Sports are a major part of high school. Often the players are very well recognized throughout the school for their talent. Many students through sports are able to receive phenomenal scholarships to play the sport of their choosing. However, what many do not understand is that there are other games available that also provide careers, without the need of physical traits, but dealing more with mental capability.

 Currently, there are many different avenues to take to make a career out of playing video games professionally. Personally, I am going down the path of playing Magic: The Gathering at a professional level. Ever since I was thirteen I have  been mesmerized by Magic. I became a relatively good player quickly. Many people who I would play against at large events suggested that I do Magic at a professional level. I always shoved the idea off as risky at the time. Playing games for a living seems like something that would not make a lot of money. That though, is not the case. For example, Fortnite has a very large community, and kids are gathering large amounts of money from playing it. As a matter of fact, a fifteen year old just won a large Fornite event estimating to be about three million dollars in prize money. Now, most will not  make it this high, but winning smaller events and accumulating money that way is a pretty reasonable income.

E-Sports are also fairly easy to get into you are new to the scene. Three massively popular games, Fortnite, League of Legends, and Magic: The Gathering Arena are all completely free to play. Both League and MTG require a bit more money be spent into it to be at a professional level, but nonetheless are free to try and download. If you are  not into paying money every so often there are other roads as well. Smash Bros, a huge title that essentially everyone knows, has competitive events quite frequently. Smash Bros is a bit more reflex and knowledge than active decision making, but is still a viable choice of game. Pokemon does not really have a lot of small events, but does have a massive following when it comes to large events. Pokemon does take a while to get into once one understands the basics but does not require any reflexes or quick movement in any way. 

In most of the Esports aforementioned, large portions of money have been put into prize pools. Millions of money, actually. Corporations see the need for professional gaming and will adjust games accordingly for fun and balanced gameplay. Professional gaming draws viewers who want to watch these events that end up making more money.

Esports also go along with streaming, a way to make money that is not  dependent on how you do in an event or how many sponsors you have. It is based on how bubbly your personality is and how entertaining your gameplay is. It is really easy to do both, you can set up your client online ready to practice for an upcoming event and then stream to talk to viewers and they will watch you play. Most people do this on Twitch or YouTube and make money solely off of streaming.

Esports is not going anywhere anytime soon and is even making its way into schools. Many schools have an E-Sports team. Mostly this is League, but they have been moving forward to also include Smash Bros. No longer do gamers have to compete as a hobby. It can now be a job and a lifestyle.