In many ways professional gamers lead very similar lives to professional athletes. They have rigid training routines, they compete and they always strive to be the best.
However, most world-class professional athletes don’t usually live in the same house as their teammates. But in esports, most of the players will often live together in a ‘gaming house’.
Some of the world’s biggest esports organisations such as FaZe Clan, Cloud9, Team Liquid and more boast lavish mansions across the globe that are tailored for their players.
Now, French team Ares Esports have decided to temporarily set up shop in Putney for the Gfinity Elite Series.
Javier ‘Janoz’ Munoz, a FIFA 18 player for Ares Esports, moved all the way from Columbia to London for the chance to compete in this year’s Elite Series.
It is Janoz’ first time living in a gaming house and despite having to share a room with several other players in a strange new city, he is happy with the arrangement.
He said: “Living with other gamers is a completely new experience to me but it is very good so far and I am enjoying it a lot. The environment is very good to practice and to play in.
“Our routine is pretty simple. Gamers go to sleep very late, I don’t know why but we like to play at night so we go to sleep around 4am and wake up around 12 in the afternoon.
“I’d have brunch when I wake up and depending on what tournaments there are online we would train or just practice with teammates.”
Javier ‘Janoz’ Munoz moved from Columbia to pursue his esports career
The players at Ares have a very strict training regime and can train up to 10 hours a day.
The Ares gaming house consists of four bedrooms, with three or four players sharing each room as well as a specialised training space set up with consoles and monitors.
Living in a gaming house is often seen as a massive advantage for teams because the players are able to scrimmage and improve together which is vital when it comes to competitions.
The lack of privacy can pose as an issue but with the Gfinity Elite Series only being a month-long competition, the cost of winning seems very minor.
Michael ‘Nightcross’ Vander Biest, who is from Belgium, plays Street Fighter V for Ares and is also living in the gaming house.
The 29-year-old said: “Being in a house just for gamers is very unusual but I really like it. It is a good opportunity to live and play with really good players, to just share knowledge with them.
“There is also a very good atmosphere here, we were friends before and we get along very well with each other.”
Ares are currently second in the franchise standings, ahead of esports veterans Fnatic and Vitality, so they must be doing something right.
