ESPORT: Electronic Sports Professionals Observations and Reflections on Training

TL;DR

This study analyzes interviews with top esports players and staff to understand their training practices, highlighting physical training's importance, the perceived unimportance of nutrition, and key factors like resilience and balance in preparation.

Contribution

It provides a structured qualitative analysis of professional esports training practices, emphasizing physical and psychological aspects, based on interviews from 2015-2020.

Findings

Physical training is commonly mentioned as important.

Nutrition is considered relatively unimportant.

Resilience and consistency are key factors for success.

Abstract

Esports and high performance human-computer interaction are on the forefront of applying new hardware and software technologies in practice. Despite that, there is a paucity of research on how semi-professional and professional championship level players approach aspects of their preparation. To address that, we have performed, transcribed, and analyzed interviews with top-tournament players, coaches, and managers across multiple game titles. The interviews range from competitive events occuring between 2015-2020. Initial processing included transcription and manual verification. The pre-processed interview data were then organized and structured into relevant categories, touching on psychological, physical, and nutritional aspects of esports preparation. Further, where applicable, interview responses where rated and quantified via consensus judgement by a panel of experts. The results indicate that physical training was most often mentioned as a relevant or consistent activity, while nutrition was indicated as relatively unimportant. Qualitative analysis also indicated that consistency and resiliency were noted as the most key factors recommended for upcoming esports competitors. It is also clear that many players put emphasis on balancing their gameplay time and with activities. Lastly, we identified important areas of inquiry towards a deeper understanding of the mental and physical demands of professional esports players.