CHENNAI: I’ve been playing since I was 10. Through the years, it has slowly grown to become a part of who I am,” says Sameer Singh, the current head of Bangalore FIFA Club. Of all the games to choose from, Sameer found love in FIFA, on his Playstation-4. “In India, Counter Strike is the most played. But FIFA comes in at a close second. I play it mostly because I can relate to it the most. It’s the closest you can get to playing professional football on a virtual pitch. I think everyone’s love for football in the country comes out through FIFA,” he adds.
Sameer and his teammates travel around the country to participate in different FIFA tournaments. “Five years ago, a bunch of us got together to form a team. By the time gaming started picking up momentum in the country, we had become professional gamers,” says Sameer.
But being a professional gamer in a country where the concept is unknown is not easy. “We have our own family business that deals with hardware, which I run along with my father. My family will continue to supports me as long as I don’t take it up as a full-time profession and it remains just a passion,” he says. But working and moonlighting as a professional gamer can be hectic. He says, “I work for 10 hours a day. And after that, as a team we play FIFA for about three to four hours a night. All of us basically practice at night from home. And we play tournaments amongst ourselves on the weekends.”
Despite the time constraints, Sameer and his team manage to attend and participate in two to three tournaments every month. They attended the recent tournament ‘Tour of India — Hyderabad’ organised by LudosPro, where they clinched the title prize. But winning is not new to his club. “We have won the GamingMonk Championship series and the Bangalore FIFA championships.”
The Banglore FIFA Club is considered to be one of the oldest gaming teams in the country. “We are around three years old. That’s how new gaming is to the country,” he says. Though they have a local fan base, the team is still working to get a foothold and recognition. “Outside India there are companies that sponsor gamers and pay them a fixed salary just to play. In India, there’s no company that is stepping up to do this,” shares Sameer. According to him, India has a long way to go as far as professional gaming is concerned. “The gaming scene has improved from when we started. And the chance of taking up gaming professionally here is a possibility that we’d love to have. But it’s not something that will happen anytime soon.”
Straddling two worlds — work and passion — Sameer rarely has time to try out anything else when it comes to gaming. “If you want to get into professional gaming, there isn’t time to balance another game. The time I get to practice is already limited. So unless you’re a casual gamer, this is a luxury you don’t have,” he says.
His team is currently practising for an upcoming tournament in Delhi, “It’s called ‘A trip to the World Cup’ and the winner gets to travel to Russia for the football world cup. So that’s something I’m looking forward too.”
His advice to amateur gamers is: “Keep playing. That’s all I can say. Follow your passion and keep at it. We need more gamers for the community to grow and E-Sports to pick up in the country.”