Being an esports pro might still be an alien concept to some. What does the day-to-day life of a professional ‘gamer’ actually look like? Do they just play from dusk till dawn? Miguel Mestre, part of the FCB team who compete on the football video game eFootball PES 2020, has given us an insight and summarised his day-to-day life at his home in Valencia – although even his routine has changed due to the coronavirus.
8:00 The alarm sounds and a new day begins. First I shower, which helps me to wake up and get a clear picture of the day.
8:40 Breakfast time. Now it’s about gathering energy for the whole day, so I try to have a nutritious breakfast. Normally I make myself cereal and bit of bread with marmalade. Now and then I also press orange juice. We have fantastic oranges here in Valencia and the surrounding area. For special occasions, there’s sometimes eggs and bacon. During breakfast I can also check my social media pages to see what’s going on there. Sometimes I get questions on my streams or people ask for PES tips, which I enjoy. I’d describe myself as a big fan of social media.
9:20 University is the main focus of the morning. For the next two hours, I’m learning for my English studies. As well as the usual speaking and grammar exercises, there’s currently also 19th century English literature on the timetable, which obviously isn’t easy.
11:20 Time for a break. I try to take my mind off university somehow for 20 minutes. I check my phone, grab a snack and fill up my FCB drinks bottle, which I always have on me.
11:40 On we go studying… It’s very important that I stick closely to my study plan and timetable. In the afternoon, it’s finally time for esports. If I don’t finish studying, my grades suffer.
Mestre likes to cook regional specialities.
13:30 Finally! Done learning for the day, and now I need a boost. I always try to cook healthy, varied things. I’m from Valencia, so of course paella is my favourite food. I only have that at my parents’ house or sometimes in restaurants, though. Today I’m making crepes with shrimps in an onion sauce.
15:00 This is when I normally start my training on the console. That can obviously vary depending on the day and the situation. At the moment you can also watch me doing it as I stream online between 15:30 and 17:00. Normally we train as a team, but because of the break in the league that’s been put on hold somewhat, so now I’m using the time to stream. I play online matches against random opponents, and sometimes other streamers challenge me or I challenge them.
Mestre’s place of work is the console and his FCB drinks bottle is always by his side.
17:00 When the eFootball.pro League is on, I don’t stream. As I said, we train more with the team. At the moment it’s not always easy to find opponents for friendlies as lots of teams have stopped training. But we want to be ready when the league does resume, so we’re still training daily with each other in co-op mode. When there’s a competition coming up, we’ll obviously do everything more intensively again.
19:00 As I’m part of the Spanish PES national team and we’re playing in the eEuro finals next week (online), I’m dedicating at least one hour a day especially to preparations for this. I’m mostly looking for opponents who are also taking part in the eEuro, or I often play against my Bayern teammates José and Alex.
Mestre is also trying to keep fit at home at the moment.
20:00 I play sport for the next hour – and not the virtual kind. I switch between different kinds of exercise. Sometimes I go jogging, sometimes it’s strength training, which has to be done from home at the moment. It’s just good to burn off energy. I really notice how this hour of exercise helps to clear my mind.
21:30 Exercise over and another shower to freshen up! During the workout I’ve normally thought about what I’m having for dinner already, again so that I can make the best choice for each day. As you’ve probably noticed, I just love eating. It might not look like it because I’m thin for an esports player, but I eat a lot. But that’s exactly why I think a lot about my meals. I don’t follow a particular diet but I just make sure I have a good balance. Today I’ve gone for a regional speciality: snails in tomato sauce.
22:30 After I’ve finished eating and done the washing-up, I have a bit of time to myself. If there’s an important competition coming up, I’ll train again now. Otherwise, I relax and watch a film, for example. Yesterday there was a Spanish film on, The Battle, today I’ll probably watch more of Money Heist. Prison Break is next on the list.
00:30 Another quick check of social media, then it’s finally time for bed 😴 Hopefully I’ll dream of becoming eFootball champions with FC Bayern! 😍
FC Bayern’s esportsmen aren’t alone in their training. They’re the only team in the eFootball.pro League to have their own coach. Find out more about him and what he does in our profile of Matthias Luttenberger.