0:03 Summoners Rift. 0:05 These are the sounds of popular online multiplayer video game. League of Legends. 0:14 No, I think I can poke them. I think I can whittle them down. 0:17 Oh, I just don't feel at all. 0:20 And that's Ryerson's League of Legends eSports team strategizing during the game. The team ended their season earlier this month. They qualify for playoffs with five wins and one loss, but they lost in their first playoff match against Waterloo. Team Captain Nusamanyan Matella says they lost because they were having an off day. 0:43 That's the perfect storm and that's how we lost our Waterloo. Everybody had no practice because we were all studying for our midterms and I don't really think nobody's gonna take a game that's not worth much compared to a midterm, right? So everybody was studying instead of practicing. 0:58 That's exactly what teammate Talon Daddwall was doing in the weeks leading up to the playoff game. 1:04 Before that game, like leading up to it, I had probably played the least games out of all of us. I had midterms just assaulting me. So I was just like, forget it for this for these two weeks. I think I still played pretty well in the end, but I had to focus on other stuff during that time. 1:20 The team played three times a week during their season. They practiced on two days and had a game on the third day. Each week, they practiced for about 13 hours. 1:30 We have our silence by pushing it's fine. 1:36 Balancing schoolwork with practices can be tough for these student athletes. But they do have some strategies to deal with it. 1:44 So when a games closer, when a game is approaching, I would practice more during those times and then study. And then when there's like nothing coming up, I'd study more than I practice. Well, you have to give up something for it, right? Like I basically gave up all my other hobbies for the most part. I don't play league recreationally with friends anymore. I stopped going to the gym less as well, when the season started. Yeah, you basically have to give up a lot of time I didn't cut any time for my competitively and my studying, I just got time from other things. 2:17 Team Manager, Judy Ngo, says she tries to make it easier on her players by planning practices around their schedules. 2:27 So how I originally planned out their schedule is like I actually asked them for their schedules. So that I see, okay, were which nights are the most, like, we're all of them, like on the team that they can actually play and practice. And of course, if they can't play, they will notify me and and I'll try to get some, like a substitute for them, or reschedule to accommodate them as much as they could. Or if necessary, you can cancel like a practice. So that it works for them. 2:56 Another thing the manager does to make it easier for players is having practices online instead of on campus. 3:04 They're all coming from different areas, just to put that into perspective. So getting them to all come like downtown to spend that money to come and meet and play is too much of a hassle. So I wanted to make that flexible for them to be like okay, yes and play at the comfort of your home. As long as you guys can, like meet up online, that's better than nothing. And also since we since Discord allows you to have voice calls it makes it a lot easier to communicate as well. 3:32 [Sound: team members talking, unintelligible] 3:36 This ability to practice online is one difference in the training of physical sports athletes and eSports athletes. 3:43 I think they might have it harder because for us at least right. We have like the comfort of our homes to play the games that whereas as an athlete, they have to go like let's say if you're a swimmer or something right? You have to go when the pools open and whatnot. Yes, like takes how many today. Well, we can just do everything one from home. Right? Like maybe we have to rendezvous but like like with a team and everything, but can still play solo and stuff like that play by ourselves. 4:08 The divide between eSports and physical sports is quite clear, as some people still do not consider gaming a sport. 4:16 It isn't like eSports is in is in its infancy right. It's obviously going to be taken less serious than somebody playing basketball professionally. It's not to say it looks like not even close right now, but I think in the future they might be more equal. 4:29 Although eSports athletes may not be taken as seriously, the pressures they face are quite similar, especially when it comes to balancing schoolwork with game practice. The Ryerson League of Legends team season might be over but they aren't done just yet. They plan to train hard and come back even stronger next year. For RSJ Radio, I'm Jasmine Bala. 4:53 Victory!