“Why can’t I be hired?” Heccu’s story reminds us that esports does not offer stable career paths

Last week, the narrator of Counter-Strike Anastasija “Heccu” Tolmačeva shared a heartfelt video that deeply touched sports professionals across our industry.

In his video, Heccu talked about his struggle to find freelance opportunities in the CS tournament scene and how this took a toll on him emotionally and financially. What followed was a wave of support from the CS community, and several stories from esports professionals reporting similar experiences in their careers.

Heccu’s video was very impressive because it expressed many of the challenges that sports professionals face in the current environmental system. Job insecurity, a competitive market, and unpaid workers… How real is a stable sports career these days?

When I first started in esports, I thought that getting an esports degree would be the best way to go about it. Now, let’s get into the quality and importance of esports degrees. I only say that because a classmate brought up the term “love tax” back then, and it has stuck with me ever since.

What did he mean by “love tax,” especially in relation to sports performance? Our industry is very much built on love. That is what inspired sports fans to hold the first ever tournaments and fight for better infrastructure and professionalism in the establishment of our industry. And still to this day, passion is a critical requirement in many esports roles. It inspires professionals to hone their craft, and it makes our product – tournaments, teams, and news stories – more exciting in the eyes of the esports audience.

At the same time, esports professionals often make other work commitments due to their interest in their field. This includes watching eligible tournaments eight or more hours a day in different time zones, or attending local events at one’s own expense.

This level of commitment has, to some extent, become an unwritten expectation, for example, in volunteer work. Entry-level unpaid opportunities are often the starting point for many esports careers. A large proportion of Tier 3 and Tier 2 projects still rely on unpaid or low-wage workers, making well-compensated roles rare.

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but love doesn’t pay the rent. On the contrary – choosing to do 100% in esports is often a choice against stable sources of income, because balancing esports work and traditional work may not be possible for other job profiles in the scene. In addition, a love tax would make any criticism of the infrastructure of esports activities sound like an entitled complaint.

After all, it’s a privilege to work a fulfilling career in a field you love.

“It is very interesting that in the 10 years I have been working, there has been no change in this culture of self-sacrifice,” commented the FGC personality. KhalilTheSeer in X’s latest post (which was on Twitter). “Honestly, I feel like it’s getting worse. Compensating people for their time/effort doesn’t take away the love.”

And many of us choose to move in or stay in the area, knowing full well the financial insecurity and mental strain that comes with it. In his video, Heccu describes this possibly irrational loyalty to his field, despite insufficient compensation, as “a one-sided love for the CS scene.”

However, he reiterated: “No one promised me anything, and no one forced me to enter this obligation. It was my choice, and I chose to enter the workplace, okay?

So what if you pay the love tax in full? However, Heccu is a negotiator with many years of experience in the CS environment, a Tier 1 operational record in the air, bilingual communication skills, and good relationships with his peers.

However, he struggles to get hired at CS events, until he lives off his savings instead of esports income.

It paints a scary picture and raises the question of why someone with his skills would not be hired. In both his video and a guest appearance on the CS podcast, Feed The Trolls, Heccu discussed how this question has consumed his mental well-being. On-air talent, like Heccu, may check all the boxes, and still be inadequate in a job market as competitive as sports.

“What I’ve seen in the last five years doing talent work is that hard work doesn’t pay off, and love is ignored or important. Heccu is probably the best example of this, as he has done nothing but GRIND, and his love is contagious,” commented CS on the talent. Freddie “GrimyRannarr” Pritchard.

“And as he says, as a talent agent, you never have an idea why you weren’t hired at the event, or why you were recognized at the event. The real answer is very hard to find, and it makes everything 10 times harder if you don’t know what you’re doing right or wrong.”

Lack of transparency doesn’t just make talent development a challenge. It also fuels uncertainty in an already competitive environment. “Why can’t I be hired by this person? Why am I not so successful?” These are thought patterns that easily enter against a person’s will.

“I think it’s worse for women,” highlighted the CS manager Sam “Tech Girl” Wright on Feed The Troll. “HLTV almost every time, like once every three months, has someone start a forum about rating women in sports and who would like to make it to the top. And, whatever, it’s what you want to do. But I’ve never seen them do the same list about guys.”

While things like charisma and personality can be useful for esports talent, some roles simply have a much smaller pool of job opportunities than others. For example, dedicated negotiators are rarely employed for events under Category 1 due to budgetary reasons. Why do you need an extra person when your host or analyst can do the same job?

In recent years, this merging of roles has become more common even within Division 1, as tournament organizers reduce production amid budget cuts and business pivots. In some cases, we’ve seen popular esports content creators prioritized over long-term special talent alongside a general shift in audience preferences, namely the growing popularity of streaming. As our industry ages, dynamic, versatile talent is in greater demand than specialized roles.

Personality in the air Eefje “Sjokz” Depoorterefor example, it has long been open about the importance of building a personal brand and establishing potential sources of income outside of sports in the event that his role is no longer active in the future.

“It’s definitely one of the reasons why I work hard as a freelancer in everything I can do,” explained Sjokz on his personal TikTok. “And options outside of sports in terms of the TV work I’ve done and the consulting work and the product work I’m doing, especially. Because the future is not promised.”

Given the current and future career challenges that esports offers, how can established and up-and-coming talent find some level of stability?

“Work on multiple topics or focus on one and do full-time content and acting (if Phase 1). Have a day job or side job that you can do in your spare time and not have to rely on 30+ contracts to pay your bills,” advises caster. Nick “Vodible” Ambrozic in X.

Heccu himself is now delving into more esports topics after seven years of exclusive CS work. But not all options written by Vodible work for everyone. For example, working independently requires a high degree of flexibility in planning and travel, which is not compatible with many traditional jobs. Similarly, co-broadcasting can only cover your bills if you reach a certain audience size or get deals with brands and esports organizations. Otherwise, content creation serves as a tool for product building and skill development.

“The money I get now from the three months I did this year for parties will not cover my trip to Cluj-Napoca. [CS tournament],” revealed Heccu in his video.

Interestingly, Tech Girl brought up the idea in Feed The Troll that co-broadcasting could open up new ways to use esports talent, despite its reputation as a direct competitor to broadcast talent. According to the CS host, co-streams can hire on-site interviewers or set up special analyst desks in addition to official streams.

However, such methods will need to be discussed with tournament organizers and broadcasters to settle broadcast rights.