It might seem like a strange move, but Esports is big business. Source: Facebook
ATHLETES using prohibited drugs to gain an unfair physical or mental advantage has plagued sports for generations.
To combat the issue, many of the world’s leading sporting organisations have stringent drug testing procedures for the sole purpose of catching cheats.
The latest association to implement these procedures is the world’s largest competitive video-gaming organisation.
Yes, you read that correctly.
In an effort to clean up the top tier of its competition, the Electronic Sports League (ESL) will test video gamers for performance enhancing drugs at its upcoming events.
“Our main goal is and always will be to maintain the fair play spirit and the integrity of our competitions and we’re confident that the anti-doping policy is important improvements that will help us advance as a sport,” the Electronic Sports League said in a statement.
But, it’s not just one or two substances that will be the focus.
A partnership with the World Anti-Doping Agency will see ESL test gamers for the same drugs banned at the Olympic Games.
The extensive list covers a wide range of substances including androgens, peptide hormones, stimulants, diuretics, narcotics, and cannabinoids.
This means gamers who plan to jump on the juice to gain some extra button mushing power will have to reassess their tactics.
However, gamers that finetune their skills while smoking doobies in their living room can rest a little easier.
ESL said competitors were free to smoke outside of tournaments with testing for marijuana only running “from the start of the first day until the end of the last day of competition”.
A quick look at the size of the crowd at the Los Angeles Staples Center for the 2013 League of Legends finals is a fair indication of the sport’s popularity. Source: Facebook
WHAT IS THE REASON FOR THE BAN?
The implementation of such stringent drug testing for video gamers may seem extreme, but it is a necessity given the increasing popularity of the sport over the past five years.
Last year alone, the 2014 League of Legends championship attracted more than 27 million viewers on ESPN, which made it more popular than game seven of last year’s baseball World Series and the NBA Finals decider.
In addition to its climb into the mainstream, Esports offers lucrative prizemoney that far exceeds what is offered by some world’s biggest sporting events.
In fact, last week the winners of an international tournament for the video game Dota 2 shared in a prize pool of more than $A13 million.
With such large sums of cash on the line, organisers hope to provide a fair playing field for all those involved in the tournaments.
In hopes to protect the integrity of its competitions, the organisation had always prohibited the use of drugs, alcohol and other performance enhancers, but they had never physically tested for them.
This all changed last month when a professional Counter-Strike player made a shock admission.
When speaking to the media, Kory “SEMPHIS” Friesen detailed how he and other members of his team were using the psychostimulant Adderall during a major tournament in March, where players competed for $250,000 in prizemoney.
Following the claims, Esports kickstarted a policymaking process to adjust the rules surrounding drug testing.
“The popularity and visibility of esports has grown exponentially in recent years, but this combined with the increasing size of prize pools has also made the temptation of rule-breaking even greater,” it wrote in a statement.
“As the world’s largest and oldest esports organisation, ESL has an ongoing commitment to safeguarding both the integrity of our competitions and that of esports as a whole.”
Players found cheating could miss awesome tournaments like this one. Source: Facebook
HOW WILL IT WORK?
The Electronic Sports League will begin the testing at the world’s largest Counter-Strike: Global Offensive tournament, which begins this weekend in Germany.
In order to prepare the implementation of the new rules, the organisation supplied gamers with a list of all the banned substances, so they knew what drugs/medications to avoid.
Furthermore, ESL had to decide what the most effective method for testing participants would be.
“We initially announced we will be working with skin tests, but upon further investigation and consultation with the authorities, we came to the conclusion that saliva tests are better fit,” ESL wrote in a statement.
“Tests will be performed at our discretion at any time during tournament days and will take place in a designated testing area.”
As ESL One Cologne will be the first tournament to drug-test competitors, the organisation said it would only perform a select number of randomised tests.
“However, we don’t want to exclude the possibility of performing a larger number of tests among all/majority of players at a later stage,” ESL said.
“Should the testing policy and method change, we will inform the players accordingly.”
In the instance where a player has a legitimate prescription for containing one or more of the banned substances, they will need to provide organisers a letter from a physician explaining why they need the specific medication.
“They have to disclose this to us as soon as possible, but no later than the first match is scheduled to start,” ESL said.
Those found guilty of using illicit substances will face punishments including point deductions, disqualifications or even two year bans from all ESL events.
“We will look at each case separately and once again ensure player’s full privacy.”
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