Professional video game league to begin PED testing
The Electronic Sports League will begin testing professional video gamers at competitive events for performance enhancing drugs after a team admitted to taking the prescription drug Adderall before a tournament earlier this year.
ESL head of communications Anna Rozwandowicz told technology website Motherboard that the eSports organization plans “to move forward with drug policing, education and prevention among participants of competitions.”
The league does not plan to take action against Cory Friesen, who plays under the name “Semphis,” or his former team Cloud9 for their actions during a Counter-Strike:Global Offensive tournament in Poland with prize money totaling $250,000, saying the drug would have passed through their systems by now, so they have no positive test on which to base a punishment.
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While PED and recreational drug testing is common in professional and college athletics, the move is new for the world of professional video gamers.
