A couple of months ago, a WSJ article titled “Ready, Aim, Hire a ‘Fortnite’ Coach: Parents Enlist Videogame Tutors for Their Children” went viral across the internet. To many, outside the sphere of esports and video games in general, it did seem like a very crackpot concept. But to people aware of the unprecedented growth of esports, this was foreseen. Coaching in gaming is not really a new behaviour. This sort of service has been around in a rather fragmented fashion as early as the existence of competitive gaming. Today with the increasing number of gamers, flourishing gaming ecosystems and the huge amount of tournament winnings up for grabs, coaching services for gaming are becoming more relevant.
What about free contents?
Why go for coaching when there’s a tonne of Youtube video lessons, Twitch live streams and posts on Reddit and Liquipedia? Indeed, there’s a huge repository of free educational resources out there, but in a very scattered and unorganized fashion. Youtube guides and lessons are predominantly targeted for people just starting out the game. The number and effectiveness of such guide videos keep decreasing in the higher skill bracket. Often times, guides are not renewed after the release of new patch updates.
When you win 10 matches and then lose 10 matches right after
Watching the live streams of your favourite pro player is something very common amongst the enthusiasts. On top of the entertainment value, people primarily watch live streams to learn. But most often than not the streamer would just crack a joke or two, chat with fellow gamers in his party or worse still, they just stay put while playing the game. It’s rare to find streamers explaining their in game decisions, thus leaving it upto the viewers to figure out all the subtle plays they made during the game.
Great entertainment value, but the not most efficient of learning resources