Losing my Esports Virginity

What can you get from this Blog Post

• A basic understanding of Esports

• Info on a new breed of athlete

• The role of sport psychology in Esports

When I started my masters I held a private but strong bias. I wanted to work with football and football only. I thought every paper I could relate to football, every assignment somehow would be focused on the minds of coaches and players in the beautiful game. However, I quickly realised that this might not be the best mindset and a more open minded approach would be beneficial.

I believe my bias stemmed from football being my bread and butter. I have played it since I was five and even have a tattoo of the England 2018 world cup squad (okay only one of those statements relates to me but I would love to meet the person who the second one applies to), but football has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember.

Acknowledging my bias first came about when I was assigned to create a hypothetical research question that would utilize a semi-structured interview. For the life of me I could not relate this to football.

This resulted in me looking for alternatives and I had a small eureka moment when I heard one of my profs mention that he avoided consultancy work with athletes from his "bread and butter sport" golf as he felt he brought in too many assumptions when working with the athletes. This struck a chord with me and that is when I discovered Esports. I knew nothing about it and had no assumptions. I was a utterly clueless but completely satisfied (strangely the same mentality I have when wondering what's in McDonalds chicken nuggets).

At this point I believe it is important to state that I am still very much a novice (or noob I guess is more appropriate given the nature of the subject) in my understanding of the world of Esports. Despite this it is an interesting and unique sport, and I believe more people should delve into this fascinating world.

What is Esports and is it a real sport?

Quick answer - Computer generated games controlled by individuals and yes it is a real sport

Not so quick answer - Esports are according to Samuel Whalen it is [1] “a form of sports where the primary aspects of the sport are facilitated by electronic systems; the input of players and teams as well as the output of the Esports system are mediated by human-computer interfaces”.

Classifying Esports as a sport is not universally accepted yet but I believe that this is going to change. According to Seth Jenny and his fellow researchers [2] combined when defining a sport, Esports fulfils the criteria of including play, following rules, requiring skill, and possessing a broad following. The two final aspects of including physical skill and institutional stability were defended by Fanni Bányai [3] and fellow researchers, resulting in Esports being classified as a sport and becoming more accepted in the sport science community.

What type of Athletes play Esports

Quick answer - Young, motivated, unrestricted

Not so quick answer - Esports players are not your stereotypical athlete, as Franz Christian Irorita states in his article "Retirement in Esports: Why do Esport players retire so early?" Players reach their peak performance young and the skills required for high performance can dwindle fast, resulting in retirement in their early 20's.

Not only are these players young but they are highly motivated. It is easy to imagine parents pushing kids to try a new sport such as gymnastics or learn a new skill such as the piano but it is hard to imagine a parent forcing their child to go and play video games. Quite often (at least from my experience) they try to limit the time I spent trying to achieve a 25 kill streak on Modern Warfare 2. Even if my parents had encouraged more video games I know for a fact I would never have become a pro. The dedication these players have and intrinsic motivation (doing something solely for the enjoyment of it) to become a professional Esports players is incredible.

One thing I love about Esports is its accessibility; so far on my new journey into Esports it appears that there is much less bullshit regarding who makes it and who doesn't. It seems pretty simple so far if you are good enough you fit the bill. There's no scientist looking at 16 year old's fingers estimating if their ability to click a mouse will become twice as fast at the age of 18, which is a sad reality for many young athletes in traditional sports who are written off too early.

The role of sport psychology in Esports

As mentioned above this new breed of athlete is evolving with an ever-growing demand. The role of a sport psychologist may be crucial in the development, career and retirement stages of these athletes.

Esport athletes are being given access to resources that can prolong their careers, ensure they live a healthy lifestyle and take care of their well used phalanges (yes

I googled the scientific word for fingers, but don't judge me). Teams such as SK gaming have an incredible set up which I stumbled across while watching a surprising Esports focused piece by youtubers Zack and Jay.

The role of a sports psychologist is fascinating in this world and one I can't wait to learn more about. Active researchers such as sport psychologist Ismael Pedraza, who I first discovered on the great Podcast Slice of Pie, is working with these athletes improving their performance. I can only imagine the unique experiences athletes of this nature go though; from improving communication, achieving psychological readiness to return to play after an injury and the stressors they must overcome to ensure consistent high performance.

My questions to professional Esport Players

As mentioned above I first stumbled across Esports was as part of my assignment that looked at

"The Perceptions of Professional Esport Players Regarding the Term ‘Athlete’ in the Context of Their Sport?"

So if there are any Esport players out there I would love to know how you would respond to the below questions!

1. Why do you consider Esport to be sport?

a. What aspects of Esports make you feel like an athlete?

b. What characteristics of Esport make it different from other sports?

2. What is your daily routine as an Esports player?

a. How do you feel about the amount of control you have over your schedule?

b. What aspects of your day do you most look forward to?

c. What aspects of being an Esport player surprised you?

3. How do you think your daily routine compares to that of a traditional athlete?

a. What type of injuries do you encounter?

i. How do you deal with said injuries?

4. How would you describe your relationship with your…?

a. Coach?

b. Teammates?

5. What were your motivations for getting involved in Esports?

a. How did those close to you feel about you pursuing Esports?

b. How have your motivations towards gaming changed since becoming a professional?

5. What motivates you to keep playing Esports at a professional level?

a. How do you think these motivations may change in the future?

6. What are the biggest challenges you face as an Esport player?

a. How do the resources you have access to help with these struggles?

i. What other resources do you wish you had access to?

b. What challenges were you most surprised by after becoming a professional?

i. What challenges did you feel most prepared for?

7. What kind of pressures do you deal with as an Esport player?

a. How does pressure impact the enjoyment you get from playing Esports?

8. How have your behaviours changed since transitioning to be a professional player?

a. What did you expect the biggest differences to be when transitioning to a pro?

9. What does it mean to be an Esports player for you?

a. How do people react when you tell them you are an Esports player?

b. How do you think Esports players are perceived outside of the sport?

c. What are some stereotypes you have faced as an Esports player?

10. Why would you consider yourself to be an athlete?

Academic References

[1] Whalen, S. J. (2013). Cyberathletes’ Lived Experience of Video Game Tournaments. Phd Diss.,University Of Tennessee , 2013.

[2] Jenny, S. E., Manning, R. D., Keiper, M. C., & Olrich, T. W. (2017). Virtual(ly) Athletes: Where eSports Fit Within the Definition of “Sport.” Quest, 69(1), 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1080/00336297.2016.1144517

[3] Bányai, F., Griffiths, M. D., Király, O., & Demetrovics, Z. (2019). The Psychology of Esports: A Systematic Literature Review. Journal of Gambling Studies, 35(2), 351–365. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10899-018-9763-1