E-SPORT: SPORT OR NOT?
Kawee “Mark” Wachiraphas and Sarindhorn “Jinny” Wanothayarnchai spend a lot of their time playing games. To maintain their performance level, Kawee, 26, a professional online gamer, practices eight hours a day, meanwhile Sarindhorn, 27, commits at least six hours a day to improving her skills.
These are their regular hours. Their highest records can blow your minds.
“I used to play 12 hours a day from midday to midnight because I had to prepare for competitions and did game live-streaming, which I do for living,” Kawee said.
“I once played 26 hours, but it was a challenge. I bet myself if I reached a certain number of subscribers, I would do game live-streaming for 24 hours,” Sarindhorn said.
Though they both spend a lot of time with games, the pair don’t consider themselves addicted.
“People who are addicted to games waste their time with games. I earn money from it. I have been an e-sports athlete since I was 17 years old. After that, I never had to ask my dad for money again,” Sarindhorn said.
The future of e-sports athletes seems bright after the Sports Authority of Thailand officially recognised e-sports as a sport in December. In this year’s Asian Games, it was a demonstration sport and will be upgraded to a medal sport at the 2022 Games. The Paris Olympics 2024 is considering it as a demonstration sport.
However the Mental Health Department disagreed. E-sports are basically video games, and the main concern is the number of young people who are addicted to online and video games doubled in the last year.
Mental Health Department adviser Dr Yongyut Wongpiromsarn said: “This number is the tip of the iceberg. There are many more children who haven’t come for treatment at hospitals.”
The psychiatrist said he has no objection to video or online games. He accepts that there are some good games that allow people to use their creativity, and some games are even used in therapy sessions.
“Video and online games are legal businesses, but they aren’t sports. Is it OK if someone said liquor is a juice or nutrient because it is made from grapes or grain? It is fine to arrange game competitions, but don’t claim it is a sport,” Dr Yongyut said.
“According to the International Olympic Committee, there are three reasons that e-sports haven’t been accepted as a sport yet. First, e-sports contradict Olympic values because some games contain violent content. Next, e-sports still don’t have a sanctioned body of rules and fair play. And while sports are for the public, e-sports are a business due to their copyrights.”
Unlike the Mental Health Department adviser, professional gamers believe e-sports are definitely another form of sport.
“Despite not using physical strength, e-sports is a sport. It is similar to chess which require lots of premeditated plans. E-sports athletes have to practice to develop skills like other sportspeople,” Kawee said.
The authority’s decision is controversial because lots of young people are addicted to games, but they plead that they are spending their time to practice. Dr Yongyut suggests how to identify if people are addicted to games.
“Gamers who aren’t addicted have discipline. They can schedule their time and know how to control themselves. Though they play for several hours, it doesn’t affect their duties and routines. On the other hand, addicted gamers have impaired control over gaming. Playing games interferes with their routine lives.”
In addition to suggestions from the psychiatrist, professional gamers say that e-sports athletes are different from general players because they take the game seriously and work hard for competitions.
“Most people play games for fun, but e-sports athletes must practice for hours regularly to prepare for competitions,” Kawee said.
“After graduating high school, I took two gap years and went to Malaysia to join a team and practiced very hard to enter competitions. If you just play games, you aren’t an e-sports athlete,” Sarindhorn added.
One of issues that made the Mental Health Department adviser urge the authority to rethink their decision was that online and video game competitions were held in educational institutions.
“There were online game competitions in a university throughout last September. This shouldn’t be allowed. These competitions should have age restrictions for children under 18 because they are at risk of becoming addicted,” the psychiatrist said.
“Game competitions are different from physical sports. If you play football or gymnastics for several hours, you will feel exhausted and stop playing, but games are designed to stimulate excitement. Gamers can play for an unlimited time and this leads to addiction.”
In contrast, gamers are happy with having e-sports in educational institutions. They take it as a good sign for e-sports.
“It is a starting point for young people to enter a game competition and find out if they can deal with this kind of pressure. And they can develop themselves to become e-sports athletes,” Kawee said.
“It’s great. In the past, young gamers who wanted to participate in competitions overseas had a hard time getting permission from schools. Now, instructors know more about e-sports and allow them to enter competitions,” Sarindhorn said.
Being a professional gamer is definitely a dream job for people who love playing games, but according to Dr Yongyut, this is rare.
“Among a million game players, 80,000 players become addicted. Only one in a million can become professional gamers,” the psychiatrist said.
From one million players, Kawee and Sarindhorn are two successful gamers. They started playing games because their family members also played games. Kawee started playing at 15 while Sarindhorn got into it when she was 16.
Currently, Kawee is a member of team IT City Bacon. He specialises in multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA), a strategy subgenre. He was a champion at the Asian competition Throne of Glory in Vietnam last year.
Sarindhorn, from the team MITH, also went through Asian competitions. She was ranked eighth at the Extreme Lands in Japan for playing Counter-Strike:
Global Offensive two years ago. Professional gamers explained that their main income is from video game live-streaming.
“We are called game streamers. It is similar to game casters, but the programme is live. I stream on the website Twitch. In the past, in order to make money, gamers must enter competitions. Now, there are more options,” Sarindhorn said.
“The game business has grown. There are many careers related to games such as game caster, streamer, narrator, analysis and coach,” Kawee, a game streamer on the website Garena Live, said.
The game business has risen rapidly. Even the president of football team Buriram United, Newin Chidchob, announced plans to launch a professional e-sports team. On the website buriramunited.com, Newin indicated that there are 10 million people around the world who watch e-sports online. And the e-sports industry is worth 30 billion baht. He plans to launch an e-sports academy in order to train young gamers.
The plan is supported by gamers. “Nobody has established an e-sports academy before. Newin gave an opportunity to young gamers to develop their potential and will be able to compete with teams from other countries,” Sarindhorn said.
SOME MENTAL HEALTH PROFESSIONALS SAY ‘NO’, BUT PROFESSIONAL GAMERS SAY THEY’RE NOT ADDICTED, THEY’RE WORKING
Most people play games for fun, but e-sports athletes must practice for hours regularly to prepare for competitions