Few know the business side of the esports industry better than Mike “Hastr0” Rufail, the CEO and founder of Team Envy, based out of Dallas, Texas. Since entering the scene back in 2007, Envy has had their hands in at least a dozen different titles, including the massively popular Overwatch League as they own the Dallas Fuel.

Being involved in numerous titles at any given time, talent management and scouting is vital to staying competitive and relevant. Fielding the best roster out of the, sometimes millions of players trying to go pro, is an art form in-and-of-itself and Hastr0 being able to keep Team Envy not only alive but thriving in the rapidly-grow industry is a testament to his success.

As more and more young gamers are looking to pursue a professional career each day, Hastr0 opened up about what he looks for in a player, how social media has changed the game and advice for those in the Overwatch tier-2 scene who are looking to take the next step.

Game now, family later

When looking to make it big in the esports industry, many players may feel pressured to make sacrifices to gain an edge over the opposition. Friends, a dating life and, sometimes, family are occasionally the first to be put on the backburner as one tries to dedicate as much time as possible to mastering their title. As games constantly evolve with patch updates, players feel pressured to constantly be playing to learn the ins-and-outs and intricacies to stay on top. Hastr0 has noticed that, from time to time, players aren't willing to make the more radical lifestyle changes, setting them behind in-game.

“Some players have girlfriends, get girlfriends, have families they spend time with or other things in life they care about that they have to spend time on. While that's not a problem, what it does do, is detracts from the amount of time that, maybe somebody else, is putting into the game who is a similar skill level and they learn a little bit more the little nuances within whatever game they're competing in. So, the more time spent typically results in a little more game knowledge and understanding of the game that gives you a leg up.”

It’s those little nuances that, on the big stage, can be the difference between a series victory or being sent home.

The task of dedicating 50+ hours a week to mastering a title may seem appealing at first to a prospective player who has played games the majority of their lives, but Hastr0 has noticed that not everyone is eager to put the time in when they need to.

“One of the things that some of the top players all have in common, I would say, the number one thing is the willingness to devote the majority of their time to playing whatever game they're competing in, to be honest. That's really the raw essence of being successful in esports is to be willing to spend a ton of time training in a game.”

In an industry as demanding as esports, Hastr0 looks for excellence in and out of the game as the dedication to your craft can be the difference between having a job or not.

Social presence

Nearly a decade ago when Hastr0 became involved in the scene, there was no Twitch or Twitter for players to market themselves or showcase their skills to potential organizations. Back-in-the-day, performing well in LAN tournaments was, essentially, the best way for an individual to get noticed and then, if they fit the bill, an organization would hear about a player and begin recruiting them.

In 2018, all someone needs is a profile on Twitter or a Twitch stream and they have access to tens, hundreds or thousands of eyeballs, making the prospect of finding the next great talent much easier, in theory.

“I think social media has certainly changed the way players market themselves. It's funny because social media gives an outlet for promotion that, in many ways, negates performance, right? You can be a player that is very active in social media and creating video content and doing all these great things but then your performance in competitions is pretty lackluster and you could still get by.”

While social media can make evaluating a player’s true talent difficult at times, Hastr0 understands the importance of being active on those platforms, especially the value it can bring to an organization.

“I think having a social media presence is very, very important because the esports team business is very difficult to make money in. So, I think players should have marketability and large followings to make it much easier to sell sponsorships and partnerships.”

How players choose to market themselves on their social platforms is a whole other beast in-and-of itself. 

Hastr0 has noticed that, over time, prospective players who are looking to be partnered with an esports organization rely too much on in-game statistics to market themselves opposed to how they’ve performed against top-tier talent.

“I think a lot of players rely too much on their in-game statistics sometimes to try and market themselves. Some players will quote their statistics from in-game. To be honest, it is a pretty telling sign that player is not completely at the top professional level yet when they do that because top professional players in all the games that we compete in don't really mind their in-game statistics as much. Even though those statistics do matter and we do look at them, it wouldn't be the first thing that I would quote when approaching a team.”

Contending in the Overwatch League

One of the most recent ventures Hastr0 has participated in has been owning the Dallas Fuel Overwatch League team. With a massive up-front cost, viewership numbers consistently in six-digits and numerous orgs looking to jump into the scene, the margin for error is slim as staying competitive and ahead of the field is vital to long-term success.

How does one gain an edge in one of the fastest growing esports scenes in the world? Scouting and acquiring talent from the tier-2 scene called “Contenders” could give an organization a leg-up on young prospects that could make an impact sooner than later.

In a recent Jayne’s Widowmaker 1v1 tournament, winner Connor “Far” Broderick was critical of the current level of scouting that is taking place of tier-2 talent, saying, “A lot of top T2 players can out-mechanic bottom tier-1 players. I feel certain teams didn't scout well enough and hopefully, they improve that going into season 2 as a lot of players deserve OWL spots.”

When asked to comment on that statement, Hastr0 was quick to defend his colleagues.

“I think that's a pretty ignorant comment to make because one: it's almost impossible to find needles in the haystack. The sheer number of players playing Overwatch, in the million, makes it difficult. I guess there are plenty of players out there that may deserve to be in the Overwatch League, but, as it's very difficult to find them, I say that's pretty ignorant, because I don't think that player has gone out themselves to scout tier-2 talent and, when he does, he will find it out that it’s very difficult to sort through all the players in the scene.”

With the industry rapidly expanding, the number of gamers who want to pursue a professional gaming career grows each day. As for where they should start, Hastr0 has some advice.

“Streaming. It's difficult as you need to stream a lot and you may only have a couple people who are starting to watch you in the beginning but stream everything. If you're that good and you end up being that good when you start streaming people will continue to watch because you are that good and they can tell that you deserve to be in the Overwatch League.”