IF YOU thought the UFC was the fastest growing sport in the world, you’d be wrong.
Forget football’s World Cup, ignore the Ashes and disregard the Six Nations, the thriving world of eSports is here, and for good.
Gaming often has a stigma attached to it, so turning professional in a harsh, judgemental world is both brave and risky.
It’s an unusual career path, one the modern world isn’t accustomed too yet, and one not everyone is accepting of.
But players in the paid ranks are among the hardest working, passionate and most dedicated sportsmen on the planet.
They’re lucky, and realise this. They have the opportunity to play the games they love for a living, something we’d all like to do.
These men, and the odd woman, have grit and determination like any other professional sportsman… they are elite.
Just watching the stars of the Call of Duty World League at the weekend at the ESWC in Paris would make you realise how committed these pros really are.
They give their lives to the sport, training for up to 12 hours and beyond a DAY with their three teammates to prepare for big tournaments.
No minute is wasted and no detail is too small in their battle to come out on top against rivals teams from around the world.
They must all know every nook of every map, in every game mode, to give them even the tiniest of advantages.
Despite their large social media followings and huge fan-bases, it can be a tough, lonely place at times as they get ready for another day in front of their console.
Pros eat, sleep and breathe Call of Duty, it’s their life and livelihoods and a lot have families to support.
Players fly all over the world, away from their partners, children and friends for tournaments around Europe and the US.
It’s a difficult lifestyle choice to make, but one they must all sacrifice in order to make the big bucks.
Most of the four-man rosters are made up of teenagers, who have been playing Call of Duty for many years, often before they should be.
The oldest players on the circuit aren’t even in their mid-20s yet, and are the veterans of the sport.
Most retire aged between just 21 and 24 after short, tough careers at the top of their profession.
As they get older, years of playing catches up with them, reactions get slower and the younger players just get better.
One ex-pro at the ESWC put it simply when he said: “You know when it’s time to give up, you just die too much.”
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Some of the best teams and players, with the most lucrative sponsorship deals, are on mega-money contracts.
They have salaries larger than a LOT of sports around the world, being able to pay off their student loans, mortgages and giving them a great start in life.
Some already have flashy BMWs or sports cars before most teenagers even have their first rusty banged up old Clio, or a shiny piece of pricey jewellery which wouldn't look out of place around Snoop's neck.
Teams are managed and guided, having the events and competitions they attend arranged for them.
Some of the bigger players are becoming so marketable that there are discussions about them even having their own agents.
Transfer fees are part of the sport, to an extent, where one organisation can buy out a rival team player's contract for staggering money going into tens-of-thousands-of-pounds.
All of this might sound great, and it is, but the Call of Duty pros deserve it for the entertainment and joy they bring to millions around the globe.
Thousands and thousands of cheering fans come out to watch them, idolising their skill and talent at arenas of all sizes.
Hundreds of thousands more watch them from home on MLG.tv or Twitch in batted breath for quick-fire battles of Search and Destroy or Uplink in COD Infinite Warfare.
The largest and most loyal supporters follow US super-team Optic Gaming, who smashed rivals FaZe
Clan 3-0 in the grand final of the ESWC.
They have a staggering 2.4 million followers on Twitter and fans so hardcore they'd make a football club's ultras look tame.
Their brand is so large, they've teamed up with multi-million pounds companies such as Turtle Beach as sponsors, and could be compared to Manchester United in scale.
As a North American team, they've been dominant for years, but from a European perspective, it feels like a shift in momentum has occurred and we're slowly getting on an even keel.
They're elite sportsman even down to the support they have, getting stopped in the street for pictures and signing autographs.
Fans wear expensive merchandise, t-shirts and caps, much like a football team's replica kit with their favourite player on the back.
Most of the players are friendly, relaxed, normal guys to talk to, your average man on the street who happen to be really, really good at something.
There is the odd ego. Like in anything, you have some who take it too far and some who play up for the cameras, but it just adds to the drama on game-day.
The 104 plus professional players across the globe also adhere to a code of conduct, a set of rules which they must abide by.
Anything that breaks their laws, be that abusive language or even fighting can result in huge fines and the loss of Pro Points, which can severely effect that players team for the entire season.
Female professional players are still too few in Call of Duty, but that boundary is slowly being broken through.
Work is being done behind the scenes to introduce more inclusion, diversity being the key.
There is currently only a few on the circuit, but others are coming through the ranks and more are overcoming the stereotypes of gaming.
Talks of eSports becoming Olympic events have even begun, something that the players have mixed feelings about.
But simply put, all these Call of Duty players are the Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi's of the eSports world.
They are at the top of their professional.
These are sportsmen in every sense of the word.
Read more about Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare and the World League here.
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