Thousands screaming and chanting at unison. Thundering sounds of clapping and frenzied excitement as the fans know its almost time to see their athletes to come out and perform. These stars don’t run on a field, they don’t dribble with fluidity or shoot a ball for a living. These individuals are stars of a new era, they compile knowledge of their enemies, vanquish their foes, and set a new standard for gamers and companies alike. Welcome to the world of Esports.
To understand Esports and the nature of the growing beast we need to delve into the minds that make people cheer, make men cry, and gives hope to competitive gamers and gamers alike who need and want to see gaming celebrated and accepted on a global scale. Esports is as a sport, still in its budding stages, with huge amounts of revenue flowing and year by year business growth, there is huge amounts of potential in the structure and platform these gamers are building. Last year alone the International Olympic Committee considered adding Esports to future Olympic Games, this with the added news of other sport stars starting to invest in their own Esports teams shown the profitability and change from a “just a gamer” attitude, to becoming a business worth investing in and seeing grow. This branches and gives exposure to the teams, the professionals, and more importantly the league itself. With professionals from the respective teams becoming more and more polarizing in the gaming community, and other fiscal areas their ability to compete and stay active in the community will not only expand and grow the league, it may be one of the catalyst that pushes Esports to profound heights.
Imagine running in a maze, while your running you see walls placed at places that you know will lead you to the exit. Frustration and mental fatigue are starting to present itself in ugly forms, mistake in your thought process, the inability to make even the slightest adjustments, you never leave the maze. Imagine that process over 5 times and this time someone is one the other side of the maze making sure you fail, making sure you never leave the maze. That’s what most Esport athletes have to endure during a competitive match, not only the fans in the arena but people around the world watching and judging your smallest mistake. Adaption or decline is common knowledge in this world, and those who overcome the mental hurdles still have to adapt to a strategist who is ever changing as they are. No one match is ever the same, and most players take something from the other team may it be big or small, because you can never have to many tools in your arsenal.
Training can take years with team building and communication being a main focus. Small skirmishes with other teams or just with online players help with their tactic play and the effective use of certain strategies in key situations. Teams recently have went back to having two separate teams or sub divisions to substitute during league play, while also training younger professionals with high potential with no fear of losing this prospect to another team. This team building strategy also allows teams to recruit more players while also teaching high potential players the strategies and tactics they are expected to use in competition play. Team CEOs and team managers scour both Twitch or YouTube videos to find players they deem fit their style of play and has a great handle on the game. Teams add to their rosters constantly, but for most competition gamers, that’s the prize of choice, a chance to play professional and test your skills with the best of the best. Time will only tell where Esports will lead and how quickly professionals adapt from the gaming screens to selling arenas, but like millions who watch these events and competitions, I cant wait.
