When it comes to eSports, many talents come to mind, but having heart isn’t something you would think of first. Pro Dignitas CS:GO player Jacob “Pimp” Winneche has it though, and it has carried him through the Danish scene. Veteran eSports journalist Thorin shows just how this works in his article at goldper10.com. Just the way he describes this attribute shows how these are truly athletes playing, not just gamers on a stage:
There is a vital factor in any competition which cannot be directly quantified. Ignoring it, battles appear to defy logic, as the skilled can lose out to the less talented and even he who makes the wrong decisions can sometimes win the day. It is a secret story-line running through all wars, on all scales. Efforts to define this catalyst of success are often poorly articulated into concepts such as “wanting it more” and “refusing to lose”. These capture some whiff of its essence, yet fail to really deliver a meaningful taste.
In the NBA, this trait can be expressed as “hustle”, best shown when less physically gifted players, less able to rely on talent and technique, are able to have a tangible effect on the game, by virtue of out-working the opponent, exerting more effort to capitalise upon even small opportunities, such as diving face first to attempt to retrieve a ball headed out of bounds. This is, of course, only a single refraction of the phenomenon. I’m drawn to the terminology, admittedly initially vague, of “heart”. A player with heart may not always win, but can never truly lose.
You will only get this kind of depth and insight from a veteran like Thorin. Always worth the time to go through a piece like this, check it out for yourself by clicking the link here.
