WCG Tournament Director Admits Drugs In E-Sports 448
SlappingOysters writes "In the lead up to the World Cyber Games finals in Germany, Gameplayer has an incredible interview with Tournament Director Alex Walker in which he freely admits knowledge of participants taking illegal drugs to enhance their performance. The interview came in response to a previous article by the site in which they examined whether there was a need to bring drug testing into professional gaming events to ensure a level playing field. Walker said, 'I've seen a number of players at national tournaments who came in "baked" (that's stoned for the uninformed) purely so they could play better. In most cases they did, although obviously they couldn't just pull out another joint midway through. In one WCG, a player I knew took amphetamines an hour before his match to boost his reflexes.'"
Re:Effects of Cannabis (Score:3, Informative)
Calms you down a bit so you're less nervous perhaps?
Re:Baked (Score:1, Informative)
This really is all there is to it. I know some of the people involved, and they definitely don't go in stoned to "enhance their performance."
Common knowledge for "pro-gamers" (Score:5, Informative)
While the performance effects of cannabis are questionable, the fact that drug use, be it for recreational use or performance enhancement, is well known to gamers who actively compete in these kind of events.
Of the dozens of events I've attended, there's always a significant number of people getting baked before the evens. It's also not surprising to see a handful of people taking amphetamines to keep them on their A-game after hours worth of match ups.
Frankly this shouldn't be surprising, the entire sport centers around high caffeine sodas and gamer themed energy drinks. These events last for 6-8 hours at a time and winning becomes even more critical as the matches move towards the 11th hour.
The community's resistance towards the entire drug testing issue best highlights all of this, when a number of leagues started pushing around the idea, there was both apathy and outrage over the idea, yet few voices of support on the issue. The suggestion that nearly every team has at least one guy who probably does some kind of narcotic also plays a part in this viewpoint.
Until pro-gaming starts to get some real ad dollars behind it, the drug use will continue.
Re:Baked? (Score:1, Informative)
Dude, it's called baked, no one hijacked the word. Stoned just happens to be a bit more common, although "baked" comes quite close 2nd place. Just because you haven't ever hung around a liberal arts college doesn't mean that vernacular use of a common word doesn't exist.
And a lot of people don't know what "stoned" means either. Go to a Presbyterian church. The congregation will think you're talking about what happened to Jesus. (Meanwhile, the baked stoners will be chuckling a lot at the sermon. "Doooood! Jesus was stoned! STONED!!")
Almost certainly the case (Score:5, Informative)
Most recreational drugs are recreational because they produce an altered state of consciousness. Alcohol does the same thing. If you study a subject (say physics) while intoxicated, your recall of the material will be higher when intoxicated. It stands to reason that a similar phenomenon could exist with video games. They practice stoned so they play better stoned.
I'm not sure if that really counts as a "performance enhancing drug" though.
Re:Effects of Cannabis (Score:5, Informative)
Um, I'm not a regular drug user but how are the effects of Cannabis [wikipedia.org] beneficial to gaming?
Easy, THC (the active ingredient in Cannabis) causes your neurons to release large supplies of the neurotransmitter dopamine [wikipedia.org] into your synapses. Dopamine is responsible for helping your concentration. The idea is you're able to keep your focus much easier and concentrate on completing the task at hand in the game. For an experienced Cannabis user, this effect does in fact provide better gaming performance. I wouldn't recommend it for an inexperienced Cannabis user, however, as it can be quite disorienting for someone not used to it.
Choking and calm. (Score:1, Informative)
Calms you down a bit so you're less nervous perhaps?
Back in my tennis days, I would play great in practice but when it came to a game - I'd choke! My teammates wanted our coach to get me to take Xanax before a game so I could play better. After a few years, I became a little calmer, but I still choked. I never took the drug during a game, though. I was afraid I'd injure myself.
Re:Effects of Cannabis (Score:5, Informative)
Actually, in "normal" sports, illegal or legal means jack. Official sports events have a (quite long) list of substances that must not be found in your samples or you're disqualified. That list includs quite legal substances (caffeine, above certain levels) and over the counter medicine (some cold meds).