Ryan “State” Visbeck is the newest member of Root Gaming. It’s a job he actually got through conversations at one of the Red Bull Training Grounds events. The American StarCraft II Protoss player, who’s sponsored by Game Front, recently came in fourth at LANHAMMER 2013 and second place in ShoutCraft America.
How did you get involved in eSports?
I began playing StarCraft II when it released in 2010, and I played WarCraft and Dota 1. I’ve been a big fan of Blizzard games and had a lot of fun playing StarCraft II – and happened to get good at it. Eventually I was offered an invite by an upcoming team and I joined – and just never looked back.
What does it take to be a pro gamer today?
You have to invest a lot of time into practice; and also studying the game – watching streams, watching tournaments, analyzing strategies, that sort of thing. And it usually tends to be something that favors people that already have a lot of gaming experience. My friends and I were just always playing games, that’s what we did. So it was a very easy transition for me to go from being a regular gamer to being a pro gamer. It just took a lot more effort than it did to play casually. So – I guess, training and practice are the two most important things. But you’ve got to stay really dedicated to make it work.
What have you sacrificed to get to where you are today?
I’ve been alternating between going to school full-time and doing Star Craft II – going part-time, doing StarCraft II. For me, I justify to myself trying to split focus between school and StarCraft II because StarCraft II gives me a lot of fun life experiences. I really enjoy traveling around and I enjoy playing the game and competing. I’ve taken a little time off school to have a lot of fun experiences. Besides that, there haven’t been many sacrifices. I’m really happy I decided to make this choice.
What advice would you give to aspiring pro gamers who think they’re good at StarCraft II?
A lot of people try, but it requires a lot of luck, and also, a lot of practice to make it work. So before you actually go fulltime and try to go pro, make sure you have back-up plans. Stay in school, that sort of thing. But if you really think you have a shot, and feel you have a lot of potential, and you want to do it, I go for it. Try your best. I would say if you want to do it , go all the way. See if it works for you.
It’s really stressful if you’re trying to make ends meet in pro gaming… It’s a challenging career choice.
What’s the biggest misconception about pro gamers?
Most people think it’s very easy. Every person I’ve explained it to, is like “oh you play video games for a living? That’s so much fun. I wish I could do that.” It’s a lot of hard work and it’s really stressful if you’re trying to make ends meet in pro gaming. It’s an emerging industry, so it’s really difficult for most people that are trying to be pro gamers to make it work. It’s a challenging career choice.
What’s your life as a pro gamer like?
A lot of time spent practicing. Not surprising, in my free time I play games with my friends. And I tend to not go out very much. My friends and I mostly play games, watch a few shows on Netflix. The travelling is fun. That’s probably my favorite part, traveling and meeting new people.
What’s the secret to your success in StarCraft II?
I’ve always played games with my friends. When I first played StarCraft II, I had never really played an RTS game competitively before, but it just came very naturally to me. I had played games like Command & Conquer with my friends all the time, at LAN parties at my house or their houses, so it was an easy transition for me. I have a lot of experience playing games. When I thought that I had a chance to go pro in StarCraft II, I did my best to make it happen.
What are your thoughts on the fan feuds that seem to occur out there between League of Legends and StarCraft II?
Gaming’s target demographic is male teenagers, age 13-18, so obviously it’s going to be kind of competitive. It makes sense to me that people are like – “my game’s better than your game!” But to me, I play StarCraft II, but I also enjoy playing Dota 2, and watching Dota 2 and League of Legends. I think as the community matures, we’ll get over a lot of that.
Where do you see eSports five years from now?
Even just in the past three or four years, with the rise of StarCraft II, League of Legends and now Dota 2, it’s been booming. More and more people are playing games, it’s getting a much wider audience. In terms of eSports, I see it growing as fast as gaming is growing in the future. I’m really excited to see where it goes, even if I stop pursuing a career as a professional gamer in the future, I’m always going to want to be part of this community because it’s a lot of fun and I think it has a lot of potential.
What do you think of the role Red Bull plays today in eSports?
Red Bull Training Grounds, Red Bull Battlegrounds, Red Bull LAN — Red Bull has always had really fun events. I’m excited to see that Red bull is doing more events with StarCraft II. They’re already involved with Team StarTale and that’s been going incredibly well, and now that they’re doing more events like Training Grounds. It’s really exciting. And since its Red Bull, of course, they execute everything very, very well. I’m excited to have them have a growing presence in StarCraft II and eSports. Already by far, Red Bull Training Grounds has been the best event as far as player treatment. We have a good schedule, we have everything we need. You don’t have to worry about anything. Everyone is just fantastic.
Published: Sep 6, 2013 11:04 pm