DRUGS IN E-SPORTS: A SINISTER DARKNESS IN THE BUDDING LIGHT

 

Every semester, I and my friends take up a common topic, make its subtopic and write a blog to generate social awareness and how to face it for the last 3 semesters, we have raised concerns about social issues, psychological barriers, and talked about its prevention and cure .but this semester, we decided to go forward with a topic which is not a social issue but actually a career about which we almost know nothing about e-sports. All of us decided to take up a sub-topic regarding this to discuss the pros and cons, and as the name itself has sports in it, like all other sports, e-sports is also not exempt of the performance-enhancing drugs and their sinister effects. but before we talked about it, it is important for us to know exactly what has forced the player to take this big step. Has e-sports already reached a level that it can contest with top-tier sports? First, we will see it briefly.

 

First, let me make a point clear. we are talking about e-sports which is completely different from the live streaming market, better known as the gaming market. One of the biggest and most trusted data sources of video games, Newson classifies e-sports as professional or semi-professional competitive gaming in an organized format (tournament or league) with a specific goal/prize, such as winning a championship title or prize money.” The rise of e-sports was gradual but the last couple of years has seen a massive jump. In 2019, approx. 397.8million people were connected with e-sports which jumped to 435.9 million in 2020 and 474 million in 2021! This figure puts it above some of the well-known sports in terms of popularity like baseball, golf, basketball, and Rugby .so with a market this big, it is not a surprise that the PED has its claws in this field too.

Now, let’s come back to the topic. You all can ask me- how does PED influence e-sports athletes? Isn’t their game only of fingers? Wouldn’t drugs make them slow instead? Some of the most famous drugs used in the e-sports field are Vyvanse, Ritalin, and Adderall, which are generally used to treat syndromes by boosting concentration and reaction time and preventing fatigue. One of the most famous medications for Parkinson’s disease and major depressive disorder, Selegiline is used to boost mood and motivation by players. Some also take Propranolol, which blocks the effects of adrenaline, or Valium, which is given to treat anxiety disorder, in order to remain calm under pressure.

If you ask Bjoern Franzen, a former SK Gaming executive, he will tell you that taking different drugs at the same time before a tournament is a kind of second nature to some players. But the biggest accusation came from Kory “Semphis” Friesen, an ex-Cloud9 player when he went on to say that everyone at the ESEA League tournament uses Adderall. He also admitted that his team used it in ESL One Katowice 2015 Counter Strike: Global Offensive tournament. Call of Duty 2020 world championship winner, Cuyler “Huke” Garland addressed the use of Adderall in coping with pressure in June 2021. His predecessor, Adam “kiLLa” Sloss, who has already left the esports stage said that one of the reasons for his early retirement was his frequent use of Adderall.

While Esports Integrity Commission (ESIC) prohibits PEDs and has an anti-doping code, its uses have not slowed down. According to Dr. Ian Tan- co-founder of The Gaming Company (TGC) and Esports Business Network (EBN), it is because the anti-doping test is not used in every tournament and very few tournaments use it.

Heavy use of these drugs poses severe consequences to players’ health, including addiction, overdose, serotonin syndrome, etc. Although not every player uses PEDs, excess amount of energy drinks is a very common occurrence in the esports sector which also affects health as it is clearly advised not to use more than 2 energy drinks in a day.

Above all, we cannot deny that esports is a budding market that is growing with the advancement of technology. It has already received the Olympics recognition. But, for the safety of the players, PEDs regulation should be made stricter and tighter. After all, esports is a pride of the advancement of human technology, let’s not paint it with the horrors of the drugs.