Are eSports sports?

eSports are sports

One of the most anticipated events for sports fans is the Super Bowl. This sporting event, for years, has been one of the highest-rated televised programs worldwide. However, in recent times, the Super Bowl has found a worthy rival in the League of Legends world championship, one of the most popular eSports, due to a large number of viewers it attracts.

What exactly are eSports, and why so much popularity?

To talk about eSports is to go back a couple of decades. However, this industry has shown explosive growth in the last decade and multi-million dollar revenues. According to NewZoo, a renowned consulting firm in the video game sector, in 2019, the global eSports market earned approximately 957 million dollars.

The world is evolving, and online games or sports are taking the place of physical ones.

Thanks to their significant expansion, eSports have also long been present in online casinos, which, just like e-sports, are enjoying great success.

The success of both is probably because both are often free. Indeed, just as eSports live streams are free and available on the most common streaming platforms, online gambling platforms also offer free spins casinos to play their favorite games for free and safely without a deposit and with many promotions available. If you enjoy tournaments, you can also receive free spins as a reward for participating in this industry’s tournaments, which are detailed on the website.

The concept of eSport is used to name video game competitions organized at a professional level. They are multiplayer competitions of different video game titles and genres. That is, each e-sport – and each tournament – has its rules, terms, and conditions.

However, it is essential to emphasize that not all video games achieve the distinction of e-sport. In fact, among the thousands of titles currently available, few are considered eSports.

When is a video game considered an eSport?

For a video game to be considered eSport, the conditions, broadly speaking, are as follows:

– the game must allow confrontation between two or more participants;

– players can only compete on equal terms, and skill determines victory.

– there must be official leagues and competitions regulated by rules and made up of professional teams and players.

One of the most common questions when hearing about eSports is whether they could be considered sports. The experts’ answer to this is clear: e-sports ARE sports. Not only activities with high physical demands can be regarded as sports, but so are those where the mind plays a decisive role (as in the case of chess).

The German School of Sport, a university dedicated to sports and related sciences, conducted a study that showed that eSports athletes suffer very similar wear and tear to other athletes (considered traditional). The research revealed that eSports players generate stress levels during intense professional games identical to drivers in fast races. The study concluded that “eSports are as demanding as many other types of sports”.

For its part, the University of Chichester, in West Sussex, England, conducted a study in which it was noted that professional video game players share 51 stress factors with footballers or rugby players during important matches or competitions.

In addition, governments, such as the U.S. and German governments, already recognize professional video game players as athletes. For example, in 2013, Canadian Danny “Shiphtur” Le became the first professional League of Legends player to receive a U.S. visa reserved for internationally recognized athletes.

Conclusion

ESports is the sport of the future. This industry has grown by leaps and bounds and is expected to continue on the same path, in addition to the fact that more and more people are enjoying watching the various competitions that exist today.

Currently, some of the video games considered eSports are FIFA, League of Legends, Overwatch, Starcraft II, Super Smash Bros, Fortnite, Battle Royale, Tekken, Halo, Call of Duty, and Madden, among several others.

Finally, playing certain video games and competing in eSports can be a source of enjoyment, leisure, and entertainment and an excellent inclusive tool, promoting social relations, physical activity, and health. Gaining a better understanding of the human factors, dynamics, and challenges common to traditional sports, video games, and eSports could help define and interpret eSports and take advantage of opportunities arising from the similarities between conventional and eSports.