The gaming games

Esports players say their sport is more than just time on the couch with a joystick - we have a national team, and it's heading to global games at the end of the year.Gaming has evolved to be a global competitive sport - and New Zealand has its own teams, with players heading to Saudi Arabia this year to showcase their skills.It might have humble beginnings - sitting on the couch and spending hours in front of a screen - but esports has become so much more.Aotearoa has its very own national team too, aptly named the 'E Blacks'. They're preparing for the Global Esports Games in the Saudi Arabian capital, Riyadh, in December.Today, The Detail speaks to the boss of esports in New Zealand and one of our E Blacks about what exactly this sport is and where it's at now."Esports is defined in New Zealand as 'digitally enabled competition' - so people think of video games, but it's probably a little bit more than that," New Zealand Esports Federation CEO Jonathan Jansen tells The Detail."Video games is one end of the spectrum of the thing you think about, with someone holding a controller playing a game on a screen, but that goes all the way down to things like sim (simulated) racing, when you're sitting in a rig and you're driving a car on a screen. You're not actually there, but you're doing all the same actions. "And it also moves all the way down to the other end of the spectrum: 'virtual sport' with things like Zwift, where you're on a physical bike.''He notes an important distinction between gaming and esports."Just like if I went to the beach with some mates and threw a ball around, I wouldn't go telling people that I'm a rugby player. Just like if you go home and jump on the PlayStation you're playing Red Dead Redemption: that's not esports, that's just gaming to relax."He says it becomes esports when it gets competitive."If you wanted to be a world-class player, nutrition, sleep, hydration, even your physical cardiovascular health, are all really important for your mind. If your mind's not ready in esports, you're gone," Jansen says.Ramsey "Magic'' Mou is one of the E Blacks competing in an all-women Dota 2 team in Saudi Arabia."Dota itself is a very male-dominated game," Mou says…Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details