Game sense is the ability to read an opponent’s mind just before he has made a move. It’s the sixth sense that sorts the casual from being professional. This can be the great turnaround for you in a match, giving you the upper hand in important moments.

So why does that really make a difference? Well, if you can predict your opponent’s move, you can work around it by setting up traps, dodging their attacks, and basically locking in those sweet, sweet victories.

Know Everything About Your Game

But first, in order to predict the future, understand what’s happening right here and now. One of the biggest imperatives: understanding your game inside and out. Be close to the mechanics, the maps, and the meta of “League of Legends,” “Fortnite,” or “CS:GO” almost like two hands on a glove.

Start first by studying game mechanics—what kind of ability, item, or strategy is aging well with the metagame. Some of this is going to be the foundation for which you will make informed predictions during the game.

Know the map. Know every little detail, every corner, all hiding places, and possibilities for free-for-all or any ambush point. Map awareness gives light to a really important preempt so that the enemy’s pointed location and intentions are known.

Watch the Pros: Learn from the Best

It really doesn’t take a rocket scientist to be able to predict like a pro, but why not see for yourself and watch the pros? Most esports pros can easily put in thousands of hours to polish their in-game sense, so one can learn a lot from watching these clips.

Watch the live streams, replays of the tournaments—how the top players are moving, positioning, and reacting in those situations. Just understand how they are going to predict you, based on you noticing them.

You better write down those notes, break down their strategies, then find a way through how to implement their techniques into your gameplay. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery; there is no better way of being the best, whether it is about esports or not.

Mastering the Control of Maps

Exactly knowing how to control the map is the main ingredient in having a game sense. In this way, you will control the general flow of the game. You can predict enemy movement and plan your strategies accordingly.

So, vision: secure this around key areas by investing in wards in MOBAs or UAVs in FPS. Vision from such an area around you gives the important information one needs to know about the enemy’s location and movement. This intel will let you make educated guesses of where the enemies are going next.

So you know how to read the map dynamically, you need to know where the enemies have been spotted and from where they have not. Use this information to virtually predict possible rotations, ambushes, and even potential objectives that can be targeted by the enemies.

The Psychology of Prediction: Think Like Your Opponent

You’ve got to get yourself in the head of your opponent if you’re going to predict his moves. Take into account his goals and style of play; is it an aggressive style, with him gunning for risky plays, or is he more to the conservative side with his biggest focuses on defenses and farming?

With the knowledge of what lies behind the psychology of your opponent’s decisions, it will easily offer an exploitable opening. For example, knowing somebody is just going to intentionally overextend for kills, then you can lay down traps to get them.

Practice reading your opponent as you play, observe, and see some opponents’ tendencies and trends. These would allow you to expect and edge toward a move’s advantage.

Positioning Power

It’s all about the positioning in esports—coming up big in making the placement on the map be so important to you. You have to literally think ahead and react to an opponent. Good positioning will give you the edge in controlling fights and avoiding unnecessary risks.

Avoid choke and high ground among others. Make use of them to the best of your ability: position yourself in the best way possible so you might be able to prepare a good ambush or avoid getting ganked. Good positioning also helps you in seeing and controlling important objectives.

Always know where your teammates are and where the enemy could be, so communicate with your team and position around the map accordingly to get the most out of controlling it.

Communication of Team Prediction: The Core

If we view esports as a team sport, then the backbone to successful prediction really lies in good communication. Sharing information with other teammates helps everyone make good decision and better anticipate enemy actions.

Identify rivals’ positions and potential threats; point out strategic opportunities. You predict, through your team, what’s going to be thrown at you; effective communication helps these individuals’ predictions become the foresight of many.

Use pings, voice chat, or other communication aids that you have at your disposal. Develop some kind of shorthand for frequently used commands to clear up communication throughout the entire game.

Staying Cool Under Pressure

One thing is to predict where your opponent is going next, but it is all in vain if you can’t keep your cool under pressure. But with accurate predictions and being able to pull them off, it goes without saying that you can do the thing right.

Train yourself to be relaxed even under the utmost intense conditions. Meditation, positive visualization, and concentration will help. Remember, a calm mind is a sharp mind.

And when the stakes are very high indeed, it is back to training and instincts. The game sense will see you through; trust in your honed predictions, since panic will only blur your judgment and lead to mistakes.

Adaptability role

Even the best predictions can sometimes be wrong. So, it is one of the top skills in esports, which allows converting the play from lost into a winning. Be adaptive; change your approach to fit incoming information if need be. Not firm in rigidity after surprise by enemy movement; make an adjustment and react to that new move. It also means learning to adapt. So, learn from all the mistakes made in these other games, analyzing the faults and how you can better your play. Sharpen your power of predictions with these lessons and become a versatile player.

 Practice Makes Perfect But prediction is, after all, a skill, and it is an art that needs practice. Being able to read the game and predict the next move of your opponent is the best way to lift your game to great extents. You put hours in, you stick with it, and watch that game sense improve over time. Set clear targets for yourself in every practice session: work on the specifics of the prediction, such as map awareness, psychology of the opponent, or positioning. Look over your playing to see, most of all, where you can predict better and in what way you are able to modify it to adapt to making more accurate predictions. Remember that experience comes every time a game is played. Enjoy, be patient, and continue to appreciate the journey towards being a master predictor across the world of esports. In essence, the prediction of art takes game sensibility one step further to help you improve your esport performances to solidly higher levels. Know your craft, get insights from the pros, learn map control, adapt, and you’re going to win your games. Gear up, game on, and may your predictions always be spot-on.