Familiar with queuing Ranked, loading into Raid or Standoff and taking on the first fight in Call of Duty: Mobile? You might win a couple of gunfights, top frag with your favourite SMG, pull off a clutch and leave your match feeling like you carried. Yet, if you watch an esports match, things look very different.

While it’s the same map and modes, it’s a totally different pace. If you feel the pull to try and take on the pros, read on to see if you’re really ready for those fiery tournaments!

In Ranked, you might charge straight into the fray as soon as the round starts. A great tactic if you’re lucky, but you could soon be overwhelmed by your opponents while your own team is no where to be seen.

How the pros play: Teams take a brief moment to read where players are spawning on the map and lock down tactics before anyone over-extends into enemy territory. That tiny pause is often the difference between keeping the map under your team’s control and getting wiped out by the other team as soon as you spawn into battle.

In Ranked, you might be tempted to hit your Operator Skill the second it lights up. You don’t want to waste your newly charged ability, right?

How the pros play: Teams co-ordinate their skills together. They will hold back their skills such as War Machine or Transform Shield until they can chain them together to take over an occupied area. What’s key here is to use your Operator Skill at exactly the right time, instead of the moment it has charged up.

In Ranked, comms are usually a mix of “one shot mid”, “top window” and three people talking at the same time. An easy pattern to fall into when adrenaline is high.

How the pros play: Teams keeps things calm and boring on purpose, so that everyone can follow the match. Clear, simple callouts keep setups alive much longer than chaotic comms.

In Ranked, you’ll immediately advance towards a Hardpoint zone as it appears on the map and hope your teammates join you.

How the pros play: Teams rotate zones early, even if it means giving up a few free seconds. Leaving one zone early to lock down another can win you the next minute of the game.

In Ranked Hardpoint, everyone piles onto the hill, hoping to control the new objective zone. The moment a team gets eliminated, the spawning positions shift and enemies are coming at you from a completely different direction – and everything falls apart.

How the pros play: Teams take on specific roles to accumulate points safely. As one player stays put in the objective area to rack up points, two other players hold strategic choke points, forcing enemies to retreat. Meanwhile, another player is scouting ahead to block incoming enemies. Sometimes teams even let the last seconds of a hill go just to secure a better setup for the next round.

In Ranked Search and Destroy, players sprint for opening picks on maps such as Firing Range and hope the first duel goes their way. A risky move with only one life per round.

How the pros play: Teams move carefully, gradually occupying enemy territory. They might peek around corners making just enough noise to trick enemies into revealing where they are. Sometimes the best play is not to plant the bomb straight away, but instead to force your opponent to show their hand first.