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page 02 February 9, 2018 abstract The University Register Katy Evenson the university register University of Minnesota, Morris day, and then go on to stream for an audience in additionComic to 600 East Fourth Street that. A typical player might put in as many as sixteen hours Morris, MN 56267 Esports: The responsible of total game-time each day. Such repetitive actions for Christian Pfeiffer Editor-in-Chief E-mail: [email protected] many hours on end, day after day puts a massive amount of E-mail: [email protected] NFL that doesn’t take your strain on the fingers and wrists, not to mention the psyche The University Register invites letters from its readers. Letters tax dollars Ben Mladenich, Staff Writer of the individual in question. As such, many teams opt to may be edited for length, libelous content, good taste, and other hire both doctors and nutritionists to help offset the possi- In December of 2016, I went to go see Passengers with bility of chronic injury, as the staff of Kotaku’s COMPETE like concerns. All letters and editorials represent the views and several of my friends. I read the other showings as we waited points out. Less addressed are controversies and breakdowns opinions of the author only and do not necessarily reflect the in line for tickets and found something very unusual among started by players under this intense regimen. Recently, opinions of The University Register or its staff. In order to be the listed movies. Dota 2 was listed for several tournament XQC, a popular streamer and OWL league player, made a eligible for publication, all letters must include the author’s name streams. This confused me as Dota 2 is a video game, some- homophobic slur in the middle of his stream about another thing I would never have guessed would be streamed at reg- OWL professional. He apologized immediately, was fined and email address. The deadline for editorial submissions is Wednes- ular, Friday night showings. But Esports have taken off in $1,000, and was not allowed to play for his team in the next day at 8:00 p.m. before the Thursday of publication. The University ways that only people well versed in the language of online several matches. The targeted player made a Twitter post Register will make all possible attempts to publish all letters we gaming would understand. Though they fill movie theaters later saying that there were no hard feelings, and the whole receive, however some letters may be omitted due to space con- rather than stadiums, Esports are a growing contender in event passed through with little fanfare. OWL reacted the world of sports programming demanding the attention swiftly, showing that they would not tolerate such behavior. straints. of viewers worldwide, and they are eager to not make the This method of actively trying to enforce better behavior is same mistakes that other professional sports organizations a breath of fresh air, especially with the NFL’s reputation have. for having inadequate bans and punishments for offending Depression (duh-duh- In terms of numbers, Esports are certainly climbing. players such as Ray Rice, whose actions seem to have been Tournaments, though much smaller in physical attendance largely ignored by the administration of the NFL. After be- DUHHH) Christian Pfeiffer, Editor-in-Chief than other sports, garner a massive online spectatorship ing convicted of domestic assault, Rice was only banned for through streaming providers like Twitch. These numbers two games initially. Policies were later revamped to force f you don’t like Chris- continue to rise, baffling those networks that simply do not him out of the league after a video of him dragging his un- tian “Get off my lawn!” understand the Esports industry. The advertising prospects conscious wife out of an elevator was released (Louis Bien). IPfeiffer, aka Christian for these events are massive, especially for the larger, more Cheating, something more easily handled by athletic “Andy Rooney, back from unified tournaments. sports organizations, has always been an issue as long as the dead and stronger than Streaming has risen in popularity in recent years both competition has been around. Tour de France athletes have ever” Pfeiffer, aka Christian as a venue for Esports as well as for personal streaming. cheated by using steroids, blood doping, and tiny electric *angry growls* Pfeiffer, now According to Julia Alexander, writer for Polygon, DrDisRe- motors hidden within bike frames and wheels. Esports are is your chance to back out. spect’s recent stream reached a high of 388,000 viewers, a no exception. Perhaps it is even easier to cheat in most Es- You have been warned. record for the platform (though aspects of DrDisRespect’s ports, though it is certainly not without evidence. Many If you’ve ever taken a behavior also make it difficult for any league to associate tournaments record the view of players in each game, and class with UMM Concert with him). Conversely, this year’s Super Bowl reached a can review the footage later if there is any dispute. In some Choir Director, Bradley much greater high at an average of 103.4 million viewers cases, it is even possible that a player might be found guilty Miller, you may have heard him use the phrase “it’s not your according to Reuters, though that number has been slipping of cheating within a match, such as the case of a profession- fault, but it is your problem.” That’s depression in a nutshell. If in the last few years. al CS:GO player representing Winterfox. During a match you suffer from it, you know that you’ve done nothing to earn Monetary gain for players is also something to be con- against Renegades, WFX*XP3’s crosshair snapped directly it. Or, at least, I hope you do; I would feel really bad if you sidered in tournament play. For example, the prize pool onto the head of an enemy player, though the player was think you have it as divine punishment for touching yourself of International 2017, a Dota 2 tournament, was a total of hidden by a wall. The most likely hack WFX*XP3 used in at night. But I digress. The point is having depression is not $10,862,683 for the first place winners and $61,720 for this scenario was a wall-hack, which allows players to see your fault. 18th place. Accounting for all places, the pool was nearly through walls to gain an advantage. Among other popular However, it’s the second half of my argument, dear reader, $25,000,000 (Dota 2 Prize Pool Tracker). NFL players earn hacks are aimbots and spinbots, as well as programs that that I’d like to focus on. The simple truth of the matter is that anywhere between $56,000 to $112,000 per game depending compensate for recoil and bullet spread. Other, more mali- while depression IS NOT your fault, it is your problem. In on whether or not they lose according to journalist Scooby cious hacks might even target an opponent’s computer, forc- other words, ultimately, it is up to you to make good choices Axson in his recent Sports Illustrated article, “Do Players ing them offline long enough for the cheater to win the for yourself. Get Paid Bonuses for Winning the Super Bowl?” though game. While cheating bans might be avoidable by either Now I’m not saying that if you suffer from depression, it’s that figure does not take into account the advertising op- buying a new account or waiting for a ban to expire, even your duty to fight the illness alone because that would be bon- portunities or total profit an organization might make from a ban of just two years might be too much for a player to kers. Everyone needs a support network. But, in the same way putting on a tournament. recover from. While conventional sports might change over you can lead a horse to its therapy sessions, you can’t make the Blizzard’s Overwatch, under the direction of Jeff Kaplan, time with the slight additions of new rules, Esports have an horse follow its therapist’s recommendations if it doesn’t want recently launched Overwatch League, or OWL for short, environment of rapid change that is introduced in the form to. Ultimately, it’s up to the horse to make the conscious and which is a first-party professional scene. Players are assigned of frequent balance patches for games who still have active resolute decision that it is sick and tired of feeling sick and a team and set up to play against others within the league on developers. Characters might change in play style complete- tired, and subsequently decide that it is going to do everything a regular basis, more closely resembling conventional sports ly, and mechanics might change so radically that the game in its power to get better. leagues than other games, which opt for something similar is almost completely different on a competitive level when This is what it means to be an adult. Adults take responsi- to a more isolated tournament structure. the player returns. bility for their mental health and are proactive. They engage Overwatch League also recently welcomed its first fe- Balance patches and the introduction of new weapons in activities they know will likely cheer them up and avoid male professional, Geguri, who received a lot of attention and abilities might bring new aspects to the game in a way those activities they know will likely bring them down.

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