ESCUELA SUPERIOR POLITÉCNICA DE CHIMBORAZO

FACULTAD DE CIENCIAS PECUARIAS

THE SPORT OF VIDEO GAMES

Voice 2 
In October of 2014, the Sangam Stadium was full again. This time, millions of people
were watching the game live on the internet. A huge computer screen showed people in
the stadium what was happening. But the screen did not show people throwing or
kicking balls. Instead, the huge screen showed colourful heroes attacking strange
creatures. Two teams of young men sat in front of computers. They were playing the
popular computer game League of Legends. The two teams were competing for a one
million dollar prize! The event was the 2014 World Championship of League of
Legends. This event is part of the growing world of esports. Today’s Spotlight is on
esports.

Voice 1 
The “e” in esports stands for electronic. Instead of playing physical games, people play
games on a computer. Most of these games are played on the internet. And just like
physical sports, other people watch the games. In 2013, more than 71 million people
watched professional esports. One popular way to watch esports is on the website
Twitch. In 2013, people watched 12 billion minutes of esports on Twitch!

Voice 2 
South Korea is the global center for professional esports. In South Korea, professional
esport teams earn money playing computer games. Millions of people watch these
games on television or the internet. Sports arenas are often filled with cheering fans.
And many of the players become as famous as actors or musicians.

Voice 1 
People love esports for the same reasons that people love other sports. The competition
is fun. The play is exciting to watch. The players are highly skilled. However, people
like esports for other reasons too. Esports is creative. The video games create new,
exciting worlds. In the games, people can do things that they cannot do in normal life.
Players use complex plans to win the games. They must work together as a team.  

Voice 2 
Just like in physical sports, esport teams in South Korea prepare for the games by
training. Many of the teams live together. They have paid trainers. The teams train for
12 hours every day, or sometimes more! They can get injuries in their arms or hands,
just like with physical sports.

Voice 1 
Professional esport players are not the only people who spend many hours playing
computer games. In South Korea, places called PC Bangs are very popular. The PC
Bangs are all about playing computer games. They usually have one big room filled
with many computers. There are no windows. People pay to play the games. They can
also buy energy drinks and food. Young people spend many hours there. News reporter
Matt Shea travelled to Seoul, South Korea to make a documentary film about esports.
He said,

Voice 3 
“There is a PC Bang on every street corner. This is one reason that Korea is the main
global force in esports.”

Voice 2 
Many people are concerned about the problems that can come with esports. One main
problem is technology addiction. Young people especially can play so many games that
they cannot stop. Some experts estimate that half of South Korean children have
problems with using computers and the internet too much. Because of this problem, the
South Korean government made a special Shutdown Law in 2011. This law made rules
for children using the internet. Children under 16 were not permitted to use the internet
between midnight and six in the morning. Later, the government changed this law.
Today, parents are responsible for setting rules for their own children. Also, the
government established technology addiction treatment centres all over the country.
These centres treat millions of people every year.

Voice 1 
One of the biggest problems in esports is performance-enhancing drugs. Many players
are serious about winning games. These players often take drugs to improve their
performance. Some kinds of drugs help the brain to concentrate. Others can help calm a
person. Still other drugs give a person extra energy. Using drugs can be very dangerous.
Bjoern Franzen worked in the esport business for many years. In 2014, he wrote in his
blog,

Voice 4 
“Using drugs in esports is one of the industry’s secrets. It is a natural thing for some
League of Legends players to take three different kinds of drugs before a game. They
will even do this to extend their training for a few extra hours.”

Voice 2 
As esport becomes more popular, people have a greater interest in fixing this problem.
The Electronic Sports League, or ESL, is the world’s largest esports organization. In
July of 2015, the ESL announced new rules. It is developing official rules against
performance enhancing drugs.

Voice 1 
Another problem is player exploitation. At times, managers or trainers have used their
players unfairly for money. They force the players to practice many hours at a time.
They only pay the players small amounts of money while they prepare for games. Some
have even forced players to cheat in games. In the most famous case, a star player
named Promise was caught cheating. He felt great shame. So he wrote a note, and
jumped off a very high building. He wanted to die, but he survived. This shocking event
helped people to see the corruption in the esport industry. After that, many more people
tried to change it.

Voice 2 
Although there are problems, esports continue to become more popular. Rahul Sood is a
businessman with the internet website Unikrn. Unikrn shows esport games. Sood
believes strongly that esport is going to get bigger and bigger. He says that it is
spreading all over the world. Sood told the BBC,

Voice 5 
“People are growing up on this sport. They start at a very young age. It’s everywhere.
It’s a global thing.”

Voice 1 
Do you play esports? What is your favorite game? Tell us what you think. You can
leave a comment on our website. Or email us at radio@radioenglish.net. You can also
comment on Facebook at Facebook.com/spotlightradio.

Voice 2 
The writer of this program was Jen Hawkins. The producer was Michio Ozaki. The
voices you heard were from the United States and the United Kingdom. All quotes were
adapted for this program and voiced by Spotlight. You can listen to this program again,
and read it, on the internet at www.radioenglish.net. This program is called, ‘The Sport
of Video Games’.

SUMMARY
Sangam Stadium is a huge sports arena in South Korea. It can hold almost 70,000
people to watch games. In 2002, FIFA World Cup games were played here. In October
of 2014, the Sangam Stadium was full again. This time, millions of people were
watching the game live on the internet.
The “e” in esports stands for electronic. Instead of playing physical games, people play
games on a computer. Most of these games are played on the internet. And just like
physical sports, other people watch the games. South Korea is the global center for
professional esports. In South Korea, professional esport teams earn money playing
computer games.

QUESTIONS:
How often do you play video games?

Playing video games is my favorite hobby, I usually play 4 or 5 hours a week, obviously
without neglecting my studies, which is the main thing,

Do you have a favorite video game?

I play it very often, I like to play sports games like soccer and street soccer, I also like
the "god of war" saga.