World’s largest e-sports organisation to implement anti-doping programme

The Electronic Sports League (ESL), the world’s largest e-sports organisation, announced on Thursday its plans to implement a comprehensive anti-doping programme.

The ESL said in a statement it has partnered with Germany’s anti-doping agency, Nationale Anti-Doping Agentur (Nada), to “create an anti-PED policy that is fair, feasible and conclusive while also respecting the privacy of players,” and will be meeting with the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) to assist with the creation, enforcement and dissemination of the policy in the United States, Asia and Australia.

The move by the Cologne-based gaming organisation was prompted by a top player’s admission of using Adderall in a March tournament where players competed for €238,000 in prize money.

Kory ‘Semphis’ Friesen, a professional Counter-Strike: Global Offensive player, admitted he and other members of his team at the time, Cloud9, used Adderall during ESL One Katowice in Poland.

Friesen was dropped by Cloud9 in April, only to join Nihilum one week later. The offhand remarks in an interview at a recent Electronic Sports World Cup event have in a short time registered shock waves throughout the sport, bringing to the forefront one of the gaming world’s worst kept secrets.

"We've known for some time that performance enhancing drugs would be a challenge we would need to face eventually as the professionalism and stakes increased across the board in e-sports," ESL spokesperson Anna Rozwandowicz told Eurogamer on Wednesday.

“PEDs are a topic we are discussing at an organisational level and will be one that we need to address industry wide going forward to maintain the integrity of our sport.”

Adderall, a stimulant composed of mixed amphetamine salts, is typically prescribed to children and adults who have been diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. It’s also been used, often illegally, as a “cognitive enhancer” that can make the user more alert, focused and able to concentrate for hours on end.

Major sports organisations to have classified it as a banned substance include the NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL, MLS, the NCAA and the US Anti-Doping Agency, which oversees Olympic sports.

While ESL competitors had never previously been tested for drugs, Section 2.6.4 of the organisation’s official tournament rules states “to play a match, be it online or offline, under the influence of any drugs, alcohol, or other performance enhancers is strictly prohibited, and may be punished with exclusion.”

Until the official drug policy is implemented and tournament rules updated, the ESL will administer PED skin tests starting at ESL One Cologne next month.

The ESL, founded in 1997, consists of more than 5,000,000 registered members and over 1,000,000 teams, making it the world’s largest and oldest e-sports organisation.

(Guardian service)