Esports: what does the term mean?

What does the term eSports mean?

E-Sports (pronounced ‘Ih-Sports’) is short for electronic sports. This means “direct competition between human players using suitable video and computer games” (source: esportbund.de). Therefore, esports means conducting a competition in video games.

As in any other sport, there are also different disciplines in e-sports. Each video game can be understood as a separate discipline in electronic sports. For example, a League of Legends player will typically be less successful in Counterstrike.

Unlike traditional sports, the rules of esports are constantly changing. because with everyone patch if more innovations are added, the rules must also be adapted. This has the advantage that the rules are already firmly embedded in the game and are difficult to break. The exceptions are mistakes and cheating and also doping. For this reason, referees are still needed in esports.

There are also professional teams and players in e-sports. Esports clubs typically operate across all disciplines. clubs like cloud9 either G2 sports manage teams for many different games such as League of Legends, Counterstrike, Apex Legends or even Hearthstone and even chess. Although the games do not have a team focus, players are happy to join these clubs.

By the way, the financing of e-sports teams works in the same way as in traditional sports: Sponsors, prize money, fan items and membership fees ensure that people can achieve their career goals in esports. Additionally, esports organizations fill large stadiums with their tournaments. Tickets sold for this and other sponsors allow for high prize money.

Do you want to learn more about the language of the players?

Then take a look at our list of game terms, where we explain all the important words and abbreviations.

What does an e-sportsman do?

Training is also very important in esports. It is part of every discipline to train between tournaments. It’s not just about physical skills like precise control inputs, but above all about mental training.

Esports often involves a lot of tactical sensitivity. A wrong decision can mean the difference between victory and defeat. That is why e-athletes train in their discipline every day to be prepared for every situation.

The rule changes that are typical of esports always result in new tactics. That is why esports players should always be up to date on the game and its Goal be. Otherwise they run the risk of being surprised by new characters, tactics or abilities. In larger teams, this job is taken over by analysts and trainers.

Do e-athletes only sit in front of the screen?

In addition to training for their game, esports players must also pay close attention to their mental and physical health. An unhealthy lifestyle can severely limit the performance of esports athletes. For this reason, professional players have a team of different experts: physical trainers, nutritionists and psychologists who ensure that their players are and remain at their peak. Electronic athletes sit in front of the screen a lot, but they also ensure a healthy balance.

Always one against the other?

Competitive esports disciplines are much more popular because they fill stadiums, as mentioned above. But there are also professional gaming areas that dispense with this type of competition. Speed ​​runs, as well as no-hit runs that attempt to complete the game without damage, can also be counted as esports disciplines.

Examples of the use of the term e-sports

• I am training to become an esportsman later.

• There is an esports event.

• The game has real potential for esports.

• I play in the e-sports club (…).

Do you want to know what games are available in e-sports? We have selected the 10 most popular esports titles for you:

The most popular esports games of all time

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