Page 17 - aruba-today-20180825

A17
Saturday 25 auguSt 2018

The debate

over esports:

Gamers or TRUST

athletes?

VANCOUVER, British Co-
lumbia (AP) — What con- TEE
stitutes a sport? Who pre-
cisely is an athlete?
Ballroom dancing and
bridge have tried to join
the Olympic roster. Profes-
sional video gaming gath-
ers for the International
Dota 2 Championships this
weekend, drawing fans
and players from around
the globe. Millions will
stream the event online.
Those tuning in will see
similarities with traditional
sports — a stadium packed
with cheering fans, ana-
lysts in headsets offering
commentary.
Some of that structure has
been borrowed from other
sports, said Erik Johnson of
Valve, the company that
created the "Dota 2" game
and runs the tournament.
But there's a difference
when it comes to compe-
tition. High-level gamers
are tested on how they
handle the pressure of be-
ing watched by millions of
people as they compete
for big money, Johnson
said
"It's not a physical test, it's
a mental test for a lot of
these players," he said.
Victor Goossens is the co-
CEO of Team Liquid, which
won the "Dota 2" champi-
onship last year. He said
his players spend up to 12
hours a day practicing and
studying their game and
take care of their physi-
cal and mental health in
the same way a traditional
athlete does.
Goossens' group is always
looking for a competitive
advantage, so this year Lovemark, Koepka share lead after 2 rounds
they teamed up with tech-
nology company SAP to
develop software that
would allow them to ana- Brooks Koepka, left, shakes hands with Dustin Johnson after they completed the second round of the Northern Trust PGA golf tourna-
ment at Ridgewood Country Club in Paramus, N.J., Friday, Aug. 24, 2018.
lyze their training and in- Associated Press
game performances.q Page 19