Draft - The growth of E-Sports and its viewership and financial backing has spurred debate over its identity as a "sport."

Over the past few years, E-sports has begun to attract worldwide attention and develop a steady following. What is E-sports? E-sports stands for electronic sports and it is oftentimes used interchangeably with the term competitive gaming. This involves organized video and computer gaming at a competitive level, oftentimes professionally, with players making E-sports a career.

It may very well be that some of you have never heard of E-sport's existence or perhaps it is difficult to understand how something like gaming, that is usually viewed as a casual activity done while sitting on one’s couch or at one’s computer, could evolve into a career. However, it is not unusual for casual activities to evolve into a person's passion and then into their career.

A number of similarities between traditional sports and E-sports blurs the line that separates them

If we look at American sports, there are popular games such as basketball, football and baseball where oftentimes people play spontaneous games for fun. Most people do not expect to able to take that casual activity of pick-up games and turn it into a lifestyle; however, many people do. Hundreds of people play sports at a professional level from the National Basketball Association (NBA)  to the National Hockey League (NHL). Teams are formed with staff and resources behind them. Games are hosted for people to see either in the comfort of their homes or live at game itself. 

E-sports shares more than just this aspect of evolving from a casual activity into a profession with traditional sports. In fact, it shares every one of the aspects of traditional sports I just mentioned. E-sports have developed an infrastructure of teams, coaches, analysts, and broadcasts and if one is willing, people can buy tickets to watch the games live. The similarities are there, which raises the question: does E-sports fall into the same category of basketball and football as a "sport" or is it something else?

I was able to talk to Dr. Stephen Roth a professor of kinesiology at the University of Maryland College Park and a specialist in Exercise Physiology, and ask him a few questions regarding the defining characteristics of a sport.

E-sports cannot be considered a sport due to a lack of physical performance

In order to determine whether E-sports is a sport or not, it is necessary to first define a sport. When asked to define what a sport is, Dr. Roth stated that a sport is an organized competition characterized by rules or guidelines, physical performance, and "a combination of two or more groups competing against each another in those rules and guidelines." Between these teams, there must be a clear way to ascertain who won and who lost or whether there is a tie.

E-sports clearly fulfills the requirement of an organized competition. There are many professional gaming organizations that sponsor leagues and competitions for specific games such as Major League Gaming (MLG), and Riot Gaming, a publisher that sponsors the professional circuit of its own game, League of Legends (LoL). The games have rules and constraints established within the games themselves and the organizations can modify these rules as the games undergo changes.

These organizations also develop and enforce rules for the professional players regarding conduct, teams, and trades just as the National Football League (NFL) does for professional football players. Punishments are also meted out according to these rules in the form of fees and player suspension or expulsion. In terms of winners and losers, all of the games within E-sports involve an objective or point system that makes the victor, loser or establishment of a tie clear to the players and to those watching.

Despite all of these factors, one factor remains missing and that is the physical performance. When asked whether the physical component was vital to defining an activity as a sport, Dr. Roth responded by saying most of the public views assumes that sports have a physical activity. He did state that there are other activities such as poker and chess that are "mental activities" or performances; however, the lack of the physical component makes these activities a performance or a competition but not a sport.

ESPN President John Skipper made a similar statement at a conference in September. Regarding E-sports, he stated, "It's not a sport - It's a competition. Chess is a competition. Checkers is a competition. Mostly, I'm interested in doing real sports." However, Chess is officially recognized by the International Olympic Committee as a sport. It is also interesting to note that ESPN began a partnership with video game publisher, Valve, to stream the world final games of DOTA 2, a popular computer game, which at the very least suggests that E-sports has monetary value.

E-sports is less physically demanding but still a sport, requiring physical ability and mental prowess

There is one argument that chess, although not an athletic sport, still represents the competitiveness of what the public usually views as a "sport." The same could be said for E-sports. Players form teams and practice relentlessly with the hope of becoming the best in their respective game. One could say that the spirit of competitiveness remains whether from behind a computer screen or on the football field. The fans of E-sports and the organizations behind the competitions themselves fuel this same competitiveness through merchandise such as apparel for professional teams like TeamSoloMid and promos such as this video made specifically for the 2014 League of Legends World Championship Finals.

Furthermore, some have made the point that, though clearly not as physically demanding, E-sports still places physical requirements upon the players in order to perform at the highest level. Players train hours at a time in order to mentally prepare themselves to play the game and to condition themselves physically. E-sports requires players to have extremely fast reflex response time and physical dexterity in order to play at a competitive level. Furthermore, each player must train and maintain the mental fortitude required to not only play the game but to play it and win.

All of this must come together whilst under the extreme pressure of thousands of viewers watching them not only at the competition but from their homes on their computers. There is clearly a physical requirement and degree of skill needed to perform in E-sports. However, beyond that, the physical basis of what makes a sport a sport, there is a cultural impact that both traditional sports and more recently E-sports have made and continue to make upon both the players and avid followers alike.

The extrinsic development of E-sports in viewership and financial backing culture support the growing popularity of E-sports.

If one looks at E-sports culture from an extrinsic perspective, in 2014, viewership exploded with over 71 million people viewing competitive E-sports worldwide and over half of them from the United States. According to a digital games market trend brief by Super Data Research, an average E-sports viewer watches competitive gaming an average of 19 times a month, and on average for about 2.2 hours. In fact, in 2013, there were more viewers of the Season 3 League of Legends World Championships than the NBA Finals Game 7 and the MLB World Series.

As viewership increased, the amount of money within the prize pools of E-sports events has also continued to rise with a total of 25 million dollars total worth of prize money for all E-sports events in 2013 with the highest prize pool of any individual event standing at 2,874,382 dollars for The International 2013 of the computer game DOTA 2.

Furthermore, with the rise in popularity major brands both gaming and non-gaming related, such as Coca-cola, Red Bull and Intel, are investing in e-sports through sponsoring events and teams. They view this as an opportunity to reach out to young affluent males, 18-34 years old, through the competitive gaming scene. Samsung, the major Korean corporation, has created and backed its own two League of Legends teams that not only represent them in sponsorship but in name, going by the names Samsung Galaxy White and Samsung Galaxy Blue. The initial input of financial baking will continue to fuel the growth of E-sports, allowing it to reach and be accepted by more audiences globally and increasing the recognition it holds for potential sponsors.

E-sport intrinsic growth is due to the rising perception of E-sports legitimacy from within the scene itself. 

This extrinsic growth in the E-sports scene also reflects the intrinsic growth of competitive gaming culture. It is demonstrative of the increasing impact competitive gaming has on all parties involved in the extrinsic growth, including players, coaches, analysts, sponsors, viewers and other people working behind the scenes of E-sports such as production crew. As E-sports has grown in monetary backing, players have seen professional gaming as a more viable option and a more legitimate career, promoting more commitment to the game itself and further growth.

A typical routine in a professional League of Legend player's life includes up to 12 to 14 hours of practice a day. This includes the discussion of strategy, watching replays of their own games and other team's games, and scrimmages against other teams. This need for a practice schedule has led to the emergence of dedicated coaches and analysts who live and work directly with these teams. All of these emerging positions within the E-sports scene suggest the growing legitimacy of E-sports, while the increase in sponsors reflect the confidence that these major companies have in E-sports as an avenue for marketing.

While the development of the both the numbers and the infrastructure behind E-sports continue to grow further, the fact remains that E-sports is not as physically demanding of the traditional mainstream group of sports. However,  it is clear that E-sports has clearly developed an infrastructure and a following similar if not the same as  these traditional sports that still leaves the ultimate question of whether E-sports can be considered a "sport" or is it simply a competition up in the air. Only time will tell if E-sports continues to grow into the giant that mainstream sports are today or whether it can earn or live up to its title as a "sport."