• Log InLog In
  • Register
Liquid`
Team Liquid Liquipedia
EDT 13:48
CEST 19:48
KST 02:48
  • Home
  • Forum
  • Calendar
  • Streams
  • Liquipedia
  • Features
  • Store
  • EPT
  • TL+
  • StarCraft 2
  • Brood War
  • Smash
  • Heroes
  • Counter-Strike
  • Overwatch
  • Liquibet
  • Fantasy StarCraft
  • TLPD
  • StarCraft 2
  • Brood War
  • Blogs
Forum Sidebar
Events/Features
News
Featured News
[ASL22] Ro24 Preview: Summer's End6Serral wins HomeStory Cup 2915Serral wins Maestros of the Game 243ByuL, and the Limitations of Standard Play3Team Liquid Map Contest #22: Results and Winners7
Community News
Weekly Cups (August 10-16): SHIN doubles2GSTL Returns in 2026!43Weekly Cups (Aug 3-9): Protoss get shut out7RSL goes to London! 2026 Offline Finals Nov 21-2212Weekly Cups (July 27-Aug 2): SHIN's big week0
StarCraft 2
General
Weekly Cups (August 10-16): SHIN doubles SC4ALL II: SC2 Player Announcement 6/8 - Maru Balance hotfix patch 5.0.16b (July 16) GSTL Returns in 2026! SC4ALL: II Talent Announcement!
Tourneys
2026 GSTL Announcement PIG STY FESTIVAL 8.0! (13 - 23 August) WardiTV Mondays 2026 KungFu Cup Announcement Sparkling Tuna Cup - Weekly Open Tournament
Strategy
[G] Having the right mentality to improve
Custom Maps
Nexus Wars 2021 GUIDE [M] (2) Industrial Park
External Content
The PondCast: SC2 News & Results Mutation # 539 Thunder Dome Mutation # 538 Media Blackout Mutation # 537 Hostile Territory
Brood War
General
ALAMAT BCA KCU SUDIRMAN Telp:08218200203 ALAMAT BCA KCU KUNINGAN Telp:08218200233 SC4ALL II: Brood War Player Announcement 3/4 - soO BW General Discussion Rush's Odyssey Controversy
Tourneys
[ASL22] Ro24 Group B [ASL22] Ro24 Group A Small VOD Thread 2.0 CSLAN 4 is Coming!
Strategy
Odyssey Mineral Stack Saturation Fighting Spirit mining rates Any training maps people recommend? Simple Questions, Simple Answers
Other Games
General Games
Nintendo Switch Thread General RTS Discussion Thread Anyone here play Quakeworld back in the day? Stormgate/Frost Giant Megathread EVE Corporation
Dota 2
Official 'what is Dota anymore' discussion
League of Legends
[TL LoL EUW IHs] Teemo shall perish TSM pausing esports and CLG Dead
Heroes of the Storm
Heroes of the Storm 2.0
Hearthstone
Deck construction bug
TL Mafia
TL Mafia Power Rank TL Mafia Community Thread NeO.D_StephenKing vs This Guy From 1 Million Dance
Community
General
US Politics Mega-thread Artificial Intelligence Thread The Letting Off Steam Thread Russo-Ukrainian War Thread European Politico-economics QA Mega-thread
Fan Clubs
MarineLorD Fan Club The ShoWTimE Fan Club The herO Fan Club!
Media & Entertainment
Movie Discussion! Anime Discussion Thread Series you have seen recently...
Sports
Football (Soccer) Thread MLB/Baseball 2023 TeamLiquid Health and Fitness Initiative For 2023 NBA General Discussion Formula 1 Discussion
World Cup 2022
Tech Support
Computer Build, Upgrade & Buying Resource Thread Simple Questions Simple Answers FPS when play League Of Legend on laptop
TL Community
The Automated Ban List Northern Ireland Global Starcraft
Blogs
LOCKPICKING NOOB
LUCKY_NOOB
Chinese Gen Z: Between Dream…
TrAiDoS
Cathedral Of CS And NY pizza a…
FuDDx
Please support my new stand…
Peanutsc
Hello guys!
LIN1s
Customize Sidebar...

Website Feedback

Closed Threads



Active: 3562 users

Starcraft, sport or not?

Blogs > FlaShFTW
Post a Reply
1 2 Next All
FlaShFTW
Profile Blog Joined February 2010
United States10542 Posts
November 02 2010 23:02 GMT
#1
At my school, I'm in a deadlock debate over whether or not Starcraft is a sport. First, let me define sport...

SPORT: (noun)- an athletic activity requiring skill or physical prowess and often of a competitive nature, as racing, baseball, tennis, golf, bowling, wrestling, boxing, hunting, fishing, etc.

OK, so now that you understand that definition of "sport" (all info taken off dictionary.com) I am able to begin my argument.

First off, I strongly believe that Starcraft is a sport. It's number one in eSports for goodness sakes! Let's do a checklist shall we?

1)an athletic activity requiring skill or physical prowess. CHECK
Here, I'd like to point out the OR in this sentence. This means that it can be requiring skill, OR requiring physical prowess, OR both. In this case, we have skill, because we are moving the mouse at blinding speeds, moving our fingers across keyboards, and most of all, show emotions. Which brings me to my next topic.

2)often of a competitive nature. CHECK
Starcraft people all know about emotions and competitiveness. For all old-timers (no I'm not one of them), we remember oh-so vividly the rivalry between BoxeR and [NC]Yellow... We even remember sAviOr's peak, and Bisu's Forge FE... And you say these aren't competitive qualities??? That means that the rivalry between the Lakers and Celtics in basketball, or the Yankees and Red Sox in baseball, all aren't any part of this competitiveness???

So what are your thoughts on this matter, do you think Starcraft is, or is not a sport, and please defend your reasoning. Don't give me one-liners (COUGH RESPECT TL COUGH) blatantly saying, "OH YOU SUK!!! STARCRAFT IS NOT A SPORT". Thank you.

**
Writer#1 KT and FlaSh Fanboy || Woo Jung Ho Never Forget || Teamliquid Political Decision Desk
TL+ Member
ieatkids5
Profile Blog Joined September 2004
United States4628 Posts
Last Edited: 2010-11-02 23:08:30
November 02 2010 23:08 GMT
#2
depends on how you define sport. and also, stop worrying about people who don't think SC is a sport. just understand that they disagree with you, and if it helps, tell yourself that you're superior to them. it'll make your life a lot easier.
VarmVaffel
Profile Blog Joined June 2008
Norway378 Posts
November 02 2010 23:09 GMT
#3
I really use to call on chess with this discussion comes up. Chess is (as far as I know) regarded by most people as a sport, and it definately doesn't require any more athletic activity than Starcraft does.

I know it might not be the best to conclude with something like this, but most people I've talked with that already regard chess as a sport seem to understand my point of view very quickly with this statement.
Cofo
Profile Blog Joined June 2010
United States1388 Posts
November 02 2010 23:10 GMT
#4
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic_sports

It's an e-sport. Whether or not you consider e-sports to be in the same category as "traditional sports" up to you, but I honestly think the whole argument is mostly just a matter of semantics.
+ Show Spoiler +
Enervate
Profile Joined August 2010
United States1769 Posts
November 02 2010 23:16 GMT
#5
In my opinion, Starcraft is not a sport; it's an eSport. The main separating factor is that Starcraft is played entirely through an electronic interface, while a sport is conducted in a physical realm. I'm not saying eSports are somehow inferior than sports, just that they are different.
FlaShFTW
Profile Blog Joined February 2010
United States10542 Posts
November 02 2010 23:21 GMT
#6
On November 03 2010 08:16 Enervate wrote:
The main separating factor is that Starcraft is played entirely through an electronic interface, while a sport is conducted in a physical realm.

I understand by what you mean, but didn't the definition just support my ideas??? I said that it can be only on skill, and not physical attributes, though you do need quite a bit of stamina. But hey, thanks for the comment, I appreciate your views.
Writer#1 KT and FlaSh Fanboy || Woo Jung Ho Never Forget || Teamliquid Political Decision Desk
TL+ Member
Pholon
Profile Blog Joined March 2008
Netherlands6142 Posts
November 02 2010 23:31 GMT
#7
On November 03 2010 08:02 FlaShFTW wrote:
SPORT: (noun)- an athletic activity requiring skill or physical prowess and often of a competitive nature, as racing, baseball, tennis, golf, bowling, wrestling, boxing, hunting, fishing, etc.

[...]

Here, I'd like to point out the OR in this sentence. This means that it can be requiring skill, OR requiring physical prowess, OR both.


You leave out "athletic". I feel chess isn't a sport by this definition?
Moderator@TLPholon // "I need a third hand to facepalm right now"
valaki
Profile Joined June 2009
Hungary2476 Posts
November 02 2010 23:31 GMT
#8
If chess is sport SC is too.
ggaemo fan
Mobius
Profile Blog Joined March 2009
Canada1268 Posts
November 02 2010 23:41 GMT
#9
its an e-sport.. any korean really into the e-sports scene will correct you everytime you call it a sport lol


personally i dont understand the difference but to them its big -_-;
Entusman #51
Redmark
Profile Joined March 2010
Canada2129 Posts
November 02 2010 23:41 GMT
#10
Honestly I wish we (gamers) would stop caring so much about what other people think. Other 'sports' (poker, soccer in NA, golf, whatever) never got anywhere just by debating with people who aren't fans. If it gets popular enough, it will be accepted - if not as a sport, as a professional competition, which is the same thing really.
Seide
Profile Blog Joined August 2010
United States831 Posts
November 02 2010 23:49 GMT
#11
if darts is considered a sport, I will be damned in SC cant be considered a sport. :D
One fish, two fish, red fish, blue fish.
KiLL_ORdeR
Profile Blog Joined June 2009
United States1518 Posts
November 02 2010 23:50 GMT
#12
I would say the SC definitely falls under the requirement of physical prowess, maybe even more so than skill.

Just going out on a limb here, but at, for example, the wide reciever position in football, it does not take a whole lot of skill to catch a football. Anyone can learn how to do it. But where good players separate themselves is the ability hold position on a defender, which is the skill of playing well, and to run very fast, as well as make athletic jumps, which falls under physical prowess.

all of these elements require years of focused training and dedication, and failure before you obtain success.

In SC, anyone can pick up the game, play zerg, and build drones, lings and roaches. Where good players separate themselves is the ability to see what their opponent is doing and react properly (the skill), and then to be able to move their hands fast enough to execute properly (which is the physical prowess.)

All elements require years of focused training and dedication, and failure before you obtain success.

also, a lot of people would argue in football that subtle positioning will separate you from equally athletic players, but there is only so much you can do against someone who is both stronger and faster than you. The same applies to SC, where you can exploit very subtle timings and other things, but there is only so much you can do against a player who has far better mechanics.

So ya, that's my 2 cents.
In order to move forward, we must rid ourselves of that which holds us back. Check out my stream and give me tips! twitch.tv/intotheskyy
siv00
Profile Joined September 2009
261 Posts
November 02 2010 23:50 GMT
#13
It's not a sport, there are no athletics involved.
Crunchums
Profile Blog Joined December 2008
United States11144 Posts
November 02 2010 23:51 GMT
#14
That depends entirely on how you define sport. By my definition of sport, it is one, but it is not an athletic one.
brood war for life, brood war forever
Jonoman92
Profile Blog Joined September 2006
United States9110 Posts
November 02 2010 23:52 GMT
#15
it's not a sport, it's an e-sport

It lacks the threshold of needed physical activity imo to be a true sport (likewise darts isn't a sport either, it's a game/activity.)
siv00
Profile Joined September 2009
261 Posts
November 02 2010 23:53 GMT
#16
And you say these aren't competitive qualities??? That means that the rivalry between the Lakers and Celtics in basketball, or the Yankees and Red Sox in baseball, all aren't any part of this competitiveness???


This is what's known as a strawman - a sign that your argument is quite weak.
OpticalShot
Profile Blog Joined October 2009
Canada6330 Posts
November 03 2010 02:09 GMT
#17
Sport or eSport or not, SC definitely is more of a "sport" than poker is in my opinion... and poker is broadcasted in all the major sports broadcasting channels here in North America. So yeah.
[TLMS] REBOOT
Waffles
Profile Blog Joined July 2009
Romania605 Posts
November 03 2010 04:04 GMT
#18
any activity with competition that requires phyiscal activity is a sport. theres professional hotdog eating, thumb wrestling, beer pong,poker . all of those require physical activity and competition. if you are trying to convince someone that you are an athlete playing this game i would guess that you would have to somehow convince that 300 apm means being able to pitch a baseball at 100mph with pinpoint accuracy or something since you have such finger control. It really depends on the pereson you are trying to convince for something to be a "sport"


Holgerius
Profile Blog Joined January 2009
Sweden16951 Posts
November 03 2010 04:24 GMT
#19
A matter of definition I think. IMO it's a sport.
I believe in the almighty Grötslev! -- I am never serious and you should never believe a thing I say. Including the previous sentence.
Subversion
Profile Blog Joined April 2010
South Africa3627 Posts
November 03 2010 05:01 GMT
#20
Un-fucking-deniably yes.
1 2 Next All
Please log in or register to reply.
Live Events Refresh
Next event in 6h 12m
[ Submit Event ]
Live Streams
Refresh
StarCraft 2
UpATreeSC 113
BRAT_OK 108
MindelVK 15
StarCraft: Brood War
Calm 3567
Shuttle 2057
EffOrt 1502
Britney 1012
Mini 745
Soma 558
ZerO 429
Light 399
Horang2 356
Larva 295
[ Show more ]
Snow 185
Dewaltoss 164
Soulkey 153
Rush 147
ggaemo 111
Mong 56
sorry 24
Hm[arnc] 24
Rock 21
ajuk12(nOOB) 12
IntoTheRainbow 10
Dota 2
qojqva5610
Dendi2379
Counter-Strike
fl0m1988
x6flipin828
byalli354
Other Games
Grubby2450
Liquid`RaSZi1779
FrodaN712
Beastyqt665
ceh9464
PiGStarcraft161
elazer138
ArmadaUGS137
C9.Mang089
Mew2King70
Livibee67
QueenE52
Trikslyr50
ZerO(Twitch)21
Rex10
Organizations
StarCraft 2
angryscii 23
[ Show 13 non-featured ]
StarCraft 2
• intothetv
• AfreecaTV YouTube
• Kozan
• IndyKCrew
• Migwel
StarCraft: Brood War
• Pr0nogo 1
• BSLYoutube
• STPLYoutube
• ZZZeroYoutube
Dota 2
• WagamamaTV792
League of Legends
• TFBlade1189
Other Games
• imaqtpie1055
• Shiphtur350
Upcoming Events
PiGosaur Cup
6h 12m
Replay Cast
15h 12m
Afreeca Starleague
16h 12m
BeSt vs Paralyze
Jaedong vs Speed
Kung Fu Cup
17h 12m
Replay Cast
1d 6h
The PondCast
1d 16h
KCM Race Survival
1d 16h
Replay Cast
2 days
Escore
2 days
PiG Sty Festival
2 days
[ Show More ]
CranKy Ducklings
3 days
PiG Sty Festival
3 days
Sparkling Tuna Cup
4 days
PiG Sty Festival
4 days
The Patches Monday
5 days
GSL
6 days
Liquipedia Results

Completed

CSLAN 4
CranK Gathers Season 4: BW vs SC2 Team League
Eternal Conflict S2 Finale

Ongoing

KCM Race Survival 2026 Season 3
K-JUNGMAN
ASL Season 22
Super Anchor Qualifying S3
RSL Revival: Season 6
PiG Sty Festival 8.0
META DYMY #4
Esports World Cup 2026
Esports World Cup 2026: LCQ
BLAST Bounty Summer 2026
BLAST Bounty Summer Qual
Stake Ranked Episode 3
XSE Pro League 2026
IEM Cologne Major 2026

Upcoming

CSL Season 22: Qualifier 1
Escore Tournament S3: W8
CSL Season 22: Qualifier 2
CSL 2026 AUTUMN (S22)
Acropolis #5
Acropolis #5 - TRS
Blizzard Classic Cup 2026
HSC XXX
SC4ALL II: StarCraft II
Kung Fu Cup 2026 Grand Finals
RSL Offline Finals
Big Dog Cup 2026 Div 1
Stake Ranked Episode 5
PGL Masters Bucharest 2026
Thunderpick World Champ. '26
ESL Pro League Season 24
Stake Ranked Episode 4
1win Private Club #1
Logitech G Play Connect 2026
SL StarSeries Fall 2026
FISSURE Playground #5
BLAST Open Fall 2026
TLPD

1. ByuN
2. TY
3. Dark
4. Solar
5. Stats
6. Nerchio
7. sOs
8. soO
9. INnoVation
10. Elazer
1. Rain
2. Flash
3. EffOrt
4. Last
5. Bisu
6. Soulkey
7. Mini
8. Sharp
Sidebar Settings...

Advertising | Privacy Policy | Terms Of Use | Contact Us

Original banner artwork: Jim Warren
The contents of this webpage are copyright © 2026 TLnet. All Rights Reserved.