A lot of people think that playing video games professionally can be fancily considered as a job. However, in reality, the truth is quite far from it. Playing video games in a professional manner is such a difficult and time-consuming job that pro gamers actually run into a lot of problems regularly, especially facing burnout.
The latest professional gamer who is currently suffering from such issues is Gonzalo “Zero” Barrios. He is a reigning Smash Bros. champion and a major player in the eSports scene. After the release of the Wii U version of the Smash Bros 4, a lot of tournaments started to emerge around it.
Zero has maintained an advanced position against all forms of competition that has come his way. He managed to dominate in every Super Smash Bros 4 tournament so far and things went so far that one tournament organizer even placed a bounty on his head.
Even when Smash tournament rules were bent so that players could start using custom moves, he remained undefeated. Zero maintains a high level of competition against a lot of aspiring challengers in this game but his position at the top hasn’t come easy and lately it has started taking its toll on him.
For Barrios, the job has reached such a demanding level that he had to announce that he will no longer participate in the upcoming Smash Tournament Paragon. It is scheduled to begin tomorrow in Los Angeles. Zero explained to his disappointed fans that the long hours of practice every day for almost a year, has completely drained him.
He declared that after thinking on this subject for a long time, he decided that he is not going to be a part of Paragon 2015. According to him, following Evo, he felt a tremendous burnout in the game. He tries to push himself hard and harder and this has taken a major toll on him.
Right now, it is really hard for him to sit down and practice as he has been doing that for a lot of hours every day for most of his last year. He declared that a major part of his time is spent working on his YouTube channel followed by the other aspects of his life. In the remaining time, he focuses on his practice.
However, lately he hasn’t been able to do that and as a result, he doesn’t feel mentally prepared to compete in such a tournament at the moment. He further revealed that he hasn’t been practicing or sleeping properly and in general, he is unwell. I’m too stressed, burned out and tired from everything. I need a break, and that’d help me get back on my Smash ways”.
He decided to take a 3 week break in order to clear his mind, enjoy his life and focus on stuff that makes him happy and relax. He simply wishes to have a good time. However, he declared that he would back for Big House 5 and he plans to be stronger than ever. He talked to his manager and TO of Paragon and both of them were quite understanding about it.
In the end, he apologized to his fans for not appearing in Paragon and stressed the fact that his health comes first. For the fans that are worrying at the moment, keep in mind that this doesn’t mean that he has stopped playing. He has simply skipped a single tournament and that’s it. He will be back soon and all you have to do is be patient.