If you are interested in eSports, you probably want to know what it’s like to be a professional player. Logix from the Overwatch team Florida Mayhem was kind enough to sit down and answer a few of our questions. How do you make it as a professional eSports player and what is it like to play Overwatch full-time? Read on to find out.
Hi Logix, please introduce yourself to the readers who may not know you.
Hey, my name is Andreas Berghmans and I’m a professional Overwatch player known under the alias Logix. I play DPS [damage per second – a hero that genuinely does the most damage] for Florida Mayhem and am currently playing in the inaugural season of the Overwatch League.
I guess what many of our readers would like to know is; what's it like to be a professional eSports player?
It's pretty stressful, but it's a dream come true and I'll never take it for granted. The days are pretty long and you have to sacrifice a lot of free time for the sake of grinding. You start to realise quickly that if you don't put in all the time possible someone else will and they might take your spot.
On a normal day I wake up at 10 am, leave for the practice facility around half an hour later, warm up with a ranked game or two, start our practice (scrims) at midday and continue them until eight at night (with two one hour breaks in-between).
After practice, we go home, eat dinner and afterwards, everyone is free to do whatever they want. Normally I just chill out for an hour and then continue playing ranked games until two the next morning.
What skills/attributes do you think have helped you reach an elite level in eSports?
I've always been someone that has been mechanically gifted and from an early age I was able to pick up games relatively quickly - it didn’t matter what game it was, I could always play it at a high level.
Another thing is probably being able to be a team player. I can see people thinking this one is a given but in a game like Overwatch communication and working together with your team is a very important factor in completing whatever object the game mode requires you to do.
What do you think makes a good eSports game?
I'd say it's a combination of different factors, one of the most important things is that it's easy to watch. This is a difficult one for Overwatch because it's a very fast-paced game and a lot of stuff happens all at once. With the most recent changes to the spectator UI [user interface], I'd like to think the viewing experience has drastically improved.
Another factor that I personally value is that the game rewards mechanical skill and the overall game balance gets changed enough to a point where the game doesn't become stale.
What made you decide to get into Overwatch?
I had previously been playing League of Legends (LoL) for many years with some CS:GO mixed in. I was honestly really bored with LoL but I just kept playing it because I was good. I never really went competitive in CS:GO other than matchmaking.
Unlike the majority of current pros I was never in closed beta and I never even knew about Overwatch until one of my friends told me about it and said there was an open beta. Seeing as I was bored of the other games I played I decided to give it a try and was instantly hooked - I think I played something like 40 hours throughout the three-day open beta.
How did you manage to end up on one of the teams for the inaugural season of the Overwatch League?
I had been making my way up through different teams and organisations and once our contracts ran out with Movistar Riders, both I and Cwoosh got an offer from Misfits, who ended up buying the Florida Overwatch League (OWL) spot.
We did really well during the online phase of Overwatch Contenders Season 1. Despite a disappointing playoffs run, the organisation still had trust in us that we could fix our problems and they ended up signing all six of the previous Misfits members to Florida Mayhem.
How has your first season of professional playing been?
It's hasn't been great, we finished our first stage of the Overwatch League with a 1-9 record (only beating Shanghai Dragons) - with us signing the whole Misfits roster people expected us to have a really good start compared to some of the newly formed rosters. The meta completely changed during the time between Contenders Season 1 playoffs and the start of the OWL.
My personal play has been far from ideal at the start of the OWL. I really struggled with adjusting to a full LAN (players in the same room, rather than online) environment but slowly I've adjusted well and my performance has been better near the end of this stage, although I feel like it doesn't match with my performance in scrims.
I hope I still get the chance to prove myself as a top-tier hitscan player [a type of hero that shoots a gun with no drop-off, rather than a projectile that needs distance and speed calculated] in the upcoming stages.
Is there anything you expected to be different and if so why?
Not really, the whole experience has been great. Setting aside our performance for a second it has been great to meet all the best players from across the world here in Los Angeles, competing against some of my favourite players is really fun and it gives me that drive to grind harder and be a better player.
What do you think the League needs to improve on for next Season?
I don't think there is anything blatant that has to be changed. So far they have been listening to all of our feedback and they've been helping us where possible.
Do you think Overwatch has the potential to compete with games like CS:GO, Dota 2 and LoL? And why?
Yeah, I truly do believe Overwatch will be able to compete with all the top eSports games. In addition to the introduction of franchises, a lot more traditional sports owners are starting to participate and invest in Overwatch so I think there's a bright future ahead for the game. The viewing numbers were pretty crazy the first week of the season, the numbers have gone down as you would expect but I still they are beating anyone's expectations.
What factors affect your game the most when playing?
The lack of sleep and being hungry. Both of those factors I have noticed affect me the most. I make sure to have a sleeping schedule where I am able to sleep for at least 7 hours as I know it affects me pretty bad if I don’t. For game days I just make sure to eat a few hours before the game.
Do you feel you perform at a higher level on LAN or online and why?
For the time being, I’d say I perform better online / in scrims, being able to play with your own setup and with your own peripherals has just a comforting factor to it.
Any last words you would like to say?
Thank you very much for this interview and thank you to all the people supporting the Florida Mayhem. I promise we will do better in Stage 2 and prove to everyone that we are a better team than what we previously showed! You can also follow me on twitter at @FM_Logix.
