Last week CDL pro player Huke revealed the extent of his Adderall use. In a 30-minute video, the competitive player came up publicly with the way in which he utilized the drug. It included use in some pretty major events for the game.
However, the news didn’t come as a big surprise to many. For a while, Adderall esports use has been something largely known about. The extent of Aderall and similar amphetamine based substance abuse has never been entirely public.
How far does the problem of esports Adderall abuse actually go, and why do we keep revisiting this topic?
Adderall in Esports – Why is it a Problem
Adderall in esports is considered a performance-enhancing drug. While typically prescribed to deal with ADHD, it is widely used recreationally for fun and also as an aid to help concentration and technical skill. Students use it when writing essays or studying, and esports players use it to increase their performance. Even our own editor recall to using it recreationally during DreamHack over a decade ago just to stay awake for the event. He also recalls esports players using the same “batch” during the event.
Just how much effect the drug has on your performance is debatable. Players do still need to have great skill with the game that they’re playing. It isn’t a magic pill. However, when competing at the top of the game’s skill level, Adderall esports use pretty clearly helps players get that extra edge. Most of the usage however is pretty hidden in plain sight, with only anecdotal evidence and the occasional player slipping up about its usage.
Compared with traditional sports, PEDs seem to be being used with a weird frequency in esports, so just how far does the problem go?
Adderall Esports Use, Huke’s Video and CoD pros responses
Something that’s spurned a re-uptake in discussion of Adderall in esports is Huke. Huke’s video admitted that the player used Adderall in official Call of Duty matches. Specifically, he used the drug during his Championship win in 2020. It’s clear he’s far from the only person on the team using the drug either.
On top of Huke’s admission, a number of other current Call of Duty players have came forward in response. Both Austin ‘SlasheR’ Liddicoat, Doug “Censor” Martin and Patrick “ACHES” Price among others, came out calling for the League to take action and tackle this issue.
The overall picture is an entire league that is using performance-enhancing drugs for esports. The Call of Duty League is yet to officially respond. However, at this point it is looking like the use of the drug is more of an epidemic.
How widespread is Aderall use in esports?
Adderall use in esports would appear to be really quite widespread. Very few games have actually survived untouched by it. Pros in the vast majority of titles have spoken out about their Adderall uses. This stretches across a lot of games. However, Huke’s video is one of the bigger cases of a major player admitting to it. A good number of Overwatch pros have spoken out about their Adderall use in the past. Former Envy player Timo “Taimou” Kettunen has spoken on several occasions about how widespread the drug is in the OWL. However , the former commissioner of the League dismissed the possibility that Adderall was even a performance-enhancing drug.
Some leagues have implemented some rudimentary testing. However, it is far from widespread. The problem extends out to games like Fortnite even too. Far from being confined to just the top-level pros, it seems even fairly minor streamers are utilizing Adderall to help their performance out.
It is impossible to know just how widespread the problem is since few players openly talk about it. However, those that do come forward about their use tend to tell a similar story. Usually, at least half of the pro players in their immediate circle they know to also use it. That could just be the tip of the iceberg. Essentially, it seems like a lot of esports have a huge problem with the drug.
Former CoD pro turned content creator for OptiC, Nick “MaNiaC” Kershner shed some light on the issue:
What’s being done about Adderall Esports use?
With Adderall esports usage clearly a widespread problem, what exactly is being don
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