7 Deadly Video Game Sins - Gluttony

It might sound like a horrific understatement, but eSports are absolutely huge at the moment. Over the last few years, online tournaments and global video game sporting events have absolutely exploded, drawing the eye of mainstream media, lucrative sponsorships and millions and millions of players either looking to see their favourites battle it out in grandiose settings or vie for position on top of the digital dogpile themselves.

However, as you might expect, as soon as there's money involved on a platform, you're going to find people trying to exploit the system for personal gain. While the glitz and glamour of the main stage is what is promoted to the public, behind this facade are tales of kids dropping out of school to join what could only be described as gaming gyms, being tasked with playing the same game over and over for hours, weeks, months, just to get them up to scratch to join a well-known team. These long, thankless hours have led to players suffering from mental breakdowns or completely isolating themselves from their friends and families to the further detriment of their mental health.

Another dark aspect of the eSports industry is the ever-increasing cases of match-fixing, where solo players or competitive teams will bet on themselves, and then purposely throw matches in order to make millions. A recent case in August 2019 centered around a group of CS:GO players who now, thanks to their gluttony, may face up to 10 years in prison each for match-fixing.

eSports events, on paper, should be transparent examples of the best of the best taking each other on in fair and regulated competition. However, it seems that either getting to that level or indeed keeping your hands clean is a path filled with dangerous excess.