eSports is a booming industry that has been growing in popularity worldwide in these most recent couple of years. Certain video games such as Call of Duty, or League of Legends are almost being known as common knowledge when it comes to recognition in the modern world. In the sports world video games are looked upon as a “black sheep” for many reasons. eSports should not be looked upon differently from other “traditional sports”, but instead accepted as one of them in the modern day. 

eSports is in many ways just like “traditional sports”. eSports teams (game dependent) have coaches, managers, salaried players, backup roster, Sponsors, scheduled practices, team uniforms, etc. eSports goes the extra mile to try to be as similar to “traditional sports” as possible so that it can garnish more respect and one day possibly be seen as “just another sport”. one big event was when eSports first aired on live television, but many people were upset about “video games” being played on television and caused that specific tournament to not continue to be aired even though thousands of people tune in to watch the “World Series of Poker” each year on a sports network even though Poker is far from any traditional sport unlike any eSports game. A fact like this reason why I believe that eSports should be accepted by the “traditional sport” community. Unjust actions like these that cause a booming industry to lose out of many possible fans just because of some negative responses from uninterested viewers should not be tolerated in a world that is undergoing so many changes.

eSports has always been a tricky situation when it comes to how people should associate with it. Some people are anti-videogames and that causes a huge rift to form between them and eSports simply because it involves someone playing video games for a competitive purpose instead of for a recreational purpose. Others are all for eSports and are willing to support the growing industry to help it move forward in the future. “traditional sports” refers to the likes of Basketball, football, soccer, etc. Many of these “traditional sports are starting to support the eSports industry but that does not change the popular belief that playing video games competitively should not be considered a sport.

The question “Why should eSports hold the same merit as “Traditional Sports”?” is very important in the grand scheme of things when it comes to eSports. It helps everyone recognize that “traditional sports” hold the higher value of all national and international sports in the modern day, but also lets everyone know that there may be something that eSports brings to the table that should also allow it to carry such value that other international sports have. Learning about said differences will help others realize why eSports should not be looked upon as a “black sheep” to sports but instead accepted as one of them.

Audiences play a key factor when it comes to any sport. Sports Leagues (NBA, NHL, NFL) would not be able to fund their collective teams and players if they did not have a well-funded financial backing. A large portion of these funds come directly from fans buying tickets to attend games and support their favorite team and players. eSports operates the similarly when it comes to their fans and ticket sales, but also try to go above and beyond when it comes to fan-to-player interaction. “MLG 2012, separated as players were by soundproof booths…MLG 2012 offered a range of diversions for attendees during down time—visiting sponsors’ stalls to try out and buy new gaming peripherals, lining up for autographs, and visiting concession stands.” (Taylor 11). Big gaming tournaments not only try to maintain a high level of professionality when it comes to keeping their players in a solid maintained environment where they can concentrate and focus, but they also try to schedule times for fans to meetup with their favorite teams, organizations, and players to make their experience unique and unforgettable whereas in bigger sports when teams win/lose big championships players more often than not turn a blind eye to the fans that paid a lot of good money to see them do what they do best. I’m not saying that popular players and organizations of most “traditional” sports do not appreciate their fans, but most do not have huge fan meetups during their biggest tournament that they have been preparing for all year.

One argument that will always be brought to the table is the definition of a sport. when sports come to mind, most people default to this description: “an activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes against another or others for entertainment”. However, just like poker and chess which are played competitively as sports “eSports are mind-based sports with limited physical activity. Some definitions use words like “usually” and “or” when talking about physical activity involved, which makes the case that sports don’t always need to be physical athletic activity” (Semler). eSports may lack the involvement of physical activity but it gravitates around many other elements of “traditional” sports which allow it fit in the same category. eSports is rapidly growing in popularity and even gaining a lot of attention worldwide. “After eSports were broadcast nationwide on ESPN at this year’s X-Games, the chances of eSports becoming Olympic sports increased. It’s theorized that eSports could be an Olympic Sport as early as the 2020 summer games.” (Semler) With all 35 of the of the benchmarks needed to quality as an Olympic sport not having anything to do with physical activity it is very possible that eSports could earn a spot on the 2020 summer games lineup which is very important when it comes to determining the total value of the sport and comparing it to other sports. When comparing skills between the athletes of eSports and athletes of “traditional” sports the eSports athletes usually get overshadowed because people just assume “anyone can play a videogame, but not everyone can run super-duper fast”. Small overlooks like this one completely nullify the facts that just like “traditional” sport athletes eSports athletes have to spend large amounts of time developing new skills (Semler) and train for many hours in a day to continue to play at the highest level and not lose their jobs “Out of game, players are constantly going through different scenarios that may come up in a game and calculating their reactions. Preparation can only take you so far, gamers also need to have very fast reaction times and a brain that can keep up with the pace of the action.” (Semler).

Playing nothing but video games for a living may seem like a very unhealthy lifestyle at first glance, which is a true statement in most cases but eSports athletes get special treatment to keep themselves healthy. In “traditional” sports not only are injuries common, but they are also expected to happen in most cases, for instance a 7-foot center in basketball is expected to have a knee or leg injury in his career because he is so tall and moving so much. In an article from (Graham) he quotes a eSports athlete who says “Most players I know that are competing at the highest level are already exercising or doing things to lead a healthy lifestyle, but if they weren’t I’d say definitely start as it really does improve the quality of practice you have and also your mindset as a whole,”. Playing video games for 12 to 14 hours a day without already living or trying to live a healthy lifestyle can easily lead to injuries. One instance of this is in Grahams article, he states “It’s not uncommon for team players to practice between 12 and 14 hours per day, leaving little time for a healthy meal and good night’s sleep…In 2011, Lee “Flash” Young Ho underwent surgery to repair his tendonitis. In 2014, Clinton “Fear” Loomis, one of the best DOTA 2 players in North America, was benched by tennis elbow, a condition that comes from overtaxing the hand and forearm muscles. “Continual rapid movements over prolonged periods of time can cause inflammation,” said Dr. Daniel Polatsch, co-director of the New York Hand and Wrist Center.” Injuries may be very uncommon in eSports but if the athletes do not keep their bodies healthy like “traditional” sport athletes then their bodies will soon fail them and hinder them from continuing playing at top form any longer.

When on the topic of eSports salaries also play a big part in whether eSports should be taken seriously as a national sport. One article by H.B. Duran specifically targets salaries and how eSports organizations earn enough money to keep their players paid. Duran states “Salaries vary by team, player and another mitigating factors that are anything but easy to calculate. There is a significant lack of transparency in the world of eSports, which makes it difficult for players to determine what constitutes fair compensation.” When Duran says that there is a significant lack of transparency he is trying to relay the fact that eSports is still a growing organization that is only recently being sponsored by big name companies, so the cash flow isn’t all too high yet. One of the biggest eSports game currently is League of Legends, which is a MOBA(Multiplayer Online Battle Arena) game that features 5 players on each team working together to destroy the other teams base. Currently the Company that owns the game(Riot Games) also runs a competitive circuit for the game called the “League of Legends Championship Series”. Riot gives each team a set amount of money to provide salaries and help with operating expenses. According to the handbook in 2014, players must be paid a minimum of $12,500—which, for a 28-game season equals around $450 a match. However, many players are compensated much higher. (Duran). Now these numbers may seem low at first glance but they are just stepping stones in a bigger picture. Recent reports from the CEO of the gaming organization Ember gives us some hints as to how much players earn. This team is a team that does not even compete in the highest skill circuit but the lowest salary they gave to one of the players on their starting roster was to “Colin “Solo” Earnest is also clearing $65,000 in salary with $21,000 in added bonuses.” (Duran). This means that we can determine that players playing in the top level circuit are not only being paid more, but they are also eligible to compete in a global tournament held every year which in this most recent year(2016) had a total prize pool of $6,700,000(highest placing team taking a whopping 40% of the pot).

Prize pools also play a big part in keeping players financially stable. Some eSports games such as Dota 2 allow fans of the game to purchase in game vanity items if they want to experience the game differently or just look “cooler”; Then with the earnings that they receive from people giving money to the company for items in their game they put large portions of the purchases into a large prize pool for professional players to earn at the largest tournament each year hosted by the creators of the game. This year(2016) the biggest tournament for Dota 2 was called “The International 2016” and they brought out 16 teams that had to qualify pre-tournament to be eligible to play for the grand prize, which was a total prize pool of $20,770,460 ($19,170,460 added by fans through in game purchases). The winning team took home over 9 million dollars which made all of the 5 starting players on the roster millionaires after deductions. Even though it is extremely hard to win first place at any of these tournaments, one win could put you in a good financial situation for a whole lifetime.

eSports does have its downsides however even though they may not be plentiful. Even with eSports teams having life coaches and personal trainers to keep them on the right track mentally and physically they can still suffer from problems that come with the job. Sitting down idly for long hours playing video games can lead to many physical problems, and most games that require the player to move their mouse around constantly can lead to other injuries. Some injuries include Tendonitis that was mentioned and talked about earlier, but also includes a lot of carpal tunnel(mostly found in athletes that play MOBA games or First Person Shooters) to those that play a lot of games requiring a lot of wrist/hand movement.  

eSports is not only a sport that deserves more respect in this current day and age, but with how fast it is growing and the many aspects of it, eSports is becoming a lifestyle to those who are gifted enough to compete in them. One of the biggest obstacles holding eSports back is the mindset of most common day sports fans which is typically focused around the fact that eSports does not require their athletes to complete any physical activities to complete their goal. However, some names that are well known in the sports world such as Shaquille O’Neal and Rick Fox are purchasing their own eSports teams and increasing their overall popularity to the public eye. Actions like this are helping the public understand that eSports could one day be seen in the same spotlight as traditional sports and hold the same merit as them at the same time.
