Mental Fatigue on Reaction Time and Game Performance in Esport Players

Electronic sports (e-sports) gained popularity in the early 2000s within the computer gaming community and reached an audience of approximately 395 million people worldwide by 2018 (Bányai et al., 2019; Nagorsky and Wiemeyer, 2020). The exponential growth of e-sports globally has led to its recognition as a sport, creating employment opportunities for players who master and showcase game-related skills, turning e-sports players into professional athletes supported by well-known companies, and providing the chance to win large cash prizes (Seo, 2013; Giakoni-Ramírez et al., 2022). As a result of this progress, it is estimated that the number of global players could reach 3.38 million in 2023, with revenues reaching $184.0 billion (Report, 2023). E-sports refers to competitive video games where teams or individuals compete against each other, and it is recognized as a sport activity that helps players develop and train their mental skills and hand-eye coordination (Adamus, 2012). Although it requires less physical activity and contact compared to most sports, e-sports shares some common aspects with traditional athletic sports. For instance, in games divided into tournaments and matches, players either individually or as a team face off against opponents. Other commonalities include players often practicing for hours every day, working professionally, and being able to secure sponsorships from companies (Jacobs, 2015). There are various computer games with different mechanics and competition rules that players must master. To reach and maintain peak performance, players need to continually exercise and improve their skills and abilities (Nagorsky and Wiemeyer, 2020). E-sports players must adapt their hand-eye coordination, respond quickly to changing conditions, and continuously adjust their reaction speeds (Steenbergen et al., 2015; Stewart et al., 2020; Urbaniak et al., 2020). Key components of e-sports performance include hitting accuracy for moving targets that qu