Is possible the doping in the E-Sports players?

e-Sports

The e-Sports (Electronic Sports) are the new trend in the ‘gamers’ world. In the 21th century this market has grown amazingly. Nowadays, much children dream to become a famous e-Sports player such as to be LeBron James or Lionel Messi.

In October 2017, the IOC (International Olympic Committee) considered the e-Sports as a sport, like football, basketball or handball, with this text about it:

‘’The Summit discussed the rapid development of what are called "eSports", and the current involvement of various Olympic Movement stakeholders. The Summit agreed that:
·         "eSports" are showing strong growth, especially within the youth demographic across different countries, and can provide a platform for engagement with the Olympic Movement.
·         Competitive "eSports" could be considered as a sporting activity, and the players involved prepare and train with an intensity which may be comparable to athletes in traditional sports.
·         In order to be recognised by the IOC as a sport, the content of "eSports" must not infringe on the Olympic values.
·         A further requirement for recognition by the IOC must be the existence of an organisation guaranteeing compliance with the rules and regulations of the Olympic Movement (anti-doping, betting, manipulation, etc.).
The Summit asked the IOC together with GAISF in a dialogue with the gaming industry and players to explore this area further and to come back to the Olympic Movement stakeholders in due course.’’

(picked up from https://www.olympic.org/news/communique-of-the-olympic-summit)

Before this new, only two Spanish football clubs had an e-Sports team: Valencia C.F. and Alcorcón C.F. Nevertheless, so many clubs have created a new e-Sports team in their ranks after that.

In this aspect, anyone suspected that the doping could affect this sport. That was until a e-Sports player called Kory ‘Semphis’ Friesen, who played for Cloud 9 team, admitted that his colleagues and him had consume some substances to improve their performance in the competitions. The substance that they usually consumed was ‘Adderall’, which they bought in USA. Adderal is used as an athletic performance enhancer and cognitive enhancer, and recreationally as an aphrodisiac and euphoriant. It can do that people can improve and keep their concentration.

Cloud 9 team

But, there is a big problem in this aspect. There is not any agency or comittee mandated of the anti doping plan in the e-Sports. Also, you can not find any doctor in these competitions, so anypeople can do an antidoping test.

One example of the importance of the anti doping measures is the NBA 2K League, that is represented by the NBA real teams, as Golden State Warriors or Denver Nuggets, for instance. As this is an oficial NBA competition, the players have to pass some drug tests, because they have to accomplish all the NBA rules. Here you can see a video about this league.

What is your opinion about this? In a future, do you think that more e-Sports players will consume substances to improve their performance? We are waiting your answers in the comments.

Thanks for reading us,

Sergio Torreblanca.