INTRODUCTION................................................................. 1
About This Book............................................................................................ 1
Foolish Assumptions.................................................................................... 2
Icons Used in This Book............................................................................... 2
Beyond the Book.......................................................................................... 3
Where to Go from Here............................................................................... 3
PART 1: GETTING STARTED WITH ESPORTS........................ 5
CHAPTER 1: What Are Esports?................................................... 7
Defining Esports........................................................................................... 8
Regular publisher support..................................................................... 9
A large fan base.................................................................................... 10
A clear ranking system......................................................................... 12
Frequent competitions........................................................................ 13
Longevity............................................................................................... 14
Being a Gamer versus an Esport Player.................................................. 15
CHAPTER 2: Gearing Up to Play................................................. 19
Discovering PC Must-Haves for Esports.................................................. 20
Computer processor............................................................................ 20
Graphics card........................................................................................ 21
Networking card................................................................................... 21
Deciding Whether to Build or to Buy....................................................... 22
Considering the pros and cons of the DIY esports computer........ 22
Buying a prebuilt computer................................................................ 23
Considering Three Levels of PC Power and Expense............................ 24
Keeping it affordable: The bargain esports rig................................. 24
Moving up to the next level................................................................ 25
Spending it if you've got it: The computer your
friends will envy.................................................................................... 27
Setting Up for Today's Console Gaming.................................................. 29
Playing on Sony's PlayStation 4 Pro................................................... 29
Gaming on Microsoft's Xbox One....................................................... 30
Enjoying Nintendo's unique esports offerings................................. 31
Playing Big: Nothing Says Esports Like a Large TV................................. 32
Considering a right option.................................................................. 34
Looking at the midrange TV................................................................ 35
Going for a true luxury set.................................................................. 35
Picking Your Peripherals........................................................................... 36
Choosing a keyboard........................................................................... 36
Of mice and mousepads: Picking your input device........................ 39
Listen, hear: Picking the right headset............................................... 42
Taking control: Controllers that rule the game................................ 43
PART 2: THE GAMES YOU'LL PLAY.................................... 47
CHAPTER 3: Playing RTS Games and MOBAs.................................. 49
Grasping the RTS Genre............................................................................ 49
Understanding the staying power of StarCraft II.............................. 51
Getting why StarCraft II (and RTSs) are fading, though.................... 51
Understanding the Basics of a MOBA..................................................... 53
Playing characters and roles............................................................... 53
Playing types......................................................................................... 54
Playing in the lanes.............................................................................. 54
Acquiring gold and skills...................................................................... 55
Knowing the popular MOBAs............................................................. 55
Getting in the League (of Legends).......................................................... 56
Starting with the basics....................................................................... 57
Picking play modes and sides............................................................. 58
Picking and banning players............................................................... 59
Strategizing to win................................................................................ 61
Counting on Dota 2.................................................................................... 64
Playing the game.................................................................................. 64
Understanding the play modes.......................................................... 66
Earning Valor in the Arena (AoV ).............................................................. 67
Smiting Your Enemies with SMITE............................................................ 70
The Future of the MOBA........................................................................... 72
CHAPTER 4: Taking Aim at First-Person Shooters......................... 73
Understanding the First-Person Shooter (FPS)....................................... 74
Qualifying as an FPS game.................................................................. 74
Honing the skills to pay the (virtual) bills.......................................... 75
Navigating FPS Esports Titles.................................................................... 77
Countering opponents in CS:GO......................................................... 77
Hearing the Call of Duty....................................................................... 78
Taking over with Overwatch................................................................. 80
Fighting fire with fire with Rainbow Six Siege..................................... 83
Shooting with all the rest.................................................................... 85
CHAPTER5:FinishHim!PlayingFightingGames...................... 87
Fighting One on One: The Basics of the Fighting-Game Genre............ 88
Flattening the field with 2-D fighting games..................................... 89
Seeing 2-D go 2.5-D with Samurai Shodown...................................... 90
Stepping forward with the 3-D fighter............................................... 92
Knocking people off the platform (brawler)...................................... 92
Grappling with the Major Fighting Games.............................................. 94
Taking it to the street (SF V)................................................................. 94
Fighting with Capcom vs. [Everyone].................................................... 95
Killing it with Mortal Kombat................................................................ 95
Tipping the scales with Injustice.......................................................... 96
Fighting in three dimensions with Tekken......................................... 97
Accessing the Fighting-Game World........................................................ 99
Dropping quarters at the arcade....................................................... 99
Bringing home consoles.................................................................... 100
Going Out to Pick a Competitive Fight.................................................. 100
CHAPTER 6: It's Madden Season! Playing
Sports Simulations.............................................. 101
Simulating Sports: Making Physical Games into Video Games.......... 102
Differentiating Esports Gamers and Sports Gamers........................... 103
Madden Football: Tackling a Gaming Juggernaut.................................. 104
Having the only license in town....................................................... 105
Understanding Madden esports....................................................... 106
Hooping It Up in NBA 2K: Starting Your Career as a Baller................. 108
Letting you be you - as a player..................................................... 108
Playing in the NBA 2K League............................................................ 109
Checking In with Other Sports Sims...................................................... 112
Getting your hockey fix..................................................................... 112
Playing soccer..................................................................................... 113
Hitting with the only baseball game in town.................................. 113
Playing Esports with Cars: Racing Games and Rocket League............. 114
Running a good race.......................................................................... 114
Playing soccer with cars.................................................................... 115
CHAPTER 7: Playing Battle Royale Games..................................... 117
Watching Fans Make Esports History: Minecraft Hunger Games......... 117
Going 1 versus 99 with PUBG................................................................. 118
Spending a Couple of Weeks with Fortnite............................................ 120
Crossing platforms to maximize Fortnite access............................ 121
Dancing the Fortnite away................................................................. 122
Walking into a match with Drake and a ninja................................. 122
Competing in Fortnite esports........................................................... 123
Climbing to the Top of Apex Legends..................................................... 124
Running into issues in the 1-versus-99 Format................................... 125
CHAPTER8:PlayingHearthstoneandOther
DigitalCardGames....................................................... 127
Collecting to Win with CCGs................................................................... 128
Recapturing the magic with MTGA.................................................... 129
Reading the Elder Scrolls: Legends..................................................... 130
Rioting for a shot at the Legends of Runeterra................................. 130
Gathering around the Hearth(Stone): The Standard
for Esports CCGs...................................................................................... 130
Keeping Hearthstone fresh................................................................. 133
Taking heart with the Hearth............................................................ 135
Buying virtual cards............................................................................ 135
Keeping it real with Hearthstone competition.................................. 136
Playing on Your Phone............................................................................ 137
PART 3: COMMUNITY AND COLLEGE GAMING............... 139
CHAPTER9:FindingOnlineandLocalPlacestoPlay............... 141
Starting the Process: What You Need.................................................... 141
Setting Up Your Accounts........................................................................ 143
Installing the League of Legends Launcher....................................... 144
Obtaining Battle.net to play Blizzard games................................... 145
Creating your Steam account............................................................ 147
Getting the Epic Games launcher for Fortnite
and other games................................................................................ 149
Connecting your console accounts.................................................. 150
Playing all the games......................................................................... 151
Finding Local Competition...................................................................... 152
CHAPTER 10: Getting Your Name in the Game............................... 153
Choosing a Gamer Tag That Lets You Be You....................................... 154
Twitter: Making Friends in 280 Characters............................................ 155
Creating a Twitter account................................................................ 157
Posting a profile picture and editing your bio................................ 157
It's time for a quest! Finding people................................................. 160
Getting ready to tweet....................................................................... 160
Creating and sending a tweet........................................................... 161
Diving into Instagram: A Picture Says 2,200 Characters...................... 163
Using Group Discussions: You Haven't Reddit All Yet.......................... 165
Getting your Reddit posts to show up............................................. 167
Running like a kid in a candy store................................................... 168
Joining the Horde on Discord................................................................. 169
Signing up on Discord........................................................................ 169
Understanding how Discord works................................................. 169
Streaming Games on Twitch (the New TV)........................................... 171
Signing up on Twitch......................................................................... 171
Twitching from channel to channel................................................. 172
Streaming Games on YouTube.............................................................. 173
Comparing YouTube with Twitch..................................................... 174
CHAPTER11:ExploringCollegiateEsports................................ 177
Taking Stock of Your Options for College Esports............................... 178
Knowing the Competitive Opportunities in the
Collegiate Realm...................................................................................... 179
Scouting a Potential College for Esports............................................... 181
Boise State University........................................................................ 182
Georgia State University.................................................................... 183
Harrisburg University........................................................................ 184
Maryville University............................................................................ 186
Miami University................................................................................ 187
Ohio State University......................................................................... 189
Robert Morris University................................................................... 190
University of Akron............................................................................ 191
University of California, Irvine.......................................................... 192
University of Utah.............................................................................. 193
Deciding Where to Go: Scholarships and Other Considerations....... 195
PART 4: MAKING A LIFE AND A LIVING IN ESPORTS....... 197
CHAPTER 12: The Path to Pro in Esports................................... 199
Calculating the Odds of a Professional Career in Esports.................. 200
Having What It Takes to Be a Professional........................................... 201
Playing Solo Games versus Team Games............................................. 203
Joining an Esports Team or Organization............................................. 204
Understanding the structure of an esports organization............. 204
Making the time to play..................................................................... 206
Knowing your game........................................................................... 207
Being Seen at the Biggest Esports Events............................................. 208
Charting the Path to Pro in Your Game of Choice............................... 208
Going pro in CS:GO............................................................................. 209
Going pro in Fortnite.......................................................................... 209
Going pro in League of Legends......................................................... 210
Going pro in Overwatch..................................................................... 210
Going pro in (almost) any fighting game and Hearthstone............ 210
Contending with Other Day-to-Day Realities
as an Esports Professional...................................................................... 211
Living a day in the life of an esports professional.......................... 211
Confronting gender imbalance in esports...................................... 213
Understanding the importance of sponsors.................................. 215
Living Your Life after Professional Esports........................................... 216
CHAPTER13:GettingInvolved(orFindingaCareer)
in Esports............................................................. 217
Getting Involved as a Volunteer............................................................. 217
Going local to help with esports events.......................................... 219
Interning to develop a deeper skill set............................................ 219
Paying the Bills: Jobs in Esports.............................................................. 221
Plotting the Path to an Esports Job........................................................ 223
CHAPTER 14: Creating a Brand for Streaming................................ 225
Understanding Your Equipment Needs................................................ 225
Finding the right camera................................................................... 226
Knowing your bandwidth needs....................................................... 226
Listening for the right microphone.................................................. 227
Setting Up to Stream................................................................................ 228
Obtaining a Mixer account................................................................ 228
Gathering your stream keys.............................................................. 230
Encoding your streams...................................................................... 232
Mastering your layout........................................................................ 233
Establishing a Theme for Your Stream.................................................. 237
Sorting through potential stream themes....................................... 237
Working with colors and fonts.......................................................... 238
PART 5: THE PART OF TENS............................................. 243
CHAPTER 15: The Ten Games Every Esports
PlayerShouldKnow............................................. 245
Counter Strike: Global Offensive............................................................ 245
Dota 2........................................................................................................ 246
Fortnite...................................................................................................... 247
Hearthstone.............................................................................................. 248
League of Legends................................................................................... 249
Overwatch................................................................................................. 249
Rocket League........................................................................................... 250
StarCraft II................................................................................................. 251
Street Fighter V......................................................................................... 251
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate................................................................... 252
CHAPTER16:TenEsportsGamesYouMightHaveMissed........ 255
Apex Legends............................................................................................ 255
Arena of Valor........................................................................................... 256
BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle....................................................................... 257
Clash Royale.............................................................................................. 257
Gears 5...................................................................................................... 258
Killer Instinct............................................................................................. 259
Teamfight Tactics..................................................................................... 259
Magic: The Gathering Arena................................................................... 260
Mortal Kombat 11.................................................................................... 261
Rainbow Six Siege.................................................................................... 262
CHAPTER17:TenEsportsInfluencerstoFollow............................ 263
Chopping It Up with Ninja...................................................................... 263
Guarding Lanes with Arteezy................................................................. 264
Faking the Funk with Faker..................................................................... 265
Knocking 'em Down with FalleN............................................................. 266
Dealing a Hand with Firebat................................................................... 266
Fighting Like a Girl with Mystik.............................................................. 267
Hiding in the Shadows with Shroud...................................................... 268
Zerging with Scarlett................................................................................ 268
Stringing Together Combos with SonicFox........................................... 269
Smashing Goals with SquishyMuffinz................................................... 270
INDEX.............................................................................. 271
