Coaching and talent development in esports : a theoretical framework and suggestions for future research

Esports is a growing phenomenon that is capturing the attention of individuals worldwide, and has grown to provide professional and lucrative careers for those who reach the upper echelons. One question that arises, is how esports athletes develop the necessary skills required to improve and compete. This perspective piece opens the door to skill acquisition within esports and how research through an ecological approach can benefit researchers and practitioners as they understand the various perception-action couplings and decision-making challenges faced by esports athletes. We will identify and discuss what constraints look like in esports, the role of affordances, and theorize the implementation of a constraints-led approach in contrasting esports genres. As esports is technology-heavy in nature and generally sedentary, the use of eye-tracking technology is argued to represent an effective method to better understand perceptual attunement between individuals and teams. Future research into skill acquisition in esports is needed to develop a clearer picture of what makes the greatest esports player so great, and how newer players can be developed effectively. Copyright © 2023 Bubna, Trotter, Watson and Polman

Unificar les ciències de l’esport

L’esport no és només un fenomen social del nostre món, sinó que també és un camp privilegiat per a l’estudi del comportament humà i social. Durant les últimes dècades, s’ha produït un enorme creixement i especialització de les ciències de l’esport i el lema del 18è Congrés de l’European College of Sport Sciences (ECSS) “Unificar les ciències de l’esport” representa desafiar aquest procés de fragmentació. El lema comporta un canvi de l’especialització a la integració, d’una concepció dels sistemes vius basada en la teoria de la informació i l’enginyeria a una de base biològica, de la investigació multidisciplinària a la transdisciplinària. Però sorgeix una pregunta: ¿és possible integrar les àrees fragmentades i facilitar la transferència de principis explicatius teòrics, tècniques i perspectives metodològiques entre disciplines? En el marc de les contribucions fetes en el congrés, aquest article té com a objectiu introduir enfocaments científics que ja estan estesos en els àmbits de la física, la química, la biologia (incloent-hi les òmiques) i les ciències socials, i que centrats en les interaccions dinàmiques complexes dels components sistèmics (proteïnes, cèl· lules, organismes, grups, societats), revelen principis explicatius generals que contribueixen a la unificació del coneixement. Pretenem encoratjar les persones interessades en les ciències de l’esport a concebre noves formes d’investigació i a complementar, sense substituir-los, els enfocaments dominants, amb l’esperança que anar de les parts al tot i del tot a les parts ajudarà els científics a reconèixer els camins més adients

The importance of communication in esports:an ethnographic interview with a Finnish Counter-Strike: Global Offensive team

Abstract. This thesis aimed to understand the views about communication from the perspective of esports players in the game Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. The study reveals why communication is essential for esports athletes, how the players practically use it inside and outside of the game, and how team cohesion affects their performance. Literature of esports was discussed to provide a framework for the study. The views of esports players have seldom been studied. Therefore, this research provides valuable insights into the players’ and teams’ points of view about the importance of communication and team cohesion in an esports team. An ethnographic interview was chosen as the method of data collection. Topics of interest were thought of beforehand, and research questions were formed. The discussion was recorded, coded, and formed into distinct themes discussed. The main findings of the recording were formed into themes. The themes concerned the holistic nature of coaching in the team, the importance of communication within and outside of the game, the significance of group dynamics, and the meaning of professionalism. The team uses a holistic coaching approach in the team to address all aspects of the life of esports athletes. Communication inside the game was important because efficient communication helps the team be more precise and concise in-game. With the help of, e.g., abbreviations, the team can save time by calling out opponents’ positions. Communication outside of the game was important because giving feedback to each other is an essential and challenging skill to learn. However, its benefits are players’ development, which is vital for growth in the esports scene. Team cohesion and player bonds were valued, and the main reason the team has stayed together for a long time is because of these factors. The players’ thoughts of thorough preparations, the coach’s knowledge, and the team’s structured work ethic gave rise to a sense of professionalism.Kommunikoinnin tärkeys e-urheilussa : etnografinen haastattelu suomalaisen Counter-Strike: Global Offensive -joukkueen kanssa. Tiivistelmä. Tämän pro gradu -tutkielman tavoitteena oli ymmärtää kommunikaation merkitys e-urheilijoiden näkökulmasta pelissä Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. Tutkimus pyrki selvittämään, miksi juuri kommunikaatio on tärkeä pelaamisen osa-alue e-urheilijoille, miten pelaajat kommunikoivat pelatessaan ja pelin ulkopuolella, sekä miten joukkueen yhtenäisyys vaikuttaa suoriutumiseen pelissä. Tutkimuksessa hyödynnettiin e-urheilun kirjallisuutta, jotta saavutettaisiin kokonaisvaltaisempi ymmärrys aiheesta. E-urheilijoiden näkökulmia on harvoin tutkittu tieteellisessä kirjallisuudessa, jonka vuoksi tämä tutkimus tuo lisää tärkeää tietoa kommunikaation ja joukkueen yhtenäisyyden tärkeydestä pelaajien sekä joukkueen näkökulmasta. Metodina aineiston keruussa käytettiin etnografista haastattelua. Keskustelun aiheet mietittiin ennen keskustelua yhdessä pelaajien ja joukkueen valmentajan kanssa. Pelaajien, valmentajan ja minun väliseni keskustelu äänitettiin. Äänityksen jälkeen dataa kuunneltiin ja siitä valikoitiin tutkimuksessa käytettävät osiot, jotka lopulta teemoiteltiin. Päälöydökset datasta jaettiin viiteen eri teemaan. Teemat käsittelivät aiheittain seuraavia asioita: joukkueen kokonaisvaltainen valmennus, kommunikaation merkitys pelissä, kommunikaation merkitys pelin ulkopuolella, joukkueen yhtenäisyys sekä joukkueen ammattimaisuus. Joukkue korosti valmennuksen kokonaisvaltaisuutta; e-urheilijoiden elämien eri osa-alueet ja niiden tasapaino otettiin huomioon kokonaisuutena valmennuksessa. Pelaajat korostivat myös joukkueen kommunikaation merkitystä pelatessaan. Kommunikaation tuli pelaajien mielestä olla yksiselitteistä ja täsmällistä, jotta virheiltä vältyttäisiin pelissä. Kommunikaation tärkeyttä myös pelin ulkopuolella painotettiin esimerkiksi palautteen annon osalta. Joukkueen toimivuuden edellytyksenä koettiin olevan yhtenäisyys pelaajien ja valmentajan kesken. Joukkueen ammattimaisuus ilmeni pelaajien huolellisella valmistautumisella harjoituksiin ja kilpailuihin, valmentajan ammattitaidolla ja pätevyydellä sekä joukkueen korkealla työmoraalilla pelaamisessa vaadittavien taitojen kehittymisen kannalta

The “New” Student-Athlete: An Exploratory Examination of Scholarship eSports Players

The growth and popularity of eSports cannot be understated. The domain has become so mainstream that colleges and universities are rapidly beginning to launch eSports programs within their athletics departments. In this study, the authors interviewed 33 student-athletes receiving scholarships for participating in eSports at one institution. In all, the identity and social capital of athletes in this “new” athletic arena were explored and compared with previous studies examining “traditional” athletes. The implications of the similarities and differences are discussed and ideas for future research into this emerging field are presented

Collaborative flow in esports:a survey study

Abstract. During the 21th century, e-sports has been rapidly rising in popularity with multiple e-sports events with multi-million dollar prize pools. This popularity also has piqued the interest of scientist from all fields, and the number of scientific publications has continued to rise year–to-year, and multiple fields have started to study esports from multiple angles. Esports has no generally accepted definition. Esports is most often seen as “professional gaming” but at closer inspection, this definition is too narrow and does not cover all that esports is and what it has become. Esports can be defined in many ways depending on the research angle and the study field, however the similarities between studies are that esports is computer-mediated competition where athletes compete in high-stress situations where they try to outplay their opponent. Whether it is with reflexes and teamwork in a First-Person Shooter (FPS) or Multiplayer Online Battle Arena Games (MOBA), or with strategy in a Real-Time Strategy (RTS) games, or in one of the multitudes of video game genres. Esports acts as an umbrella term for all computer-mediated human versus human competition; it does not matter if humans go against a computer if they compare scores against each other at the end. In this thesis work, I will also be conducting a quantitative survey directed at people who play video games. According to the results time spent playing, team size and whether the player mostly plays in a team or alone all affect the immersion of the gameplay moment

Toward Successful Esports Team: How Does National Diversity Affect Multiplayer Online Battle Arena Video Games

Today, esports teams in multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) games are often composed of players from around the world. The paper asks whether a greater national heterogeneity of professional esports teams means their higher effectiveness. Desk research data of 13 tournaments of Dota 2 game held in 2011-2018 is used to calculate the teams’ win ratio, i.e., the ratio of skirmishes (in all matches) won to the total number of skirmishes (match is a series of skirmishes). Hence, effectiveness is understood not as ranks or matches won, but as the lowest possible number of lost skirmishes. Multinational teams achieved a higher win ratio, compared to nationally homogenous teams and the analysis includes the role of coaches’ nationalities. Working groups, cognitive diversity, and similarity/attraction theories are used to signal potential reasons and consequences of diversity on team performance. This exploratory study indicates future research threads on esports teams’ national diversity

The Digital Generation: Exploring the Effects and Creation of Collegiate E-sports Programs

This phenomenological study looked at five collegiate e-sports programs that are members of the National Association of Collegiate E-sports (NACE) to better understand why and how those programs were made, how e-sport athletes are recruited and retain, and operational differences between e-sports programs and traditional sports programs. The participants for this study were five higher education institutions from across the United States that were being represented by the leading administrator of their e-sports team. These institutions ranged from small private schools to large public schools in the hopes of getting a more holistic understanding of collegiate e-sports. Each participant participated in a semi-structured interview designed to learn about their program’s specific experiences. The findings of this study who that e-sports programs are more similar to an athletic department than an athletic program. The findings also confirm previous research that video game culture can be sexist which causes lower participation from non-male e-sport athletes. Another major finding was that one of the biggest reasons why higher education institutions develop e-sports programs are to get a return on their investment through revenue streams and enrollment drivers to their institution

A identidade dos fãs de esports com o evento e a marca patrocinadora : caso de estudo da LG no FPF Open Challenge

This study aims to explore the eSports fans’ identity on sponsor-sponsee relationship, as well as understand the effects on their behavioural intentions. Data were collected among Portuguese eSports fans (n = 356) who attended at the 2021 FPF Open Challenge, using an online questionnaire. A confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) analysed the psychometric properties of the constructs, and a subsequent structural equation model (SEM) examined the effects of fan identity on two behavioural intention and on sponsor-sponsee relationship. Results evidence that highly identified fans with eSports are more committed towards the event and tend to have a positive word-of-mouth intention, while those who have higher brand identification reported the highest connection to the event sponsor-brand and then tend to purchase its products. Moreover, our findings also provide evidence of the bidirectional interaction between fan’ identity with eSports event and its sponsor-brand, leading to greater reciprocity on their social identity formation. Managerial implications focus on strengthening the social identity of fans as a way to understand their future behaviours