In recent years, eSports, competitive multiplayer video games, have seen a massive surge in popularity. According to Statista, a global business database, the worldwide business revenue for eSports totalled 865 million dollars in 2018, with growth projected to reach 1.79 billion dollars by 2022. Over 25 million people watch eSports in the United States alone (statista.com).

   Regardless of their popularity, eSports still lack the “acknowledgement” that many other sports enjoy. Many people do not view eSports as “actual” sports. According to the Oxford/Lexico dictionary, a sport is “…an activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes against another or others for entertainment” (lexico.com). By definition, eSports should be considered a sport due to the somewhat physical and high amounts of physical exertion and skill necessary to excel.

   eSports technically require some degree of physical exertion. According to an article published on Mirror, a study conducted by Kentucky University found that, on average, a person can burn 62 calories every hour just by playing video games. By comparison, playing darts for an hour will burn 85 calories and a 120 pound person walking a mile would burn 65 calories (mirror.co.uk).

   Though they obviously require less physical exertion than most high activity sports, mental skills are much more important when it comes to eSports. According to Senior Nhulong Vo, apart from requiring physical exertion, “…eSports require strategic planning and skills like accuracy, hand-eye coordination, and reaction time.” In terms of tactics, eSports could be held in the same regard as sports such as football, where planning out the next play is vital to success. Additionally, skills like accuracy, hand-eye coordination, and reaction time play as much a part in eSports as they do in regular sports like tennis, archery, or even boxing.

   These professional players must train just like any other athlete would. According to USA Basketball, your typical professional athlete will train five to six hours a day, six days a week (usab.com). A professional eSports player, on the other hand, will spend much more time training. In a Washington Post article, it is revealed that the average competitive player in the League of Legends Competitive Series (LCS) will spend 12 to 14 hours a day, six days a week, training for their next tournament (washingtonpost.com).

   eSports are also just as competitive as regular sports. In 2019, an eSports tournament known as “The International” featured 34 million dollar prize pool (statista.com). With that much money on the line, professional eSports players take their sport very seriously.

     eSports are sports and should be recognized as such. This should not even be that radical of an idea. The International Olympic Committee, in fact, recognises activities such as chess (a board game) and bridge (a card game) as official sports (olympic.org). Games such as these require much less physical exertion than any eSports but nonetheless are recognized.

   Competitive eSports are a relatively new thing. When it comes to accepting change and challenging the norms, people tend to hesitate. Though people do not hold them in the same regard as other sports, it is difficult to deny the similarities between eSports and conventional sports. Just like conventional sports, eSports have massive followings, competitive teams, require skill and training, and by all accounts should be considered a “real” sport.