Professional Gamers Accused of Doping. Who Didn't See That Coming?
Posted 09/02/08 at 11:08:52 AM by Paul Lilly
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From baseball's Mitchell Report to track star Marion Jones being stripped of her Olympic medals, the awareness of drug use in competitive sports is at an all-time high. So high, in fact, that even professional gaming can't stay ducked under the radar.
Casting aside for the moment whether or not gaming qualifies as a 'sport,' there's no debate to the amount of money being made in professional gaming. Major League Gaming gives up to $100,000 a tournament in prize money, and the other U.S. based major league, the newly minted Championship Gaming Series, has awarded as much as $500,000 in tournaments. The tally gets even higher when expanding to a global view.
And whether or not you count professional gaming as a sport, with that much money at stake, is anyone surprised that accusations of drug use have started to be thrown? According to GamePlayer, an Australian lead gaming site, some of the commonly abused substances include marijuana, amphetamines, Dexamphetamine and Methylphenidate (Ritalin), Caffeine, and FpsBrain.
In a followup to the story, GamePlayer pinged Alex Walker, the director of the Australian World Cyber Games Tournament, who readily acknowledged that players are abusing drugs in order to enhance their performance. Walker notes seeing "a number of players at national tournaments who came in "baked" purely so they could play better."
As professional gaming grows in popularity, drug use could potentially become an even bigger problem. But at the current profit margin, gaming leagues can ill afford to implement drug testing, and DailyTech notes that a strict drug enforcement policy that includes marijuana could be met with a backlash among gamers.
Thoughts on the subject? Hit the jump and let us know.
Image Credit: MTV
Damn lowlifes, I think if
Submitted by s3th on Thu, 11/20/2008 - 6:28pm
Damn lowlifes, I think if your going to be a gamer, being healthy is a top priority even though it doesnt seem like its on everyones list of to-do's. WoW marathons, 24 hours of eating and sitting in front of a computer, especially everyday not to speak for myself sometimes, it seems out of hand.
I play CS 1.6 most, and Im betting that 97% of the people who play usually at night are telling everyone how much they do drugs or get drunk, or how baked they already are. Thing is noone cares so keep it to yourself.
ADDERALL ADVANTAGE
Submitted by TakeThaT on Tue, 09/16/2008 - 8:14am
I take adderall and no doubt it enhances my concentration accuracy focus and anticpation and my awareness of whats happening around me in my pc gaming ITS STEROIDS FOR THE MIND!!
Submitted by scuz on Wed, 09/17/2008 - 10:17am
Everything is a treasure hunt on adderall. It even takes the mind-numbing qualities out of those 60-wo/man WoW raids. Pretty scary though, when you haven't had anything to eat all day and you're not hungry because of all the stimulants...
Submitted by texmex69 on Wed, 09/03/2008 - 5:16pm
I have done many of drugs in my younger days and trust me they don't enhance anything except how much fun you are having. Weed for instance slows your ability to respond quickly to anything, trust me I know. Try playing DOD for three hours straight baked out your mind and tell me how well you do, but hey at least I had fun.
Submitted by tehR0XX0Rz on Tue, 09/02/2008 - 4:13pm
Video games aren't a sport, no more than chess is. You sit on your ass. Sitting on your ass isn't a sport, kids.
Throwing around dollar amounts may make this sound like this is all so high-roller, but those dollars are being split up amongst teams, across various events, etc. People aren't walking off with $100,000 checks. Winning enough to cover your airfare and hotel isn't exactly living large.
Submitted by scuz on Tue, 09/02/2008 - 9:05am
While it's a pretty stupid name for a product, FpsBrain is just a vitamin supplement. While I suppose that anything like a supplement could be TECHNICALLY labeled a drug, it's no different than a 50 year old taking a multivitamin specially formulated for people over 50. Gamers now have their specially formulated vitamin, and that's just plain silly.
Gamers drug of choice
Submitted by Talcum X on Tue, 09/02/2008 - 8:56am
Watever happened to Red Bull, or Balz energy drinks? Short of getting a scrip. for Speed, most drugs dont sharpen your gaming skills.
***********
Every morning is the dawn of a new error.
"In Ireland, there are more drunks per capita than people." - Peter Griffin
If the drugs are illegal
Submitted by b_boy_69_00 on Tue, 09/02/2008 - 8:55am
If the drugs are illegal then they shouldn't be allowed to use them, but caffine? C'mon, thats just rediculous. A lot of these tournaments are sponsored by Bawls or something like that so its stupid to even worry about caffine. Weed and Ritalin are different subjects though. If they are used illegally then the contestants should be thrown out. But as far as I know, without a full blood work-up or urinalysis, there is no way to prove that these drugs are being used.
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