The ESL have released new guidelines regarding drug use for its competitors, possibly setting precedents for drug regulation in eSports.
The organization pledged to make an anti-doping program after a pro player admitted to using Adderall specifically as a performance enhancing drug in an official Counter-Strike: GO tournament.
So, has the ESL gone too far, or not far enough? This is how they’re introducing their anti-doping program:
Starting at ESL One Cologne, the ESL will start randomized drug tests. They are open to expanding testing further, to ensure all or most players get tests later in the tournament.
The ESL will be using the World Anti-Doping Agency's Prohibited List of substances, but only as a starting point. They will be refining their list from there, but drugs like marijuana and Adderall are definitely joining the list.
This does not mean players that use marijuana and Adderall are automatically disqualified from play, however. It seems the ESL is open to allowing players that reveal they have medical prescriptions for drugs like these to compete, given they show proof of prescription before tournaments.
This is a learning opportunity for the eSports community, and may serve as a test of their legitimacy as a competitive sport. As a case study, the chess community, which has been actively trying to join the Olympics for years, has started testing their athletes for doping, culminating in a controversy in 2008.
Perhaps what the community needs is to commission studies to decide if doping gives gamers a significant advantage in competition, but what do you make of all this? Should eSports organizations have doping programs at all? Should players caught doping during tournaments be disqualified? Share your thoughts with us in the comments.
