The video games industry has developed and changed much over the last forty odd years, but few could have foreseen professional competitive gaming tournaments that fill large arenas with spectators. Nowadays, the gaming industry all included is worth approximately $140 billion; yet, even with the best foresight, could one have predicted a competitive scene in which professional players and teams compete for large cash prizes that run into the millions of dollars? That is where we are today.
One might ask what the difference is between a professional gamer and an amateur. The answer is that there is a great deal of difference in the same way that there is a great deal of difference between Lionel Messi and an amateur football player. Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO), a first person shooter video game that draws approximately 600k concurrent players (unique players playing at a given moment), is now considered a sport (e-sport) and is one of many that runs competitions with multi-million dollar prize pools. What does it take to attain the skill required to get into such tournaments? Again, a great deal. Like professional footballers, e-sports athletes require practice and lots of it. This is where Skoltech Assistant Professor Andrey Somov and Associate Professor Evgeny Burnaev come in...