Rise Nation’s Gunless on Dedication as a CoD Pro “We’re not supposed to have a social life – People don’t want it enough”
Professional Call of Duty player for Rise Nation, Pierce “Gunless” Hillman has revealed the staggering amount of time he puts into practice, and is critical of some of his fellow pro’s who says just “don’t want it enough”.
Gunless broke out into the professional scene with eUnited during the 2017 Infinite Warfare season, where he quickly asserted himself as a top caliber player in the space of only a couple major events.
He has since played for FaZe Clan and Echo Fox, before joining current team Rise Nation, and is still considered one of the best players in the world, perhaps even the very best.
While clearly naturally talented, Gunless has also been lauded by fellow players and fans for his incredible work ethic and dedication to his craft, known to play hours and hours of public matches, scrims and money 8s everyday.
His performances have been so impressive throughout the Call of Duty: WWII season, that other pro players have begun to follow his example in playing more public matches outside of team practice.
On the second episode of “COD over Coffee”, hosted by Taylor “Keat” Keating, Gunless explained more his mentality behind his insane hours of practice and why he believes other players don’t do the same.
“I usually get on and play around 2-3 hours of pubs before I team scrim, we team scrim for maybe 2 or 3 series if we can get a third series. After that I play more pubs till around 5 or 6 am. Scrims usually end around 10pm so I’ll probably sit there for a good 7-8 hours.”
Gunless’ first major victory came at the 2017 CWL Atlanta Open, where he won MVP. Image: MLGWhen asked if he thinks CoD pro’s should ‘grind more’, Gunless reminisces on his time when he was coming up as player, and how many hours he would put in.
“Other [professional] players on other teams don’t really have the same mindset as me and the guys that came up with me on eUnited.
Everyone wants to have some sort of social life. I guess they don’t really understand that we’re professional gamers for a reason, we’re not supposed to have a social life. This isn’t a regular job at all, this is something you have to sacrifice a lot to achieve and be successful in.”
Gunless explains that even though some players may not particularly like the game, it is their job and they should be driven by the motivation to win.
I just think people don’t want it enough, honestly. People can dislike the game and hate on the game, and not really want to play something they don’t like. But at the same time, we’re getting paid for it. Suck it up, go play the hell out of the game and make sure you’re the best at it at all costs. It doesn’t matter if the game sucks, it’s your job.
For me, it’s different, every time I win I want it more. Because for that one minute you get while you’re up on the stage after you’ve won, there is just nothing else going through your mind but a smile on your face and happiness.
So that’s what drives me, playing endless amounts of Call of Duty so I can have that one minute back, where I don’t think of anything else but just being happy.
You can watch the full video of COD Over Coffee with Gunless below, with discussion of his dedication beginning at around the 4 minute mark.