Have you ever wondered what it feels like to play video games professionally in front of millions of people. In this literature review we will be covering the physical health of esports players, specifically the effects of drugs on esports players. I want to show how important these guys careers are to them and the lengths that they will go to to save them and further them. Within the esports industry drugs have sadly become a common occurrence. This is sadly due to the stress and pressure that the players experience when practicing and on stage. In the realm of esports teams change constantly even is the middle of the season sometimes. With this added pressure to the sport players have to be performing their best at all times even when there off the stage. Thus with such high expectations some players may go to drugs to help improve performance and reach their full potential, or so they think. These situations often lead to addiction and eventually a league ban sometimes permanent. It's a high risk high reward situation and they know it but they still take the risk to stay on top and to keep a job. As foreshadowed drugs have negative and often visual effects leading to spectacular and horrifying downfalls. Yet again the players know this but will go to great lengths to keep a job and to keep there spot on top.

The mind and body of an esports player. “One of the biggest challenges of his work is the conception that esports don’t require physical endurance or challenges like traditional sports, something that would make his work unnecessary or redundant” (Cass Marshall, p.1). This represents a huge issue to the industry of esports. Due to large voices a large amount of people.

And players believe physical health is entirely unnecessary in the realm of esports. Players do extensive levels of physical training as a benefit to themselves, their lives, and as a way of keeping there mental health up as well. Happy body happy mind, this physical training is extremely important to their mental health if a player runs down the track of being out of shape or unhealthy they risk things such as high levels of stress and even depresion. Those two things are extremely frightening to hear due to them being a very likely reason for a player to turn to drugs.

“Considered a favorite to win the title at the Smash Bros. Melee event at Evolution Championship Series in early August at the Mandalay Bay Events Center, McGrath was defeated right before the final, and he finished in third place. What was at first seen as a moment of anguish -- a title contender bowing out before even having a chance at a title -- quickly turned into a concerning scene” (Tyler Erzberger, p.2). Stress, high levels of stress. That's what McGrath the man being talked about in this quote was experiencing. The doctors say the stage and nerves as well as high levels of stress caused a panic attack on stage. Thankfully there were no drugs in this example but it very well could have lead to them. Situations like this happen all the time and can lead to drug addictions to the highest degree. The players don't realise though that these things can easily be solved with much safer healthier and possibly easier ways to deal with things like stress and anxiety on stage.

“What about those who are using it legally? While they might be getting an unfair advantage, it’s certainly not feasible to ban adderall altogether — it would leave those with a prescription going against medical advice” (Alisa Sherrington, p.2). Inappropriate use of prescribed drugs. Adderall a drug often used in the industry doesn't get players banned due to it not being a long lasting effect. Adderall isn't banned due to it being prescribed often enough.  Sadly prescribed medical drugs can be abused as well. Players taking high doses to increase focus temporarily. This can lead to overdoses as well. An overdose of adderall can often lead to long lasting effects and can sometimes be lethal to the abuser.

“Counter-Strike operates at a very different pace, Hiltscher continues: “It’s so much twitch gameplay: hitting the guy in the head or not hitting the guy in the head” (David Hiltscher, p.3). Twitch gameplay. This requires an extreme level of focus. If for 1 second you aren't focused on the game and the other guy comes around the corner it doesn't matter if you see him before he sees you as long as he's focused and you're not he's hitting the one hitting the shots. The topic keeps coming back to focus and what can a drug do. This is why proper regulation needs to be added. Currently the majority of leagues either have minimal rules on drugs or possibly none at all. Once the activity is recognized as an official sport across the world more rules and regulations will be added hopefully saving some of these guys dignity careers and possibly lives. Adderall should be at the top of the leagues hit list to create perma banned for players caught using an abnormal amount or using it while not prescribed.

References

(2017, August 22). Why Physical Health Programs Matter in Esports - Red Bull. Retrieved May 7, 2019.

(2016, September 14). Video Gamers Head To The Gym To Enhance Competitive Edge - NPR. Retrieved May 7, 2019.

(2018, August 24). Mental health issues in esports remain silent but very real threat to .... Retrieved May 7, 2019.

(n.d.). Kotaku – Ear Glue Media. Retrieved May 7, 2019.

(n.d.). Esports has a drug and gambling problem - TNW. Retrieved May 7, 2019.

(2016, May 29). The eSport Creation Manual: how Ubisoft and ESL made Rainbow .... Retrieved May 7, 2019.