We explain how you can go from being a hobby gamer to a professional gambler.

Play FIFA as a full-time job? Only a few years ago this was unimaginable. But now there are many hardworking FIFA professionals who have fulfilled this dream and earn their money by playing FIFA. One of them is Umut Gültekin. The 19-year-old from Hamburg is under contract with RBLZ Gaming, the Esport team of Bundesliga soccer team RB Leipzig. The Red Bull athlete has turned his hobby into his profession. Both nationally and internationally, Umut is one of the best FIFA players.

You are probably wondering how Umut managed to become one of the elite FIFA players and how to get started as a professional FIFA player in general. We will tell you and give you a guide that will make it easier for you to get started in the world of FIFA. Read carefully!

Train regularly

As in any other sport, you’ll have to train a lot in FIFA to become good at it. This doesn’t mean that you should play ten hours a day (in fact, playing too much is counterproductive!). However, two to three hours of training a day are recommended if you have ambitious goals and want to gain a foothold in esports.

Find a steady training partner

But it’s not enough to just fire up the console for two or three hours every day and play against opponents from all over the world in Division Rivals in FIFA Ultimate Team, for example. It’s important that you don’t train haphazardly, but in a targeted way. And the best way to do that is with fixed training partners. Find opponents who are about as strong as you are. It is even better if your opponents are a little better at the game.

These opponents will now become your regular training partners, with whom you will play regularly. You’ll play against each other several times a week, exchanging ideas and practicing many different things. For example, you can let your opponent attack while you exclusively defend. In the next game, you turn the tables once. Another useful exercise is to play with a maximum of three or four ball contacts. This way you train your all-round vision and have to decide quickly what your next move is.

Watch the pros

In addition to regular training sessions, it’s also useful to look over the shoulder of the pros. Many professional FIFA players have their own YouTube and Twitch channels where they share their game with you and post tutorials. Many of the things the pros do, you can learn for your game. Whether it’s individual tactics, lineups, skill moves, or tips for defense and offense, you can learn a lot of knowledge on the pros’ channels that you can use for your own game.

“RBLZ_Umut” advises you to take advantage of the entire social media bandwidth: “On TikTok or Instagram, many FIFA pros post short clips or tutorials. Sometimes beginners take away even more from a 30-second clip than they would with ten minutes.” It is then important to stay up to date when the gameplay changes due to a patch, he said. But be careful: we caution against trying to copy someone’s play style. “The most effective thing is to settle on one or two players who play similarly to you,” emphasizes the reigning eFootballer of the Year.

Take part in competitions

If you train a lot and regularly watch tutorials from professionals, you’ll naturally want to know at some point whether you have what it takes to become an esport athlete. To find out, you’ll have to participate in competitions. You’ll have to compete in pressure situations with players who have the same goals as you.

Try to qualify for the Weekend League in FIFA Ultimate Team. Once you’ve done that, go full throttle on the weekend and play the 30 games. If you really want to go for it, there are no excuses at this point. Take your time and go for it! There’s no question about it: if you play 30 games in three days and win almost all of them, you’re mentally very strong. But mental strength is an important quality that you need as a professional player. Through the Weekend League, for several years now you’ve been able to obtain the “Verified” status, which entitles you to participate in official Esport tournaments organized by publisher EA Sports. To become “verified” you have to get 27 or more Weekend League wins at least once in the first weeks of a FIFA – Season .

Besides the Weekend League, the Virtual Bundesliga (VBL) is also a competition that is a must for every FIFA professional from the German-speaking area. The VBL is the official German championship. In addition, there are now regular daily tournaments organized, for example, by ThatsFootball. There you can compete with top-class esport players every week.

Visit Scouting Days

The increasing number of FIFA tournaments is prompting many professional clubs to broaden their Esport squads even further. If you haven’t been on the radar of a club so far, you can change that in no time: At the Scouting Days! If you stand out from the crowd on one or two days, a (junior) contract can quickly beckon, following the example of Ben Kettenbeil.

The 18-year-old beat out more than 100 competitors at the RBLZ Gaming Scouting Days in October 2021 and will henceforth be part of the Leipzig team as “RBLZ_Kette”. In the VBL Club Championship – Season 2021/22 he already played doubles alongside “RBLZ_Umut”.

Draw attention to yourself

Sure: If you’re successful in the Weekend League, in the VBL and in numerous day tournaments, you’re already gaining notoriety in the scene. However, you can do more than just play well to recommend yourself to big esports clubs and soccer clubs. In addition to the necessary skills, entertainment is also required.

Start your own channels on YouTube and Twitch and let enthusiastic FIFA players watch you compete against the cream of the FIFA scene in national and international tournaments. For example, if you regularly win 30 games in the Weekend League, stream every single one of them, and entertain people at the same time, you’re guaranteed a lot of viewers and followers. And that way, club officials will pay even more attention to you.

Umut’s tip for ambitious FIFA players

Finally, Red Bull athlete Umut has an important tip about “mental strength” for your career in FIFA esports:

“A big problem of many FIFA players is emotionality. If things don’t go the way you want them to, people quickly complain and complete freak-outs are not uncommon. But freaking out and losing control is the worst thing you can do. Only those who stay calm and focused until the very last second of the game will be successful in FIFA in the long run.

No matter how much bad luck you have in the game and how unfair the intermediate result may be: Stay relaxed and play with concentration to the end. You’ll see that you’ll turn a match or two in your favor that way.”

Successful FIFA professionals like RBLZ players Umut Gültekin and Richard “Gaucho10” Hormes have already shown how it’s done. Now it’s your turn!

Follow us and check out our social media accounts on Twitter and Facebook ►

● on Twitter ► esport.directory
● Facebook ► esport.directory

FIFA, FIFA22, FIFAtips&tricks, FIFA22tips, FIFAtips, FIFAtricks, FIFA22tricks,