Public conceptions of computer games are often misguided and there is a general conception amongst non-gamers that playing a computer game does not demonstrate any high level of skills worthy of recognition. Indeed eSports as with most computer games are still considered to be the realm of the bedroom geek. Most commonly recognised sports and games have evolved over many hundreds of years and are deeply established in society. The closest example to the rapid rise in the popularity of a game that hints to the future that eSports may have is Basketball. When James Naismith invented Basketball in 1891 he probably never realised that it would become a multi-billion dollar industry which carries a significant impact on the global sporting economy. The rapidly evolving environment of modern gaming allied with the increasing popularity of personal computers provides a highly fertile ground with the potential for rapid development in the sport and numbers of participants are beginning to explode.


*Alexei 'Cypher' Yanushevsky - eSports athlete / Jonathan 'Fatal1ty' Wendel - eSports athlete

Becoming a professional eSports player requires a lot of determination, training and discipline. For instance, one versus one players require a certain mental strength and self belief in order to play at a professional level because they only have themselves to rely on often against multiple hostile avatars. Team players need different skills in order to be successful. They need to know what each of their team members are doing during a match in order to play effectively and to follow strictly organised tactics whilst being able to counter the unexpected when necessary. There are also goals and objectives in both one verses one and team games where all players need to be timing their actions and coordinating themselves properly in order to maintain a level of control over their opponents.


*Tiger Woods - traditional sports athlete

eSports are highly mentally stimulating and involve rapid problem solving, tactical awareness, speed and accuracy of hand/mouse, along with effective manipulation of a keyboard. Professional gamers are becoming celebrities within the community and the sports world is full of personalities such as David Beckham (football), Paula Radcliffe (athletics), Tim Henman (tennis), Tiger woods (golf). Jonathan ‘Fatal1ty’ Wendel, an American professional gamer, is one of eSports most famous athletes. He has 11 world titles in 5 different games and currently has hardware merchandising named after him specifically aimed at gamers supported by Creative Labs (one of the worlds largest and most successful producers of video and sound equipment for computers).


*Cyrus ‘proZaC’ Malekani - eSports athlete

Another player worthy of note is the Swedish player Cyrus ‘proZaC’ Malekani. Although now retired from professional gaming, proZaC was a highly talented player of the first person shooter called ‘Quake 3 Arena’ and he left a lasting impression. He left professional gaming in 2004 but at every single tournament he was very popular with crowds due to his larger than life personality and was feted as much within the online Quake gaming community as any other professional athlete has been in their given sport.