How does one become a FIFA 19 professional? Marcel “DonChap28” Deutscher and manager Teoman Arslan explain what the path of a pro gamer looks like – and what everyday life is like.
This is Marcel “DonChap28” Deutscher: DonChap28 is regarded as one of the best FIFA players in Germany and will soon compete in the Grand Final of the Virtual Bundesliga. He plays under the banner of “L4K eSports” for “Team Paranoia”.
This is how Marcel Deutscher became a pro
Professional career not planned: The profession of a pro gamer is not exactly the most common. No wonder that there is no prescribed path – not even for Marcel “DonChap28” Deutscher: “I hadn’t planned that,” the professional tells in an interview with MeinMMO.
“I played FIFA from a young age because I also played soccer in real life. I had played FIFA 12 online at one point, but then everything started becoming pay-to-play. I didn’t see that at the time.”
Several years later, that should change: Multiple knee surgeries took the enthusiastic soccer player out of action: “I thought I’d try playing online.”
And it went better than expected: “Through the results in the Weekend League, you eventually get noticed: I often reached the Top 100 and appeared in the world rankings.”
Difference between pro and casual gamer
What made the difference for DonChap28: How was Marcel Deutscher able to develop into a top player so quickly? According to Deutscher, the soccer background plays a significant role: “I know almost every player inside and out. For example, if the opponent plays with Robben, I can almost ignore shots with the right foot – most of the time nothing happens anyway.”
Knowing the opponent’s players can determine victory or defeat: “In the VBL, I had an opponent who told me later that he didn’t know whether Delaney is left or right-footed. That gave me a crucial advantage in attack – he didn’t know where to defend.”
This distinguishes Deutscher from the competition: The age of the almost 27-year-old also plays a certain role. In the scene, it is expected that performance decreases as one gets older. However, DonChap28 sees himself at an advantage over the often much younger competition: “I have already experienced a bit, have completed vocational training. I approach things perhaps a bit more relaxed.”
The mentality can ultimately make a crucial difference in tournaments: “I remain relatively calm and get little upset. That helps in many situations – the more you get upset, the more your performance suffers.”
Can you make a living from it?
This is how the pro finances himself: By now, he can live off playing FIFA. And that just a few months after he hung up his previous job as a fitness trainer for the career of an eSports athlete: “There just wasn’t any time for that anymore,” Deutscher explains.
However, this is only possible through the team and the agency that supports him monthly with a salary, says Marcel Deutscher. Living exclusively off tournaments is extremely difficult. Prize money in the scene has improved, but is still relatively low unless you are winning the big tournaments every time.
A top-5 finish at a prestigious final in Singapore, for example, would not even bring in 1000 euros, the pro explains. And just getting there is already difficult enough.
It takes more than just performance
This is what matters as a pro: After the first successes in the online scene, it didn’t take long for Teoman Arslan from L4K Sports to notice Deutscher and sign the rising FIFA player.
However, good performance on the controller alone is not enough: “Besides gaming talent, the player must have a lot of discipline and endurance, be able to analyze games,” explains Arslan: “When the performance is right, the image must also be right. The player must be able to positively represent a brand.”
Having a strong presence on social media also helps a lot to become interesting for agencies.
This means: Just because you can keep up in gaming doesn’t mean you directly become a pro. Even pros lose sometimes – including Marcel Deutscher: “Then I get messages saying, ‘I beat DonChap, how do I get into the team?'” says Arslan: “And then you are explaining.”
What is the everyday life of a pro like?
This is how much FIFA a pro plays a day: The path to becoming a pro is not that easy. And once you’ve made it, it doesn’t get easier: From now on, a lot of training awaits. “The time invested distinguishes the amateur from the pro,” Arslan makes clear.
Especially when a new version of FIFA comes out, the training effort is high: “You sometimes play 6, 7 hours a day,” emphasizes DonChap28: “To get better, you just have to play a lot.”
Towards the end of the season, however, it becomes more relaxed. Provided you are no longer qualified for the big finals: “Then you have a summer break until the next part. That can feel almost too long.”
This is how a pro trains: In a further live interview with MeinMMO, Marcel Deutscher emphasized the advantage of joining a team with good professionals early on: “Then you have your training partners and can analyze your games.”
Through the contacts of his eSports agency, he has had the opportunity to train with former German champion Cihan Yasarlar.
The training does not simply consist of playing 1-on-1. Instead, the game is constantly interrupted after critical scenes and optimized in detail. It helps immensely when a successful pro acts as a mentor.
Training is not everything
These factors also play a role: However, training alone is not enough to reliably beat the competition. Because it is tough: “Everyone who participates in an official tournament can play FIFA,” Arslan knows.
That’s why small details can be crucial in such situations: “You have to be physically fit at that level. You start in the morning at tournaments, play matches continuously from noon to evening, need to concentrate and sit the whole time,” explains Deutscher, who trains four to five times a week at the gym – also as a balance: “In addition, I’m often out with my dog.”
The right nutrition is crucial: The topic of nutrition is also still greatly underestimated in the scene: “Many drink a soda or eat a bag of chips while playing. You might not believe it, but at a certain point, it affects concentration. When you have sugar in you, you definitely notice it.”
FIFA requires adjustments
This is how pros view the many FIFA updates: Another factor that not only separates pro from casual gamers but can also determine victory or defeat: The ability to adjust.
“A pro must always adjust to each update. At every tournament, the game feels different,” emphasizes Arslan. One must be able to adapt their gameplay completely. Especially after the patch at the beginning of the year the game changed drastically. And that can certainly be frustrating, as Marcel Deutscher also revealed in the stream at MAX:
This version is played in tournaments: Not only the numerous updates in FIFA 19 require flexibility. A special eSports version of the game is also used in tournaments. Although it is supposed to have fewer bugs, it can still cause confusion.
“That’s already an adjustment. The gameplay is slower, not much bad happens,” explains DonChap28, who has also had issues with it: “The first time we got to test it briefly, I found: This is a completely different game. Then I spent the whole night thinking about it.”
FIFA in leisure time? Probably not
This is what is played in leisure time: Since the pro job already takes up most of the day, FIFA hardly plays a role in leisure time anymore: “You occasionally play Pro Clubs with friends, as it’s quite fun. But playing against each other – that doesn’t benefit my friend and it doesn’t benefit me,” explains Deutscher.
If at all, other games are preferred to be played with friends – after all, you want to see something different than always just the virtual soccer field: “I believe, at that level, hardly anyone still plays FIFA with friends. They’d rather play a round of Fortnite or something similar.”
Nonetheless, you will likely see DonChap28 playing FIFA more often outside of tournaments starting next season: The pro plans to start his own YouTube channel for the upcoming season. His tips on how to improve quickly, however, you can already get:
