Practice activities explain individual performance in a major esports tournament

Introduction & Aims: Electronic sports (esports) involve players competing in video game competitions. Competition, peer pressure and skill building influence the time a player engages in practice. However, the contribution of practice activities for successful performance remains relatively unknown. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate if practice activities explain individual performance in a major esports tournament. Method: 44 professional Counter-strike: Global Offensive players (23.52 ± 2.50 yr) practice history (cumulative and weekly) was collected weekly, and averaged over eight weeks prior to a major esports tournament (PGL Major Krakow 2017). Independent variables included total hours, accuracy (percentage of successful shots/shots fired), win (%), kill/death ratio, matches played and wins, rounds played and wins, and score (point rating). Dependent variable was a players tournament score (factor analysis of performance rating). Statistical analysis involved multiple and stepwise linear regression models. Results: Multiple linear regression identified cumulative win percentage, cumulative time played, average rounds played/week, average kill/death ratio and average score/week were significant predictors of tournament score (F = 4.24, p = <0.01, R² = 0.27). Stepwise linear regression identified average kill/death ratio and average score/week were the most significant predictors of tournament score (F = 7.95, p < 0.01, R² = 0.24). Conclusion: The quality of practice influences a players tournament score more than the quantity of practice, despite common misconceptions that more practice leads to better performance. Improving quality rather than increasing the quantitiy of practice may be more important in preparation for competition. Therefore, future research should investigate the dynamics of individual players and team characteristics.