5. Stats Are More Than Just Wins And Losses - And They're Confusing
I'm still trying to figure out how stats work in pro gaming. There's the wins and losses column, and then there's everything else. For example, GameSense, which is the record-keeping database for GotFrag.com, has over 30 different stats for both individual players and teams in Counter-Strike competitions. There's +/- , which measures a player's Frags minus the number of Deaths (a strong Counter-Strike player, therefore, will have a very high plus number). There's the Assist category, which means a player wounds an opposing player with more than 50 percent damage but doesn't actually score a Frag. There's the Error stat, or E, which results in a players engaging in friendly fire or "world spawns," which is when a player accidentally frags him or herself during combat. And there's the ACE, which is the home run of Counter-Strike, according to GameSense; ACE's are scored when a player frags the entire opposing team in one round. There's also the DM or Domination stat, which is derived from a complex formula involving a number of different stats that's way too complicated to go into here.
4. Pro Gamers Are Divided Over The Games
Just like Major League Baseball fans constantly lament over the designated hitter rule, some gamers debate the merits of Counter Strike 1.6 over Counter Strike: Source. There are also Quake purists who prefer playing Quake 3 instead of the more recent Quake 4. And if there's one thing that keeps professional gaming fragmented, it's the ever-growing number of online multiplayer games that are used at pro tournaments, such as Halo 2, Call of Duty 2, Warcraft III, and Battlefield 2. In fact, the CPL is introducing a Guitar Hero tournament at its Winter Championship event this week, though it will be for fun rather than for huge prize money. Will new games like Gears of War replace older titles like Quake 3? And what will that mean for the "old guard" of professional gaming?
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3. Pro Gaming Has Stars
You didn't have to see the "60 Minutes" episode featuring Jonathan "Fatal1ty" Wendel to know he's one of the top professional gamers in the world. Wendel's name - or rather, Fatal1ty - can be found on plenty of premium gaming equipment, as he has endorsements with a variety of companies such as Abit, Zalman, Creative Labs and other gaming hardware manufacturers. Some of the bigger stars in pro gaming include Sander "Vo0" Kaasjager, who retired this year, and Anton "Cooller" Singov, a top Quake player from Russia. There are also star Counter-Strike teams like Fnatic and SK Gaming from Sweden, CompLexity and Team 3D from the U.S., MeetYourMakers from Norway, Evil Geniuses from Canada, and LaVega from Korea.
2. Heated Rivalries Are Ablaze
Just like any good sport, there are great rivalries in professional gaming. Most of the good ones involve Counter-Strike teams. In addition to battling for dominance in professional tournaments, teams also jockey for bragging rights in their home countries. For example, CompLexity and Team 3D, arguably the most well-known rivalry in e-sports, are the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox of professional Counter-Strike competitions in the U.S., while SK Gaming and Fnatic have their own rivalry in Sweden. And of course, Fatal1t and Vo0 had quite race going in Quake before Vo0 announced his retirement.
1. It Really Isn't About The Money
Yes, there's a lot of money to be won at professional gaming tournaments. Yes, Jonathan "Fatal1ty" Wendel has won more than $1 million in prizes. And yes, there's $150,000 in cash prizes at the CPL Championship Finals this week alone. But if there's one thing that's obvious at this event, it's that e-sports really isn't about the money. Professional athletes say that all the time in other sports regarding their multi-million dollar contracts, but we know better. But for pro gamers, it's about being recognized for your skills and ability. It's about being part of something big and earning prestige. And it's about doing something that you love and having fun while doing it. There may come a day when pro gamers are making as much money as their counterparts in baseball or basketball, and we may yearn for the early days when e-sports wasn't ruled by money, prima donna stars and bloated contracts. But for now, it's about the passion that these athletes have for gaming and competition.
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