Fortnite quickly became one of the most popular games after its release. Everyone from kids to adults love the game, and what’s more is many have actually made a living playing it. But how can you become a pro Fortnite player and turn your hobby into a career?
How To Become A Pro Fortnite Player?
Here are ten things you must do if you want to go pro in Fortnite:
Work On Your Aim
Aiming and shooting people is the foundation of games like Fortnite. Therefore, your aim should be top-notch if you want to go pro. Even the Pro players with awful aim are going to be better than 99% of players.
Dedicate time daily to training your aim until it’s second nature.
Many pros also use aim trainers such as Aim Lab and KovaaK’s to help improve their aim. These programs provide games and drills designed specifically to help make you a more accurate shooter.
Although I myself am not a pro, I have used both of these programs and I can tell you that they did help me improve my aim significantly.
And even better they can be used by both controller and mouse & keyboard players.
Work On Your Building
If you want to play in the pro-level Fortnite tournaments you’re going to need to be able to build. You’ll need to be able to build fast and have all of your builds memorized and in your muscle memory.
You shouldn’t even need to think about the situation, your body should just react by building what is needed.
Now Fortnite does have a no-build mode, but there are currently no official, professional level tournaments for Fortnite no-build.
This may change in the future, but for now, if you want to go pro in Fortnite, you are going to have to hop in creative and practice your builds.
Increase Your Game Knowledge
Battle Royale games like Fortnite are extremely dynamic. You have to have enough game knowledge and experience to know what to do in every situation you find yourself in.
Should third-party a battle? Where will the next circle be? Do you have the high ground? These types of games are very complex.
For this reason it’s crucial to have good game knowledge and awareness. To obtain this you must play the game, watch streams, and learn everything you can about weapons, maps, positioning, etc.
Study Pros
The good news is we don’t have to reinvent the wheel here. There are Fortnite pros out there playing the game on Twitch everyday.
Don’t just watch them for fun, study them. Ask yourself (and them) why they do what they do and learn from their decisions.
And if you are looking for pros to follow then check out Bugha. He is one of the best Fortnite players today and has won several major championships.
Clix is another good Fortnite pro to follow and learn from.
Dedicated Practice
Dedicated practice means picking a very specific aspect of your game (aiming, movement, awareness, etc) and focusing 90% of your effort into improving that skill.
It’s similar to running drills for a sport.
This is how many pros get extremely good at their games. They focus on one thing at a time until it is second nature, then they move onto improving another aspect of their game.
So in Fortnite maybe you spend 30 minutes each day practicing builds, 30 minutes practicing your aim, and 30 minutes practicing your movement. This is what dedicated practice/drills would look like.
Upgrade Your Setup
If you want to game like a pro, you should have a decent setup. Your setup could be holding you back. If you game on PC, you should have a nice gaming mouse, keyboard, and a high refresh rate monitor.
If you game on console, your controller should be of good quality, and you should have a space setup where you can focus completely on your games.
If you want ideas for good gaming gear, then check out Nick Eh 30’s setup in this article here.
You may not be able to afford everything he has, but it should give you an idea as to what kind of equipment is effective.
Razer also has some quality gaming gear for those who are into competitive gaming.
Hire A Coach
Esport coaches are actually well worth the money if you can find a good one. Coaches can look at your gameplay directly and give you personal advice that you’ll never get just from watching a Youtube video.
You can also record and watch your gameplay yourself, although having a better player analyze your gameplay will yield great results.
I’ve actually hired a coach for League of Legends and saw dramatic improvements in my gameplay. You just have to make sure you listen to what they say and take their advice to heart.
You can find coaches on social or media, but I prefer hiring them through Fiverr so that way you can see their reviews.
You can see a list of Fortnite coaches on Fiverr here.
Rank Up
Once you have the skills, you gotta pay the bills. You can be the best player in North America but if you don’t prove it, no one will look at you.
Spend time playing competitive and ranking up your account so that you can show coaches and teams that you actually have the skills they want.
You should really be aiming for Champion League if you want to get noticed and find a place on a team.
There are tons of content creators who destroy pub lobbies, but then get wrecked in ranked because of how much more competitive it is.
If you want to go pro, you can’t just be a pub stomper. You have to prove that you can hang with the best of the best.
Play In Tournaments
Tournaments are another great way to get your name out there and show off your skills.
Find Discord servers, online tournaments, streamer hosted tournaments, and even small local tournaments where you can prove yourself and gain some experience.
I have seen several gaming pros and content creators catapult their careers by pooping off in tournaments hosted by major streamers.
Playing in a tournament is completely different than playing on your couch, so try to get as comfortable with them as you can.
Trust me, being a little nervous while you game is a totally different experience and something that you will have to get used to if you want to climb to the top.
Network
Finally, once you have the skills, have the rank, and have proven yourself in tournaments, start talking to people.
Reach out to coaches, ask them what their recruiting process looks like. Talk to pro players and ask how they were recruited.
Just try to find some connections to the scene. Send emails, drop by Twitch channels, attend local events, etc.
You can have all the talent in the world, but it doesn’t matter unless you get recognized.
Now that you know things you need to do to go pro, let’s talk about some other common questions for those looking to go pro in Fortnite.
What Is Considered A Pro In Fortnite?
A pro Fortnite player is someone that makes their living playing Fortnite, either through a contract with an organization, through streaming, or through prize money from tournaments (or a mixture of all three). Most do not consider someone a professional player unless they are competing at a very high level.
If someone pays all of their bills by playing Fortnite, they are a pro Fortnite player.
However, some people may not consider a casual streamer that lives off of donations a professional player unless they also compete in Fortnite tournaments and events.
Either way, to be considered a pro, someone should make consistent money and enough of it to live off of; somewhere between $20,000 – $30,000 a year at least.
Being signed to an ORG also makes someone a professional player, as they are being paid under a contract to play Fortnite.
There is such thing as semi-pro, which is someone that makes money but doesn’t play the game full-time.
There are also amateur players that have won a tournament or two, but do not make much consistent money.
How Long Does It Take To Become A Pro In Fortnite?
It will typically take someone a year of dedicated practice and play to go pro in Fortnite; however, the exact time it takes for a person to go pro in Fortnite will vary depending on a players natural ability, gaming background, age, and time playing the game.
For those who have never played a shooter game, it may take them much longer than a year to go pro as they will be starting from nothing.
On the other hand, If you’re coming from other FPS games like CS:GO or Call of Duty, then it may not take you as long to go pro in Fortnite.
This is because you’ve likely already picked up some kind of aiming and movement skills. However, you still need to learn to build, learn awareness, and learn the maps and items in the game.
On top of this, unless your aim is already in the top 1% of players, you’ll need to practice it some more. This is why it takes months, if not years of dedicated practice to perfect every aspect of your game and go pro.
Regardless of your background, you would really have to dedicate yourself day in and day out if you wish to go pro in Fortnite.
How Much Do Pro Fortnite Players Make?
Professional Fortnite players make an average of $20,000 – $40,000 per year. Some players make much more than this if they have a huge following, are signed to a very lucrative organization, or win a lot of tournaments. In these cases, players can make well over $200,000 in a single year.
Not every player will sign multi-million dollar contracts with FaZe, but they can still make a decent living by playing Fortnite.
A salary of $40,000 is much more realistic for aspiring pros, especially if they do not get extra income from streaming and creating content.
Many professionals will have bonuses in their contract as well, that guarantees bonus pay for hitting milestones on platforms like Twitch and Youtube.
Pro players can also win money at tournaments, in which case their salary is practically uncapped as long as they are good enough.
However, it is much more consistent and common to just sign with an Org, take the salary, and let the org take most, if not all, of the tournament winnings.
How Many Hours A Day Do Pro Fortnite Players Play?
Pro Fortnite players play well over 6 hours a day, and can even reach the 12 hour mark on occasion. Professional players play Fortnite as a job, and therefore spend hours practicing and perfecting their craft.
The extra hours are spent streaming, keeping their mechanics fresh, or just having some fun.
Professional players are pro because they actually enjoy Fortnite. However, at a certain point the game becomes a job if you’re not careful.
Most professional players need to practice and expend mental energy trying to get better. However, most people can’t do this a full 6 – 12 hours a day.
For this reason most pros will dedicate a couple hours to practice, and spend the rest playing. Although they still play competitively in order to keep their skills sharp and to improve.
Can You Become A Fortnite Pro On Console?
You can become a Professional Fortnite player on Console. You will still need to put in the time and effort to getting extremely good at the game. You’ll have to reach the highest ranks, and then you can start looking for console tournaments to play in and talking to teams that sign console players.
The steps to going pro on the console are the exact same as going pro on PC. You have to get really good (or be really entertaining) and then you have to make a name for yourself in tournaments or on the leaderboard.
If you want to go the streaming route, most viewers won’t really care whether you’re on PC or console because your skills will transfer just as well.
Is Being A Fortnite Pro Worth It?
Being a pro Fortnite player is worth it. If you go pro in Fortnite, you can make a living and then leverage the opportunity to something more consistent. Pro Fortnite players have the opportunity to make money from organizations, streaming, sponsorships, etc. and can continue making money after retirement.
Becoming a pro takes a lot of time, but it can be extremely lucrative if you play your cards right. If you just get signed to an org for $20,000/yr, you may put in more time and energy than the money is worth.
However, if you take that contract, build a brand, community, and network, you can end up making far more money that will make your efforts more than worth it.
If you want to know whether gaming is a good career then check out my article here. Also, if you want to know what it takes to go pro in games like CSGO or Apex Legends then check out the links provided.
If you have any questions, or just want to hang with me, follow me on Twitch here. Also, for streaming tips and how to’s make sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel here.
Eric streams 3 days a week on Twitch and uploads weekly to Youtube under the moniker, StreamersPlaybook. He loves gaming, PCs, and anything else related to tech. He’s the founder of the website StreamersPlaybook and loves helping people answer their streaming, gaming, and PC questions.