E-sports are still foreign to many people. What’s behind it? Mostly young people who play games on their computers and compete against each other. You don’t see any tense muscles, no one is running around, and no one is doing any big jumps. On the contrary, everyone just sits on their chair, stares at the display, and clicks on the keyboard, mouse, or controller. What does that have to do with sports anyway? Quite a lot!

The best of the best competes against each other

Their names are Blizzard Entertainment, Electronic Arts, and NetEase. Also, companies that are not only known to gamers, in particular, are getting involved in the global gaming market: Google, Microsoft, Sony, etc. They constantly deliver exciting new games or upgrades and expansions for their bestsellers. The most modern games all have one thing in common: They are true high-tech products and challenge human best performances. Because every game needs human users who practice at it, get better and better, and maybe one day become “world champions” at it. Yes, world champions, just like in soccer, tennis, or handball. This can be achieved, for example, in League of Legends, a very popular multiplayer online battle arena computer game from the company Riot Games. The best of the best regularly compete against each other to measure their skills in it.

Sport is not limited to physical activity

But sport is still the only sport when you move! No, because chess also belongs to the recognized sports, even the International Olympic Committee says so. And the opponents just sit around and let their brain cells run hot. So real sport has to be much more than pure muscle power. The mental effort also counts, and so e-sports does slip into the realm of “sports. Apart from the fact that an avid StarCraft 2 player can hit the keyboard 300 times a minute and work up a sweat. And that many providers of Sports Betting Online have long since included e-sports in their range of products. On the comparison platform SBO, you will find numerous online bookmakers that are worth checking out. Often you can find not only soccer, rugby, field hockey, and tennis, but also League of Legends and other e-sports disciplines. The SBO portal can be used free of charge and without obligation, not only for research purposes but also to find the right betting provider for your own bets.

Sport has to be ethically valuable

Recognized sports are also supposed to be ethically valuable, and some people don’t see that in e-sports. Values such as fair play, equal opportunity, and inviolability of the person are upheld in sports, but is that even the case with fighting games, or is that more likely to be content that glorifies violence and brings danger with it? Opinions are still divided on this today, but one thing seems clear: even in recognized sports, there is content remotely related to violence, for example, fencing, shooting, and, of course, boxing. So, the important thing is not that it’s about fighting, but how it’s executed. The rules should be fair, no one should come to serious harm – that’s the case with e-sports. Besides, there is hardly any sport that is as inclusive as this one! Because basically (almost) everyone can participate in it, from children to the elderly. Location, age, and gender, but also in some cases a disability, do not form hurdles. So how (un)ethical is e-sports?

E-sportsmen have to perform at high levels

And how athletic are e-athletes? After all, if they’re going to succeed, they have to have excellent powers of concentration and react at lightning speed. They need excellent hand-eye coordination and have to make important strategic decisions within milliseconds. If you’re not fit enough, you’ll fall by the wayside here, just like in “real” sports. No one can win great victories while overtired or sick. E-sportsmen must therefore take care of their health. Real professionals look very closely at a healthy diet, compensatory sports, and enough sleep. They also train regularly in various ways, such as perfecting fine motor skills and long-lasting stamina. They know that they need a healthy body to compete against the world’s elite.

There will never be complete census

Of course, despite all the facts, you can still bring counter-arguments and doubt the sportiness of e-sports. There will never be a complete consensus on this. But sooner or later, e-sports will be recognized as a sport worldwide because the digital world simply keeps advancing. Even the Olympic Committee can’t escape this in the long run, and neither can the national bodies that have to decide on this. In Thailand, for example, the E-Sports Federation and the Asian Electronic Sports Federation have long been in place to take care of everything and promote the new virtual sport. Other nations join in.