Domain-general, perceptual-motor abilities underlying expertise in esports

摘要: Esports involves individuals or teams of players who compete in video game competitions through human-computer interactions. Currently, there is limited research that assesses expertise in esports. The present study applied the expert performance approach to understand the domain-general, perceptual-motor abilities that discriminate skill level in esports. Seventy-five participants (age= 24.2±4.2 y) from three skill levels (professional, recreational, and control) completed assessments to determine their manual dexterity, speed-accuracy trade-off, and processing ability. A significant multivariate effect was identified for skill level on players' domain-general, perceptual-motor abilities (F (18,128)= 3.87, p< 0.001, η p 2= 0.35). Univariate effects were evident for movement time (F (2, 72)= 26.48, p< 0.001, ηp 2= 0.42), two-choice response time (F (2, 72)= 3.43, p= 0.038, η p 2= 0.09), congruent response time (F (2, 72)= 4.92, p= 0.010, η p 2= 0.12) and incongruent response time (F (2, 72)= 3.20, p= 0.047, η p 2= 0.08). Professional esports were less susceptible to a speed-accuracy trade-off than their lesser-skilled counterparts. Furthermore, professional esports players had a faster two-choice response time and were better at ignoring pre-cues when compared with the control group. Overall, these findings demonstrated that some perceptual-motor abilities underpin esports expertise