Ever since the term “esports” was coined there have been a lot of people who had a hard time accepting esports as an actual sport. That’s somewhat understandable seeing how it’s almost always ten or so people sitting passively in front of computers – hardly visually exciting or something that you’d characterize as a physically demanding activity.

However, the more you start analyzing things, the more you notice that there are some obvious similarities between traditional sports and esports as a whole.

Let’s take a closer look at what exactly makes them comparable and where they diverge.

These Players Are Investing Their Lives Into Esports

Professional esports players aren’t playing video games for a living because it’s fun, even though a good portion of them are enjoying their profession. They’re competing because they’re a part of a very elite club that’s able to play a video game at the highest possible level and they wouldn’t have been able to reach that level of play had they not have made ample sacrifices.

They’re investing years of their lives doing just one thing – trying to become the best at a certain video game. (much like any other professional athlete) Being the best at anything requires exception focus, and endurance and video games are no exception – players are practicing up to sixteen hours a day.

To these young men and women, this isn’t just “playing a game.” In fact, the game that they’re playing is no longer a game in a way. It’s a means for competition.

There is absolutely no difference between a professional tennis player – who goes to practice once or twice a day, watches footage on his opponents, has special treatments and nutrients and hatches up strategies with his coaches – and a professional esports player. They have the exact same day from start to finish, and they make the exact same sacrifices in order to achieve greatness.

They Have Proper Infrastructure

A frequent misconception is how people perceive competitive gamers. People imagine five or six ungroomed adolescents living under one roof and living off of energy drinks and junk food.

However, the reality is far different.

These players have professional coaches and analysts (sometimes multiple coaches for different aspects of the game), they have cooks preparing nutritious meals every single day as well as physical trainers and psychologists.

They often have a fixed daily schedule and have pre-planned activities ranging from team building exercises to fulfilling sponsor obligations.

On rare occasions that they do get some free time, many players decide to keep practicing or stream online to communicate with their fan base.

Playing video games competitively is not something that you can do on the weekends or when you have free time. It’s a life’s calling, and it requires constant investment.

The Mental Game

Playing video games at the highest possible level requires incredible mechanical talent as well as the ability to make highly calculated micro movements within a split second (whether that’s character movement during a complex, chaotic team fight or mouse flicking to headshot an enemy).

Making the wrong call in these highly stressful moments can not only lose you and your team the game but could cost you hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars. The pressure to perform is immense.

Over the last couple of years, sports psychologists became an integral part of every top-tier esports organization. Teams realized that players needed additional practice and coaching just for the mental aspect of competition. From in-house preparation to game day the impact these psychologists have on esports competitors became evident very quickly.

It’s Only For A Select Few

Anyone can play a video game, that’s a fact. But also anyone can play soccer or shoot a couple of hoops. If I score a goal, am I considered Messi? Of course not. The same goes for video games – anyone can play, but only a select few have the innate talent that is necessary to compete at the highest possible level.

And much like any other talent, it’s not just a matter of “you’re either good or not.” Players have to invest countless hours into their craft to improve. It’s a process, and it takes years regardless of the game.

While you could argue that grinding out and improving at a video game requires a lot less energy than a traditional sport, the virtues that you have to possess to improve and become a top-tier competitor are essentially the same.

Nuances Are The Deciding Factor

Another key aspect of competitive gaming is the subtle layers and nuances.

Let’s take League of Legends as an example. Jian “Uzi” Zi-Hao is a Chinese player currently playing for a team called Royal Never Give Up, and he is considered the absolute best player in his role.

Now you can take the second best player in that specific role and give him the exact same champion to play, and there would be an obvious disparity. Uzi would be better – a lot better. Much like there are nuances when comparing the best professional footballers or tennis players. They’re all using the same tools but what they’re capable of is different.

While esport players are playing the same champions in-game, there is a clear and evident difference in how well they’re “using” their virtual avatars and how much success they’re having.

Multiple players said that Uzi actually knows the exact number of frames that each champion has within every attack or move animation so that he can count the time that is necessary before executing a task – whether that’s killing a minion, dashing to safety or attacking an opponent.

The Viewing Experience Is The Same

You can’t say that playing League of Legends at the same stadium where Usain Bolt set three world records in 2008 is a small thing. It’s not. Fans have to get in line and buy tickets just like for any other sporting event, and the satisfaction that they get from watching competitive esports are exactly the same as if it were any other traditional sport.

You’re screaming and laughing, cheering and jumping regardless if it’s League of Legends or the NBA. You root for your favorite team, and you’re crushed when you see them make a mistake or lose.

Big tournaments are always held in huge legendary sports arenas around the world, and the production level is absolutely insane regardless of the game. Tickets for League of Legends events often sell out in a matter of minutes – regardless of the arena’s capacity, and tickets for this year’s inaugural Overwatch League finals held at the Barclay’s Center sold out in two weeks (20,000 seats).

So if you’re a hardcore fan of competitive gaming, you’re really not missing out on the viewing experience either. You can watch games live along with thousands of other fans or watch from home on Twitch or YouTube.

The Change In Culture And Viewership

It’s no secret that traditional sports are declining in both viewership and youth participation. Now while that might not be a positive nor healthy thing for youngsters around the world, it’s still a fact. Kids spend the majority of their time in front of computers, tablets, phones, consoles, and many studies show that over the last ten years the number of kids playing traditional sports has hit an all-time low.

By the looks of it, things won’t get any better.

For esports, however, that’s a positive. Young people watching today will continue following competitive gaming throughout the future. According to Riot Games, more than sixty million people tuned in to watch the 2017 World Championship held in Beijing, China.

These numbers are rising with each passing year, and competitive gaming has only just begun in a way. We’re still in its infancy stage even though esports (in one shape or another) existed for over a decade.

Many colleges in America have esports scholarships and teams. They’re encouraging the growth of competitive esports, and the very best among their students get the chance to play and get drafted by big top tier teams. Esport careers are getting more and more lucrative and attractive as time goes on and even though it’s far from being accepted as a standard profession it’s rising in popularity.

People get too caught up on the word “sport.” They’re too hung up on the most traditional definition possible. The world around us is changing and evolving and so should we. What we are considering sports today could be outdated in a couple of decades, and the definitions that we hold so rigidly should change with the times.

It’s perfectly fine if you consider sports physical only, but it’s a fact that competitive gaming is far more similar than first meets the eye.

In essence, it really doesn’t matter whether or not esports are considered sports or not. It doesn’t make a difference to anyone – to the players, the viewers nor the cynics. Esports is a phenomenon that grew organically, and it’s here to stay whether people like it or not.