MLG’s co-founder/president says pro gamers "have an agility that even Michael Jordan didn't have"

[Dork]

It may not be comparable to cardio, but a certain level of physical control and fitness IS necessary to play at that level without going numb/sick from the tension that's caused by intense focus

But that's my point, it isn't comparable to actual Sports.

 

[exangel]

Not all "actual" sports are cardio either. I consider Archery to be a very interesting sport..

 

[2ndApex]

Agility as in moving your fingers around? Maybe.

Agility as in body control, abrupt stops and speed bursts, and quick turns. Not in a million years.

 

[exangel]

basketball's a terrible comparison indeed, but executives are way better at exaggerating than making analogies.

 

[EzekielRage]

What I gather from this thread:
Most here have never seen a pro gamer
Most here have no clue how un-athletic some sports are, like shooting, archery, pool or curling...

 

[Sop]

They both require skill. Sports require more though, video games are just muscle memory etc.

What I gather from this thread:
Most here have never seen a pro gamer

Most here have no clue how un-athletic some sports are, like shooting, archery, pool or curling...

Or chess. But eSports isn't athletic lol. I've never broken a sweat playing video games.
Maybe Guitar Hero or Rock Band.

 

[Rydian]

But that's my point, it isn't comparable to actual Sports.

Like Chess, Pool, Poker, etc?

Man, those Poker players are ripped. I'd kill for a body like that.

 

[Rockhoundhigh]

What a joke. There's definitely skill involved in eSports but come on.

 

[Taleweaver]

Or chess. But eSports isn't athletic lol. I've never broken a sweat playing video games.
Maybe Guitar Hero or Rock Band.

Yeah...and I can play soccer, tennis, basketball or swimming without breaking a sweat either. What's your point in mentioning that?

Surely you don't think that playing a random game from your couch can be compared to esports? That's like saying that hitting a tin can on the street can be compared to the national soccer league.


Take a look at the OP again, will you? Starcraft veterans easily hit 3 or 4 keys PER SECOND for matches that usually tend to last somewhere between 10 minutes and an hour. Just youtube "APM demonstration" and tell me that isn't breaking a sweat.

 

[exangel]

Just youtube "APM demonstration" and tell me that isn't breaking a sweat.

Reminds me of concert pianists, almost gives me arthritis just seeing that.

 

[pasc]

Some people don't understand the mental strength and dexterity that is required to play professionally. Look at some of the Korean SCII progamers, or some SSBB players, even DOTA2. It's not all press-buttons as alot of people make it out to be.

Well, those people probably have no idea on how much of concentration etc. I needed to accomplish this.

 

[DSGamer64]

And the difference is that Michael Jordan didn't start developing arthritis in his hands by the time he turned 40, which I can guarantee is going to happen in droves to these keyboard clicking nerds in the next several years.

What I gather from this thread:
Most here have never seen a pro gamer
Most here have no clue how un-athletic some sports are, like shooting, archery, pool or curling...

Curling is a very difficult sport to be good at, balance, strength and control all come into effect when hurling those rocks down the ice. Pool take accuracy, mathematics and physics to be good at but is by no means an actual sport, but I am sure it would be harder to shoot if you were obese.

 

[Ergo]

Regardless of what it takes to play eSports, it's still in no way on par with regular sports. Not only are athletes using agility, but are physically moving around at all times, requiring physical fitness.
Christ what a dumb statement.

Precisely.

I love games and don't give much of a rip at all about pro sports but...yeah, give me a break.

It also doesn't matter if it's exhausting: sitting on your ass for too many hours a days is exhausting; eating too much food is exhausting; thinking about how someone can manage, with a straight face, to draw a 1:1 relationship between competitive gaming and elite athletics is exhausting--on the latter I keep coming back to "I'm a couch potato, and this lets me make-believe that a dude hitting 5 keys and right-clicking at just the right moment is akin to Jordan driving the lane, through hundreds of pounds of human flesh bent on stopping him, leaping from the free throw line and jamming the ball down the throat of a 6'10"+ 225lb.+ center is *chugs some Mountain Dew* just like zerging a newb's base."

(Don't get me wrong, couch potatoes: I'm not denying that playing SC2 like Vger or HAL9K isn't a skill--it is--but I am denying that it is, on any level, comparable to what is required to compete on an elite, athletic, level and couch potatoes churching it up like it does need to go lift some weights, run a half-marathon or, at least, dial back on their Dew consumption because it's destroying their ability to think, something a pro gamer could, perhaps plausibly, actually have on an elite athlete.)

 

[Psionic Roshambo]

As some one who used to play SC/BW on a pretty high level I can honestly say yes I have watched the video's of the pro's and many of the key presses are wasted...

If you have played a lot of SC and by a lot I mean thousands of online matches (yes I have.) you can read the stuff like a book.

For instance giving SCV's the same command over and over while you wait to mine minerals so you can build a barracks... sure it will build up your APM's but all for nothing.

 

[Deleted_171835]

Have you seen them hit their macros, It's insane. Oh how I wish to have the agility of a Korean.

Surely there are better things in life to aspire to than having the best agility in a videogame. :/

 

[ThatDudeWithTheFood]

All I see is a president of a company talking out of his ass.
Something you see every day sadly.

While I'm sure pro gamers have lots of agility it's a completely different type of agility and isn't even worth comparing.
Watching MJ play basketball is poetry in motion he uses every single part of his body with complete control and fluidity whereas a Star Craft player only uses their fingers and wrists. Sure MJ never had that much agility in his fingers and wrists but does it matter?
This is like comparing any sport to any other sport. There is a lot of skill involved but in the end the games are completely different so the skillset of each player will be different. I wouldn't expect a hockey player to have a killer jumpshot and I wouldn't expect a basketball player to have an insane APM stat.

 

[Taleweaver]

Surely there are better things in life to aspire to than having the best agility in a videogame. :/

Don't think of me as a cynic, but I believe that sort of agility is way more useful in the average work life than real sports.

Sure, Michael Jordan can crumble up a piece of paper and throw it in an office bin five metres away, but that's just a novelty. And it kind of gets lost when you can, y'know, put the bin directly next to your desk.
However, set him next to Boxer on digging through some spreadsheets, and I bet the latter will pick it up much faster and do it far more efficiently very fast.

 

[Sop]

Yeah...and I can play soccer, tennis, basketball or swimming without breaking a sweat either. What's your point in mentioning that?

Surely you don't think that playing a random game from your couch can be compared to esports? That's like saying that hitting a tin can on the street can be compared to the national soccer league.


Take a look at the OP again, will you? Starcraft veterans easily hit 3 or 4 keys PER SECOND for matches that usually tend to last somewhere between 10 minutes and an hour. Just youtube "APM demonstration" and tell me that isn't breaking a sweat.

I play Counter Strike competitively. With strafing and stutter walking you tend to hit keys a few times per second, still never found it hard. Most of the skills involved in pro videogames are trained into our muscle memory, like typing, and don't require much agility as a result.

Yeah, you can't play real sports and put in effort and still not break a sweat.

 

[shakirmoledina]

is michael jordan really that agile? maybe van damme...

 

[Xotadi]

Like Chess, Pool, Poker, etc?

Man, those Poker players are ripped. I'd kill for a body like that.

Rydian, you of all people should know: Shoving a long bit of wood in and out trying to get the balls in the holes is a very intense, muscle-building experience