News Digest

Game over: Competitive video gamers to face random drug testing

Doping scandals frequently rock the world of athletics, but now it seems there is a growing problem in the world of competitive video gaming. So the organizers of some of the world’s biggest tournaments are going to introduce random drug testing. The Electronic Sports League said it would work with the World Anti-Doping Agency to create and enforce rules on the use of performance-enhancing drugs. “The growing visibility and popularity of e-sports, as well as increasing prize pools, make it not only more tempting for teams and players to break the rules, but also more damaging to our sport as a whole when they do,” the organization said in a statement.

We were all on Adderall. I don’t even give a f***. It was pretty obvious if you listened to the comms. People can hate it or whatever.

Tournament gamer Kory ‘Semphis’ Friesen

The announcement came after a competitive video game player said in a YouTube video posted last week that he and his team used the drug Adderall during an ESL tournament in March where players competed for $250,000 in prize money. Kory “Semphis” Friesen said that he and his team took the drug, used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, to increase alertness and focus. James Lampkin, ESL’s vice-president of pro gaming, said it had suspected there had been subterfuge for some time. He added: “Psychostimulants like Adderall and beta blockers look to be the most popular right now, but in the same way athletics commissions are constantly battling against the newest PEDs available, we expect our challenge to be similar.” His organization said the random drug tests would begin at its ESL One Cologne tournament in August.