What are ways to make serious money playing computer games?

I don't know about "serious" money but I was good enough at Xevious in college that people would give me quarters to play so they would watch.

I switched to pinball and learned how to find machines that were hard to tilt and would put up the kind of high scores that people would think were impossible. I found that if you played like that at a state school they would threaten to kick you out of the gameroom, but if you did that at an Ivy League school (grad school) nobody would confront you about it.

It's a combination of luck and a bit of skill (which can be acquired over time if you have the former). You need to get in early, pick a game that will attract a large audience, have the right looks & personality to entertain that audience, etc.

Be good enough to become pro? Streaming?