The Fate of a Pro Player – Part II

On November 14, 2013 by Soner Güngör

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It is not as easy to top or win as it looks, especially with regards to the latter. As a pro player, you are always under pressure, some more than others.


Hello and happy cold and rainy days (I hope the weather is nicer where you are ;)). Today, I will continue to write about the fate of a pro player. In my first article, back in March, I started to define what a pro player is to me and which competencies he/she should have. If you have not read the first part, here is the link ( The Fate of a Pro Player – Part I .)

Everyone knows many professional players in Yu-Gi-Oh! and has his/her favourites. You cheer for them, idolize them, and always want them to succeed. This is a normal phenomenon which you can apparent in all other forms of competition such as soccer, football, or even League of Legends. People believe that if you are able to perform on that of a high level, like the pros do, it is easier in a tournament and easier to win. Essentially, this thinking is correct but people often forgot about the mental pressure, which accompanies that status.

The Pressure

Mental pressure? Yes, as a pro player, there are many casual players looking up to you, either at your locals, bigger events, and everywhere in between. They are watching your actions and games carefully and trying to learn some new moves or secrets. Suddenly, a large crowd builds around your table and 20+ people are watching your game. As a casual player and the opponent of a pro player, this can be nervewrecking too, but you have nothing to lose and a lot to gain.

Vs. Players

Everybody has heard of things like “Wow, Inexperienced Player X won against Pro Y – How is this possible!?!“

How can that happen? Simple Answer: Its Yu-Gi-Oh!

If your opponent has the nuts, then he/she has the nuts. The nuts is indifferent to who your opponent is, whether it’s First-Time Franky Or Twenty-Tops Tony. As you know, a pro player has much more to lose if he/she loses against an inexperienced player. After the match, people will begin the heckling, mockery, and hate by asking you how you could lose against Inexperienced Player X. However, they do not understand that there was no possible way for you to win.

As you can see, the pro player is constantly under pressure. In the context of this game, you are famous. Everybody knows you, everybody is afraid of you, and YOU, YOU are afraid of yourself.

Vs. Judges

There is another factor that adds pressure as well. You see, it is not only the players who have an eye on you – Cue Judges.

As a pro player, you have to be always afraid of judges! That‘s a fact! Competition breeds jealousy and excuses. If you are always constantly in the tops and winning tournaments, then this cannot happen with fair play, right? FALSE! If you look at the record books, you will see a lot of the same players in the tops (not caught) and if you watch their games, at the latest now you know why they always tops. Judges do not care and put you (the pro player) in another position than the casual unknown player. Is this fair? We all are humans and have the same rights! Pro players are also fallible and/or not always current with errata, new cards, and rulings. I have heard of some horror stories with quotes like, “You are a pro player, you have to know this ruling, therefore, you knowingly tried to get extra information – You get a Match Loss!”

WHAT!?! Just out nowhere and there is nothing you can do about it, except study for every event you play at as if you were preparing to write the bar exam.

Also, if one sleeve is inconsistent with others, regardless how random of a card it is – you have more troubles coming your way. I am always checking my sleeves every two rounds at a big events and people think I am paranoid. This is my answer for those people, “I grew up with the game and have played for 10+ years now. I enjoy the game, I love the game, and I do not want to get penalized for things I did not do intentionally.” So you are constantly under pressure and feeling of afraid to get penalties. This is not fair, in my opinion.


I hope you can gain a little insight of the fate of a pro player. It is not as easy to top or win as it looks, especially with regards to the latter. As a pro player, you are always under pressure, some more than others. This is the price of “fame” and is not something to be underestimated.

Pro-Player Formula

So what‘s the result of Part 1 & Part 2 of my article? The Ultimate Formula* of a true pro player! In my opinion, it goes like this:

WIN = [Ability to Change Playstyle] + [Risk management] + [Handling Pressure] 

Thank you for reading and don‘t forget…




*besides the luck factor and playing well and memorizing mostly all cards and rulings.


Soner Güngör is a business student in Finance from Germany. Soner is a founding member of United Gosus, and has served as a member of the Player roster since August 2006. To learn more about Soner, please visit his MEMBER PROFILE .