Marc Marley – Professional EA FC Player
Marc Marley has captained Scotland, won several honours and is one of the game’s best players. You may not recognise the name despite his success. Marc is a professional Esports player and one the Uk’s best EA FC players.
Esports
A short explainer for those that are not aware. Esports (or Electronic sports) is a term used to describe competitive video gaming. EA FC, formerly known as FIFA, is a popular football-themed video game. Esports have grown massively in scale in recent years. The prize pot for some of the top tournaments has exceed $30million. It is a full-time job for Marc who explains how a video game has become his job.
“It is a full-time job. You are always trying to get better and practising. It isn’t just the game either, you need to make content outside of that. It can be challenging having to play the game and be entertaining for people who are watching. A lot of people still don’t know about it although it is getting more attention in the last few years. We’re probably a few years behind other countries in the UK.
The Netherlands and Germany for example, show competitions on live television every week with thousands of people watching it. They will also have a crowd watching in arenas. This has been my full-time job since I was 19. I have had good results which has meant I’ve managed to make it sustainable.”
Growing up
Marley grew up playing Playstation with his older brother as many youngsters do. FIFA was his game of choice but it wasn’t until he was 17 that he realised it was a potential occupation.
“I think I was seventeen at the time and the tournaments within FIFA became more achievable to enter. I didn’t know a lot about it but I had always been really good at the game. One of the World Cup’s was covered on Sky Sports and I saw it on there. It was someone I had played and beaten before that was playing and I recognised him.
I went and did a bit of research into it and I started doing it properly from about the age of nineteen. The competitions were something that I knew went on bit I had no idea how to go about entering them. It was always advertised within the game so guess that is how I first knew about it.”
Arduous and complicated
The qualifying process for these competitions is as arduous and complicated as the actual World Cup qualifiers with players coming from all over the planet.
“It works on what they call a ladder system. You play games against each other over a week and you need to be within the top 256 players within your region. You then move onto another tournament in which you have got to finish in the top twelve out of the 256. Every tournament is different though. In the ePremier League for example, all 20 teams run their own qualifying. You have to choose a club that you want to qualify for.
The qualifying regions are set up as Europe West and Europe East. Then you have North and South America, the Middle East etc. The most recent competition I was in had around 5000 people sign up for it. So, your top 256 players is not a big portion of 5000. It is quite an intense week and the competition is only open between 6 and 10pm, which can make it difficult for players who have to work.”
Huge sums of money
When there are huge sums of money to play for and player’s needing to do well to pay their bills, it is a serious business. The dedication and time required is no different than that of a professional footballer. That even extends to coaching.
“My schedule is usually practising from midday to about four or five o’clock. I take a break for a few hours then I will be back playing again from seven o’clock to ten. I try to work in shifts so I can give myself some set time off. That comes with experience because previously I would feel bad if I went out at the weekend and never stayed in to practice. Now I feel that I know that I have put the time in so I don’t need to feel bad about taking time away or a day off.
I have worked with coaches before which I know sounds crazy. It is a real thing though. I worked with a Dutch coach last year and it was one of the best things I have ever done. I learned so much from him and having another pair of eyes watching you helps. He could apply his knowledge if the game to what he could see me doing and not doing. You need to be open minded to listen to a coach and be open to changing certain things. Different coaches have different styles, just like the real game. Some coaches concentrate on your game play where you get coaches that look at the mental side of things.”
It’s in the game
I wanted to know if Marc was still able to enjoy playing the game in the same way as he used when playing with his brother growing up. He explained how he viewed it as work now and also explained some of the positives of being a professional in the Esports world.
“I probably don’t enjoy it as much to be honest. It goes in spells, if you are in a bad spell then it can be difficult to get any enjoyment out of it. There are cons to it like losing part of your social life. I say to people all the time that if I wasn’t a professional there is no way I would spend so much time playing.
I left college and decided I wanted to put all my time and effort into it and it was sometimes hard to explain to people that it could be a job. People my age understand and are happy to ask lots of questions but I think the older generation find it more difficult to get their head around.
There are pros too. I’ve been to Bucharest, Sweden, and London about twelve times in the past few years. I won a competition to represent Celtic and was taken by them to watch them play PSG. The winner of the World Cup which took place a few months ago walked away with about $300,000. There are players playing at the top end of the sport who have easily made over a million dollars.”
Scotland captain
Like any footballer would, Marc has ambitions in the game. He has fulfilled one of those by representing his country. He also played alongside Aston Villa midfielder John McGinn but still hopes to represent his beloved Celtic on a permanent basis.
“Honestly, that is the dream and it is what I have wanted the entire time I’ve been playing. I won a tournament when I represented them back in 2017 and I thought it might take off from there. I have represented Scotland since I was nineteen. We qualified for the biggest nations tournament which was held in Denmark. That was probably my biggest achievement. I was team captain and we had to carry out the team flag and sing the national anthem. That was an amazing experience.
I also played with John McGinn during covid. They ran a competition where you got paired up with an actual player. We both got beaten, I think he fancied himself as a player but when we got beat I was worried he would never talk to me again!”
You can follow Marc here: https://www.twitch.tv/marcmarleyyy