It has taken years of dedication involving hours of hard work for Marc Marley to become one of the world’s best Fifa gamers.
Marc, 21, was the UK’s top Fifa 21 player with a European ranking of 14th.
He has been Scotland’s top Fifa gamer in 2019, 2020 and 2021 and is only the third person to qualify for the ePremier League grand finals three years in a row.
But this has only been achieved through years of sacrifice.
Marc lives with his mum in North Lanarkshire and operates solely out of his bedroom.
The Celtic fan, who left college when he was 17 to become a full-time gamer, has missed out on many of the social gatherings enjoyed by his peers.
“In my job you get to work your own hours from home and you’re playing games, which is something so many people would want to be doing,” Marc says.
“It can be a dream job but people don’t realise what happens behind the scenes.
“There’s a lot more that goes into it than people think.
“They don’t know how much effort it takes to play at this level.
“It can be hard if you are not socialising.
“I am in my bedroom a lot and you don’t get much mental health support – you have to do it yourself.”
The hard work has now begun to pay off financially – in September he signed a deal with Ellevens Esports, owned by Real Madrid winger Gareth Bale.
Here Marc outlines the daily routine that has helped him become a top gamer.
9am – Alarm calls
I have alarms that go off at 9am and 10am and I get up any time in between – sometimes going back to sleep after the first alarm.
I try to have a good diet and not eat loads of rubbish. I have Weetabix in the morning and drink a lot of water. I have a four-litre bottle and try to drink that throughout the day.
To be a gamer you don’t have to be physically fit but I try to eat healthily.
11am – Relaxing start
I try to go for a walk and then, when I get home, go on my PC and either put on YouTube or Netflix.
I like to chill for an hour or two before starting work.
2pm – Livestream marathon
I always livestream myself playing Fifa against other professional players on Twitch.
Anyone can watch it and people usually come in and talk about football while watching me play.
I have built up a good community of more than 4,600 followers from people coming to my Twitch account.
People also talk about the game on The Fifa Discord page. Discord is a social media network like Facebook that is popular for people into gaming.
The livestreaming lasts for up to four hours each day, and gives me plenty of time to practice against the top players.
6pm – Refuel
I take a break to have dinner.
7.30pm – Private gaming
Esports: How to be a full-time gamer by Scot Marc Marley – UK’s No 1 on Fifa 21
Often I go back on the computer for another hour or two of practice.
I will again play against the top professionals on Twitch, but not on a livestream. You get in a particular division and play against whoever is on.
Playing two versus two is going to become more important in Fifa this year so I sometimes work on that with Jayden Groden, my new teammate at Ellevens Esports.
I don’t always practice at nights though. If there is a football game on I may well watch that.
10.30pm – Winding down
I usually wind down by watching some Netflix before going to bed at midnight.
Weekends – Recharge
If I don’t have any competitions I take weekends off and watch Celtic if they are at home. I have been a season ticket holder for the past 12 years.
Game on: Dundee will play host to Scottish esports grand finals