Video games have become a part of many lives, and it is about time for it to become a sport. The skill required rival those of other sports, but many people reject video games because they do not include “physical” activity. Esports, competitive video games, started out as guys playing Pong to professional tournaments around the globe. With the skill, competitiveness, and entertainment of video games, it is hard to consider why they should not be sports. While many people think video gaming centers around who can push buttons faster, there is actually a lot of skill and strategy involved, just like other sports. Being a professional gamer requires extremely good hand-eye coordination and very fast reflexes. Multitasking is also an important trait for gamers, so they can manage everything that happens around them as esports players average around 300 actions per minute (The 7 Traits). Also, scientists believe that some video games give a better indication of exceptional intelligence than chess (Is Computer Gaming). Video games are much more demanding than many people think. …show more content…
Over 40,000 people attended the 2014 League of Legends World Championships in a football stadium, and even more people watched it online (Is Computer Gaming). Players competed for $10.9 million in prize money in the DOTA 2 TI4 which aired on ESPN (Cerrudo). Huge companies like Google, Intel, Red Bull, Coke, and Nissan are sponsoring esports events (Gaudiosi). In fact, Amazon bought Twitch, a streaming service for video games, for nearly $1 billion (Cerrudo). Teams develop strategies, research, and analyse opponents to succeed in tournaments (The 7 Traits). Even high schools in Norway are offering esports classes as an alternative to gym class (Weller). Competition is at the heart of esports which provides entertainment to both the players and