Support Staff In Esports

Support staff in eSports is slowly becoming the norm, with coaches and analysts becoming as sought-after as players. Some pro teams even hire psychologists, brand managers, and lawyers, provided they have the resources. This is a branch of competitive gaming that's becoming more and more viable as a career path by the day.

However, things are different for third-world countries such as the Philippines. Resources can be scarce. Infrastructure may not be as concrete as wanted. Unless you're Mineski or another top-tier team, even just having a coach can be difficult.

Still, local teams manage to get by, mostly hiring volunteers who are willing to take a gamble in their careers. Part of this group of young hopefuls are the coach and analyst of

So to them, taking advice from someone who they deem an inferior player might be seen as a show of weakness. This is a trend common in both competitive gaming and traditional sports. Stories of rookies and coaches fighting are not uncommon to both.

However, Erwin understands where this attitude comes from. After all, everyone was a teenager once.

"They're young and they have different priorities. It's difficult to make them fully commit when they have relationships, friends, and school to deal with. You can't avoid that situation."

Money is also a factor. Being a pro player in the Philippines isn't as lucrative as it is for first-world countries such as America, China, and Korea. This means most players need to balance work and school in order to sustain themselves, as well as to have options in case their eSports careers go awry.

For support staff, this is even more difficult, as players are sometimes the only ones who get regular paychecks. Myke explains that "for most of these jobs, you get paid based on performance. So your team has to do well, if you want to earn something." Though Garena does sponsor some coaches for a couple of PGS teams, if Myke and Erwin rely on their team's wins for them to have something to fill up their

From handling schedules to dealing with paperwork, his job is to remove unnecessary pressure from his players, allowing them to focus solely on the game.

Erwin describes himself as a "hands-on" type of analyst. While watching replays and doing research at home is viable, knowing the players at a personal level is more important to him, and the key to realizing their true potential.

"It's hard to understand player tendencies if you only base it on his match history, replays, and whatever's talked about in meetings. An example is Gertrude (Infuzed Top Laner) and his mastery of Fizz. After seeing it myself and talking to him about it, I created an entire playstyle around it."

The Top Fizz startegy proved successful on their second game versus Acclaim EmpireX during Week 2 of the Pro Gaming Series (PGS) 2016 Summer Split. In fact, Gertrude's pick was soon replicated by other teams.

While creating pocket team compositions and picks is part of his job, Erwin is adamant against the use of cheeses, high-risk surprise tactics that usually only work once. To him, "the worst kinds of wins are the ones that can't be