el Don NewsGaming is no longer a past time, but is now being acknowledged as a legitimate sport. A basic definition of the word sport must be established. Oxford dictionary claims it is an activity involving physical exertion and skill which an individual or team competes against another for entertainment.
Major League Gaming was founded in 2002 and is the official establishment for competitive gaming worldwide.
 Screenshot from video game Battlefield 3. |
 Screenshot from video game Call of Duty:Modern Warfare 3. |
Major sponsors such as Redbull, Monster energy drinks and even Johnson and Johnson have been sponsoring major gaming events and teams since 2005. Virgin Gaming is hosting two gaming tournaments now through March 26, both with 1 million dollar cash prizes.
MLG says that their biggest tournaments and largest prizes are for Halo: Reach, Starcraft 2 and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. Each game will be giving out $25,000 to its respective champion. The tournaments have began broadcasting across three major TV channels in South Korea.
Recently, Dr. Dominic Mickelwright of the University of Essex in the United Kingdoms did a study involving professional athletes, fighter pilots and professional gamers in which he discovered that the professional gamers had the fastest reflexes.
However, the study also showed that gamers have a shockingly low level of physical endurance. One anonymous gamer, in his early twenties, had the lung capacity of a 60-year-old chain smoker claimed Dr. Mickelwright.
Professional gaming is still finding its place in the world of sports and someday it will. Critics of the notion say it will never be considered a sport because it lacks any physical demand. Why then are activities like pool, darts and golf considered sports?
