WePlay Esports recently provided an example of the importance of mental and physical preparation prior to major events. Different types of activity have different effects on the human body, whether mentally, physically, or otherwise. Esports competition is no different.
There is always something changing within an individual player, whether it is during the hours of practice and preparation leading up to a tournament, working on changing habits to increase productivity, or actually playing on stage.
It’s difficult to gauge how mentally and physically taxing playing a videogame at a high level is unless there’s an injury or a player speaking out. Everything is connected, whether it’s a controller, PC peripherals, or something as simple as the posture a player adopts for hours on end every day.
The tournament organizer set out to prove that competing at a high level required a lot more than just heart during the WePlay Academy League, a $100,000 CS:GO league organized by WePlay Esports for academy teams in partnership with top organizations like Ninjas in Pyjamas, Astranis, and Na’Vi.
WePlay Holding used heart rate sensors on stage when the teams participating in the LAN portion of the WePlay Academy League’s first season were on stage to see what effects playing on a live stage—for many of the players—could have. During the grand finals between mouz NXT and Young Ninjas, mousesports, and NiP’s academy teams, the most definitive data was provided.
Some players began with a base heart rate of 85 to 90 beats per minute while mouz was on stage. It’s a little higher than the average resting heart rate, but given the importance of the game, the result wasn’t unexpected. However, as the game progressed, those numbers increased to over 100 bpm, with some players reaching 130 bpm in stressful situations.
Researchers have proven that esports players show signs of physical strain in certain areas, similar to traditional athletes, in a study compiled by scientists at the German Sports University in 2018, and in multiple studies since then. This is especially true when it comes to optimizing motor skills, which can reach 400 keyboard and mouse movements per minute and heart rates as high as 160 to 180 beats per minute, putting them on par with marathon runners.
According to the chief visionary officer and general producer at WePlayMaksym Bilonogov, Esports, the BPM sensors show that esports is a true competition with real tension and emotions and that the players’ heart rates reached 160 and above, which is similar to what marathon runners experience. This is the way sports will be in the future and that they showed how dramatic, immersive, and intense it can be at WePlay Esports.
The increased use of specialized coaches and support staff for areas such as mental health, discipline, and other practices more associated with traditional sports back up this science and use of technology. Esports teams and organizations are becoming more aware of the significance of this data and how effectively managing it can make the difference between their players’ continued success or failure.
The LAN event for WePlay Academy League Season Two will take place from November 12 to 14, and will feature a rematch between mouz NXT and Young Ninjas in the upper bracket’s first round. It will be broadcast live on WePlay’s Twitch and YouTube channels.