Plauderecke » crowd is chanting “TSM” to support Team

Here in the Spodek arena in Poland, tens of thousands of people are watching two teams of five men compete in the final of a new kind of sport. Around the world millions upon millions of people are watching just as keenly at home. The atmosphere at the Spodek is electric – palpable, in fact. The crowd is chanting “TSM” to support Team SoloMid so loudly that the arena sounds like booming thunder. The stakes are high, the top prize consists of $108,414 and the accolade of being a world champions.But there are no boots, no balls, no bats. All of the people competing are sitting in front of state-of-the-art computers. Around the arena giant screens display the digital action taking place. This is eSports – professional, competitive, computer gaming – a digital sport for a digital age. There has been much debate as to the legitimacy of calling eSports a sport, but regardless of opinion the spectacle taking place is as vital and exciting as any other major, large-scale sporting event. Michal Blicharz, the organiser behind Intel Extreme Masters Championship told Sky Sports: “Is eSports a sport? Well, I have a black belt in judo, I was a referee for 12 years. I competed, I coached and to me eSports is sport. “People typically think that if you don’t get punched in the face or if you don’t sweat then that’s not really a sport. But you can go out and throw a ball against a wall for an hour, is that sport? No! You need some structure, you need some rules to it, and you require a certain eco-system around it. “All of it is here with eSports. If the International Olympic Committee recognises chess as a sport, you cant convince me that a game like Starcraft is not a sport.“I don’t see anybody getting punched in the face or sweating with pigeon racing and that was an Olympic sport. But either way, it doesn’t change the nature of the beast.” You need some structure, you need some rules to it, and you require a certain eco-system around it. All of it is here with eSports. Michal Blicharz CommitmentSo how do you prepare to compete in an eSports tournament? All the competitors in Poland agree that simply being a gamer isn’t enough, and if you were to observe them close up, you’d understand the truth behind this. At first you’d be forgiven in thinking that their hands hardly move across mouse and keyboard but, upon closer inspection, you suddenly notice that the speed of their movements is so rapid that it hardly registers to human eyes. Twitch motions, twitch gaming. To develop these skills requires relentless training and dedication. During a respite before facing Chinese favourites Team WE in the League of Legend finals, Team SoloMid shed some light as to the level of commitment required.Jason ‘WildTurtle’ Tran said: “We practice every day for 10 to 12 hours. We wake up, eat and start practising.”Marcus “Dyrus” Hill insisted eSports doesn’t advocate an unhealthy lifestyle: “I like to stay healthy, Lucas ‘Santorin’ Larsen and I hit the gym every other day.”SoloMid’s regime is understandable when you consider that some eSports competitors can make an estimated $20,000 to $40,000 a month simply by streaming their gameplay online. That figure excludes sponsorship revenue and tournament winnings. But competing in eSports isn’t simply about money, fame and accolade. The games that drive eSports are the backbone of this sociable community and the best way to understand them is simply to play them. Right now at the Spodek arena, Team SoloMid are two games up against Team WE. Deep into their third and potentially final game, SoloMid are dominating. The crowd is frantic, their roar deafening. In a quick sudden flash of excitement SoloMid secure their third game and become the world champions at IEM, their first ever victory at an international event. Søren Bjerg revels in Team SoloMids win Gary Zimmerman Broncos Jersey . The outdoor event will be played on Dec. 31 between alumni of the New York Rangers and Philadelphia Flyers at Citizens Bank Park, the home of the Philadelphia Phillies. Noah Fant Broncos Jersey .Y. - Lou Williams scored 21 points and the Toronto Raptors beat New York 81-76 on Monday night in the Knicks preseason home opener. http://www.broncosrookiestore.com/Broncos-Demarcus-Ware-Jersey/ . After a first half in which he thought "the lid was on the basket," the Toronto Raptors coach watched his squad mount a second half surge to defeat the Cleveland Cavaliers 98-91. Dennis Smith Broncos Jersey . The team announced that it exercised the options on 15 players including goalkeepers Evan Bush, Maxime Crepeau and Troy Perkins, defenders Matteo Ferrari, Karl W. Noah Fant Youth Jersey . And thats good news for Canada. Kelly, who plays No. 8 at the back of the scrum, is captain of the Canadian womens team.Norman, OK (SportsNetwork.com) - Devin Chafin and Shock Linwood both ran for two touchdowns as the 10th-ranked Baylor Bears posted an impressive 48-14 win over the No. 16 Oklahoma Sooners. Bryce Petty set a career high with 32 completions and finished with 387 passing yards and one touchdown for the Bears (8-1, 5-1 Big 12), who scored the final 45 points en route to posting their first win in 12 trips to Norman. Corey Coleman caught 15 passes for 224 yards, the second-highest totals in a game in Baylor history, and scored two touchdowns. Oklahoma quarterback Trevor Knight completed 12-of-27 passes for 146 yards with two touchdowns and one interception before being forced out of the game on a fourth-quarter sack. Knight was placed on a backboard and pointed to the sky as he was being removed on a cart. Alex Ross amassed 71 yards on six carries for Oklahoma (6-3, 3-3), which had produced at least 30 points in 12 straight games. Baylors Chris Callahan kicked a 34-yard field goal to open the scoring, but Oklahoma built a 14-3 lead as Knight threw touchdown passes of eight and nine yards to Michiah Quick and Durron Neal on consecutive possessions later inn the first quarter.dddddddddddd The Bears fought back with a 21-point second quarter. Petty hooked up with Coleman for a 33-yard touchdown and Chafin scored on a plunge after Bryce Hager returned a Knight interception to Oklahoma 1. The Sooners, now trailing 17-14, looked to tie the game, but Michael Hunnicutt missed a 31-yard field goal try wide right. Oklahoma was then flagged for roughing the kicker on a punt, giving the Bears a fresh set of downs. Petty later converted a 4th-and-4 from the Oklahoma 33 with a 10-yard pass to Jay Lee, and Chafin extended Baylors lead to 24-14 with a 2-yard TD run. The Bears marched down the field with ease on each of their first two drives in the third quarter. Coleman had a 5-yard touchdown run and Linwood scored on a 3-yard run. In the fourth quarter, Callahan made a 24-yard field goal and Linwood reached the end zone on a 15-yard run. Game Notes Baylor had been 0-11 on the road vs. AP Top 25 teams under head coach Art Briles ... The Bears outgained the Sooners 544-319 and owned a 31-13 edge in first downs ... Oklahoma leading receiver Sterling Shepard didnt play because of a groin injury. ' ' '