E-Sports & Illness

Hey Bobcats! Today we’re going to talk about the positive and negative impacts illness’s have on E-Sports, and ways that we work around them.

As many of us know at this current time, Covid-19 is presently affecting all of Texas State. For many this means spending more time indoors, moving out of dorms, and only online classes. For the E-Sports club, however, you’ll notice that everything is mostly typical.

For most of the E-Sports members both at Texas State, and across the country, we already participated in ‘Shelter in Place’ unless required to do otherwise. Thus, most of us were already at a low risk for infection and contributed to the flattening of the curve.

However, there are 2 problems presented by E-Sports that makes it uniquely difficult to compete during this emergency.

1. Most professional E-Sports tournaments happen indoors at an arena/convention center setting. This is no longer possible as it is a breeding ground for infection/transmission. Due to this, all professional and non-professional E-Sports levels had to take a 2-week to month long break. An example of why this was necessary, is the fact that a tournament that preceded the initial calls to shutdown in early March, led to two members of a professional Overwatch team to get sick with Covid-19

2. Another problem concerning Texas State E-Sports, and likely other universities across the country, is that Texas State was required to empty out the student dorms. This has displaced a number of E-Sports players, requiring them to either move to an apartment, or back in with their parents. The issues with this could range from poor internet, inability to participate due to living situations, and loss of computer access.

But, there are also very positive outcomes from this too. I’ll limit it to the big 3.

1. The first positive outcome is that due to E-Sports being over the internet and primarily indoors focused, it allows quick recovery from potential drawbacks. For example, even though multiple sports leagues such as the MLB and NBA are currently postponed or suspended, E-Sports has made it’s return less than 2 weeks after. Having to change relatively little and returning back to their regular streaming platforms anyway.
2. The second positive outcome is that E-Sports recently have been receiving more media attention due to the outbreak. When I say this, I mean that due to people being forced to shelter in place, they turn to the internet where video game streams and E-Sports are easily accessible.
   
3. Lastly, during this time E-Sports gives a fun and competitive environment for those displaced or unable to participate in their competitive sports. For example, the streaming platforms and games have seen a massive influx of players taking place on their multiplayer servers, and of game downloads. This is a direct result of people having nothing else much to do but watch tv/netflix and play video games or read.