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From hobby to career: stories of professional Esports players

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Do you ever sit at home watching CS2 Major or LEC and LCS and wonder how the pro players became what they are today? There are many great pro players on the esports scene at the moment. Many of them started playing video games at a very early age, but each story is different. I chose to talk about the best, or at least, some of the best players in CS2, League of Legends, and VALORANT and their journey to greatness. Let’s dive in.

Stories of greatness

Without a doubt, the majority of video game lovers play games for fun and out of a hobby. In some rare cases, the hobby can become a very well-paid career. That’s what happened to s1mple, Faker, and TenZ – CS, League of Legends, and VALORANT best.

Faker and T1

Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok is considered the best in League of Legends. His story begins with a single parent who was sure his son would make it as a pro player. Since the inception of the esports industry eastern Asian countries have first recognized the potential of the industry and invested in it. Faker’s father nudged the Unkillable Demon King to start playing games. T1 midlaner began his journey with a MOBA game called CHAOS. After that, he switched to LoL, sometime in late 2011. It wasn’t long after that T1 (SKT1) contacted him to play in their second team.

Faker who had just started high school decided to pursue the gamer dream and drop out. The rest as they say is history. Only two years later, in 2013, he won his first World Championship, and now as we know he has four, along with countless domestic titles in LCK.

S1mple’s struggling journey

Another player considered (and probably is/was) the best in his game is Oleksandr ”s1mple” Kostyliev. Just like Faker, s1mple also started gaming early on. He started by playing Counter-Strike 1.6 inspired by his older brother who he used to watch play. As there was only one computer in the house, s1mple didn’t have the possibility to play whenever he wanted, but to wait his turn. Something I think many of us with a sibling can relate to.

S1mple started playing CS:GO as soon as it was released in 2012. He played the game for one year before he stepped into the competitive scene in a semi-pro tournament with the local team Lan Dodgers. After that, he signed for Courage Gaming and then HellRaisers who had many superstar players in the team. This led to one of the problems in his early career resulting in toxic behavior. That and the ban from his CS 1.6 days made him miss a couple of majors. However, in the end, as we know he became a well-respected AWPer and now has around 20 MVPs, Major, and other high-tier tournament titles under his name.

Race for best VALORANT player

Pro VALORANT players in most cases switched from CS:GO to the Riot’s FPS. The same thing goes for TenZ, who is considered one of the best in the game. Tyson “TenZ” Ngo started playing video games when he was only three years old. At the age of 15, he competed at his first LAN event which his mom first had to approve. Similar to Faker and his father, TenZ’s mother also saw the potential in gaming (even though it took some convincing).

After high school TenZ signed for Cloud9 and competed shortly for their CS:GO team. Some time he was a streamer for the org and then VALORANT beta came knocking on his door. TenZ became the first player to hit Radiant on VALORANT and that brought him a lot of recognition and respect. The fact that he is protanomaly colorblind didn’t stop him from making 40 kills on Breeze at VCT 2022: North America Stage 2 Challengers tournament. As VALORANT is still young we have yet to see what Tenz will do in the future. So far he already has two VCT titles and a couple of MVP awards.

CS2 ready for groups in A1AL; Bojce and Mupinho on top of the second EAFC qualifiers

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The second A1 Adria League qualifiers of the 13th season are behind us. While CS2 teams have already secured all the spots in the groups and are now ready to start the climb, EAFC24 and EAFC24 Mobile players still have a long way to go. As far as football is concerned, we are at halftime, two qualifiers are finished while two more are on schedule. Check out what happened in the second A1AL qualifiers this weekend!

CS2: Group stage is formed

Last week we saw very interesting matches and four teams advancing to the group stage. The groups were secured by KubiX, Spotify, Bagra and The Wild ones. The second CS2 qualifiers in this A1AL season brought us the remaining four teams. The winners are:

  • Cupava Veverica
  • SuperiorEsports
  • GornjiDonji
  • PROMETEY

PROMETEY was one of the teams who made it through and their road wasn’t an easy one. They eliminated two familiar names in the region. Both Jake Bube and KlanRUR failed to qualify for this season, while the former was really close as we saw overtime. An interesting duel was seen between Cupava Veverica and Ravens where we also went into overtime. However, in the end, Cupava Veverica who we also saw in the first qualifier, deservedly advanced to groups. One of the dominating teams was SuperiorEsports who didn’t lose a single map.

Mupinho broke the A1AL record

81 players participated in the second EAFC24 qualifiers in the A1 Adria League. The absence of some of the better-known names may have given space to new players to collect a significant number of points. Mustafa “Mupinho” Sejmenovic made the most of it!

We knew he had a talent for FIFA, but this is the first time he convinced us all, breaking the record in the final itself. He defeated the champion of the 11th season, Marko “Gruby” Grubisic, with a score of 9-2 in the deciding game, thus securing 100 points and a practically safe place in the group stage. In the total score, the first place belongs to the winner of the first qualification, Nemanja “Misko” Misic, while Mupinho is second with 100 points. Novo remains third, and in the 4th position was the now regular Tin ” CLA Th3Prod1gy ” Škrgatić.

There is still time for turnarounds so don’t waste any time and sign up! The third EAFC24 qualifiers are scheduled for June 22.

Again more than 200 EAFC24 Mobile players signed up

Of 232 registered players, 220 played in the second qualifier of EAFC24 Mobile in the A1AL. It was the first time we saw former caster Nikolas in esports action. He managed to make it all the way to the finals. Unfortunately for him, the better player was Bojce, who in the semi-finals overcame the tournament’s surprise, Somzi.

Somzi was in the top 20 of the world four years ago and is a member of Spartak eSport from Subotica. He finished the competition as 4th because he lost to the young Bosnian player Ogi in the Bo3 match for third place. However, you should remember this name as he was the only one who succeeded, in the appearance of the FC Mobile community in the A1AL so far, to make up for the 3-goal deficit. From 4:1 he returned the semi-final match against Bojce to 4:4.

A total of 40 goals were seen in this interesting stream of the top 8 in the second qualifiers of the A1AL. Among the new faces in the top 16, we saw a guy named prosječnibosanac. Surely this success will motivate him to fight even more in the remaining two qualifying stages. Another name worth mentioning is Bojan, whose appearance in the A1 Adria League was the first, where he immediately took part in the top 8.

If you still haven’t, sign up for the third qualifier, scheduled on June 22.

Students, sign up and compete in the A1 Student eChallenge!

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Another season of A1 Adria League is just around the corner and as always we are not just letting pro players and teams compete and have fun playing their favorite games. Once again students from Croatia will have a chance to show who is the best and compete in the student league this June. Don’t wait up as A1 Student eChallenge is very near. Read on to find out how to sign up and which games we are hosting.

A1 Student eChallenge will feature three games

Everyone needs a break from studying and we know that video games are one of the best ways to relax and enjoy your free time. So why not make a little money on the side while gaming, and compete with your colleagues for the right to call yourself the best? If you were wondering where you can do that, the answer is here, in our A1 Adria League tournament.

This season students from Croatia will be able to compete in CS2, Rocket League, and EAFC24. Choose your game and don’t waste any more time, since you can only sign up until June 5th. Contact your student services for application and you’re all set.

Now regarding the games themselves, Rocket League and EAFC24 will be played from the 10th to 14th of June. The games will be BO3 until we reach the semifinals and played off stream. This stage will be BO5. On the last day, 14.06, we will have the grand finals and the fight for third place in both games on stream in the BO7 format.

Counter-Strike 2 is scheduled for the 17th until the 21st of June. The bracket will be BO1 in this case until the finals. Finals and the match for third place will however be BO3 and we will stream both matches on 21st of June. You can watch all the games on our YouTube or Twitch channel.

For more information regarding the A1 student eChallenge, follow our social media accounts on TikTok, Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.

A1 Adria League Season 13 is waiting for you!

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If you thought that this year you wouldn’t be participating in the A1 Adria League or watching the best regional players and teams, you are mistaken. Even though we are starting a bit later this year, we are more than ready to show you what we have planned for the 13th and 14th season. Keep reading to find out more!

Seven games, a LAN event, and a whopping prize pool

This year we are proud to inform you that we will be hosting 6 different games in both A1 Adria League seasons. Four games we will stream throughout the whole season while two of them will be a part of mini tournaments. All year long you will be able to enjoy CS2, EAFC23, EAFC24 Mobile, and Brawl Stars. We don’t want to reveal everything from the start, so stay tuned for the remaining two games! All we will say is that first one is from Riot Games, second one is a legendary fighting game, and the third is a very popular battle royale.

The prize pool for both seasons will be more than 40.000 Euros, and we are starting the league with the first qualifiers of the s13 on June 8th. Leaving you time to practice and prepare, since the competition is fierce each year. And while the 13th season will have a finale online, the ending for the 14th season will be a LAN party as a part of the Reboot event sometime in November!

As far as the format goes, for CS2, we will have six qualified teams and two invited to compete for the top prize. The group stage will be double elimination and the top 4 will move on to playoff.

Football lovers will enjoy EAFC24 and EAFC24 Mobile throughout four qualifiers, group stage, and finals. The group stage will contain four groups of four players. The remaining eight players will advance to the second stage of groups where there will be two groups with four players. From there we will get the best four who will compete in the playoffs.

Last but not least, Brawl Stars will have four qualifiers as well while the group stage is double elimination where the best 16 teams will compete in BO5/BO3 series.

For more information follow our social media accounts on Instagram, X, and Facebook, and watch the league on YouTube. Twitch or Kick.

 

Here are the top eight FIFA Mobile players in the 12th A1AL!

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The last qualifier’s week is behind us. We had the opportunity to enjoy exhilarating matches in the fourth and last FIFA Mobile qualifiers. As CS: GO, now CS2, and FIFA23, now EA Sports FC 24, finished this part of the tournament, the previous week only one qualifier was played. Now we have the top eight players in all three main games and the group stage can commence.

Bosnian players dominated the FIFA Mobile qualifiers

After four exciting qualifiers in FIFA Mobile, we finally have our best eight players who will advance to the SWISS group stage and compete for the top prize. Besides already-known players who qualified, based on their success, we also had one upset in the fourth qualifier. Namely, the winner of the Gaming Weekend, Andrija 06, was defeated by a new player Mbalug, and is now out of the race for the top eight and the league. He will have to try again next season.

Two players made it to the semi-finals in the fourth qualifier and therefore secured the two group stage places. It was Lazar and Destroyer who bested a competition of 114 players and are safe in groups. Destroyer, Kayozz, and Nerko are representing Bosnia in the 12th A1 Adria League season, while two Maceodian players, Ivand and Tocc also made it. Besides them, Suh12 and Shaq are also one of the best eight players this season. Watch them compete in EA Sports FC Mobile this Friday on our YouTube or Twitch channel!

SWISS Group Stage Round 1 Matchups in EA Sports FC Mobile:

MATCH 1: Tomislav “suh12” Peula VS Lazar “Lazar” Maras

MATCH 2: Amar “Kayozz” Hadziabdic VS Benjamin “Destroyer” Saldum

MATCH 3: Ivan “Shaq” Novakovic VS Hristijan “Tocc” Tocev

MATCH 4: Ivan “Ivand” Donevski VS Nermin “Nerko” Zdralovic

Besides FIFA Mobile switching to EA Sports FC Mobile, the other main games in our tournament are making the change as well. Qualified FIFA23 players will compete in EA Sports FC 24 in the group stage, while CS: GO is now Counter-Strike 2.

Follow our social media for more information on the upcoming SWISS group stage news in EA Sports FC Mobile, EA Sports FC 24, and CS2!

aVN: I think we have the advantage because we are a team

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On Sunday, June 11th, Filip “aVN” Belojica will have the opportunity to defend his title as the reigning champion of the 10th season of the A1 Adria League in the grand final of the 11th season, facing off against the formidable team of Jake Bube. These two teams share a deep-rooted rivalry and extensive familiarity.

aVN has an impressive track record, being a four-time winner of the A1 Adria League. He claimed victory in Season 4 with ex-BLUEJAYS, followed by consecutive wins in Season 5 and 6 with Level Up Esports. His most recent triumph came in Season 10 with Zero Tenacity, where he secured the championship. Additionally, aVN has achieved success twice at the Esport Adria Championship, emerging victorious in the 5th and 6th editions.

In this exclusive interview, we delve into aVN’s journey, his experiences, and his insights as he prepares for yet another fierce battle on the A1 Adria League stage.

Z10 Filip aVN Belojica

You’re in the A1 Adria League final once again. Congratulations! How was the journey to the final compared to last season?

Thank you! Unlike last season, where we barely made it through the group stage, this time it was much easier. The only tough match we had in the group stage was against Portugal.

You have won the A1 Adria League four times and are one of the most successful players in the tournament. How do you feel about that, and does it motivate you even more for the fifth trophy?

The feeling is always the same, aiming to win any tournament, especially if it’s a LAN event. The motivation is always there, and I hope to win the fifth trophy as well.

You are facing the team Jaka Buba, composed of players you know well. You have already won the A1 Adria League with some of them, but they also know you well. Who do you think has the advantage because of that, and why?

They are all good players, and we are all good friends. We have played together before, and we know each other very well. But I think we have the advantage because we are a team and therefore have a better map pool, while they come as a mix.

How do you like playing tournaments in Zagreb, especially the A1 Adria League?

As someone who has played many tournaments in Zagreb, I’m really glad to play there again in front of an audience. Of course, I’m particularly happy to play in the A1 Adria League because I have many great memories from your tournaments.

Lastly, the CS:GO era is coming to an end, and it’s likely that we will all be playing CS2 soon. What does that personally mean to you, and what does it mean for Z10?

Honestly, we haven’t tried CS2 yet because we are still playing a lot of tournaments. As far as I’m concerned, every change is welcome. We will continue in the same lineup and hope to achieve even better results in CS2.

Watch aVN and Z10 on Sunday as he tries to win his fifth A1AL trophy against Jake Bube in the grand finals of the Season 11!