes to peripherals and settings, things aren’t always so clear. A good example of this is mouse sensitivity, as there are some differences of opinion as to what exactly is best. Esports pros in Valorant and CS2 tend to adjust their DPI (dots per inch) to try and synch up with their arm movements and in-game preferences. Rather than training themselves to work with some golden standard, many pros seem to consider altering their settings to benefit their innate abilities to be a better idea. 

For a more hardware-focused response that is qualitatively measurable, you can look at monitors. Pro players are almost certainly using monitors that offer them high refresh rates and give them the opportunity to use their lightning reactions. There is an industry standard here, and it’s 144Hz, 240Hz or higher. Those milliseconds matter when you’re facing the best.

Using data and analysis

Much the way that pro-sports teams might watch opponents or their own games back to highlight important points of success or failure, so too do esports teams. Analysis like this isn’t just about pinpointing an opponent’s weakness, it’s also about looking seriously at your own performance without ego and acknowledging where you can or need to improve. This is an element of being an esports pro that it is also beneficial to have others help you with. It can be difficult to see the patterns that you are following if they are ingrained from hours of practice, but a fresh set of objective eyes might be able to tell straight away what is happening.

Modern software has made this type of analysis a thing of simplicity. With most esports tournaments being broadcast on streaming services, having direct access to the VOD (Video On Demand) of those games means that no specialist software is needed and review of gameplay can take place just about anywhere.

Training body and mind

While we might scoff at the idea that esports players are athletes, it really does follow that a healthy body breeds a healthy mind. Many top esports organisations and teams make sure that their players have trainers, dieticians and psychologists to help keep them healthy and in fighting spirits. When it comes to the physical side of things, having quicker hand-eye coordination and faster reaction times can easily make the difference in many games and having the stamina to focus for hours at a time might be necessary for longer tournaments or if a team has to fight it’s way through a losers bracket.

As to mental training, just like more traditional sports pros, being resilient in the face of adversity should be considered incredibly important for esports pros. You simply cannot win every game, and being able to face defeat with grace and to get back in the fight without your previous defeats weighing you down is a crucial component of being successful as an esports pro. This mental resilience is harder to train than physical fitness, but there are many methods that work for different people such as meditation and breathing exercises.

Just like any pro sports player, esports players want to gain every advantage to come out with the win that they can. There are many small things that Esports Pros do like choosing the right equipment and settings, picking the perfect crosshair, and making sure they are ready for game day by training both their game skills and their body and mind. It seems likely that as esports matures further as a serious discipline, elite players and the methods they use to be the best will put them even further from the average gamer, and hopefully, make them even more fun to watch.