Playing video games and getting paid for it sounds tempting to many. For some, it is no longer recreational fun, but a means of earning a living.

eSports has been on the rise for years, and in Spain the Giants team from Malaga is one of the dominant groups in this business. The Giants are one of the oldest video game associations in the country, coached by Alejandro Pedrosa. They have a passionate and enthusiastic following, he says.

Success fuels expectations

The Giants are spoilt for success, having won the Super League in the game League of Legends seven times. That stokes expectations and creates pressure for everyone involved to repeat such results.

Antonio Espinosa is one of the players under contract with the Giants, calling himself “Th3antonio” in the digital world. Espinosa is a full-time video gamer. As a kid, he gambled in his spare time after school, was enthralled by the games, today he is one of the best at the Giants and in the whole of Spain.

Davide Vincente, who runs the Giants’ business enterprise, considers Espinosa the best player in the league. Espinosa joined the team at the age of 17. They were almost always up front and picked up victories.

Harassment even in private life

With success came pressure and also came unpleasant experiences. “Some of the people sometimes go too far,” says Pedrosa, referring to members of the following. There was harassment, which also affected the team’s best player.

You have to deal with a lot of people, thousands attend the games, he says. If you make a mistake, you sometimes get insults, says Antonio Espinosa. But some go even further, not only questioning decisions or game tactics, but also interfering in players’ private lives.

Espinosa reports that such actions affected his relationship with a woman. They were stalked, almost everything they did was commented on. Espinosa received repeated e-mails. He asked the harasser to stop, but he did not. This went on for years, said Espinosa, who eventually filed a complaint. But since the person in question lived abroad, the police could not do much, he reports.

Discriminatory behaviour with reference to gender

eSports is male dominated, _Giants_ player Jess Gorzycka has experienced discriminatory behaviour with reference to gender. She has played in a mixed-gender group, but also in all-female groups, she says. There was hatred in both cases. Among other things, her ability was doubted. Nevertheless, Gorzycka is convinced that she has the best job in the world. She especially appreciates the broadcasts of the games as well as the related programmes and likes being in front of the camera, the eSports player says.

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