Esports orgs need to take pros’ physical health more seriously as they continue to retire from wrist and hand injuries

I recently saw a post from Street Fighter 6 pro Kakeru Watanabe that announced he’d developed tendonitis. This came from playing Street Fighter nonstop after Worlds. The accompanying image has Kakeru wearing wrist braces and looking forlornly into the distance.

“I want it to heal by the end of the month when Ingrid comes out, so I’ll be taking a break from practice until the pain is completely gone,” Kakeru said.

In the world of esports, I think Kakeru is pretty lucky. It’s a condition that can improve, and he is not being dropped by his organization in the meantime. It reminded me of all the esports pros who have retired due to mental and physical health issues, even in their early 20s.

Esports is often seen as very separate from traditional sports. It’s not considered physical activity because players are seated in a gaming chair. I mean, I distinctly remember Cody Schwab almost passing out from doing an intense anti-pop-off aimed at Juan “Hungrybox” DeBiedma. Even though it was meant to mock his opponent, he ended up needing to hold onto Hbox for support.

But that brings up a very important topic: Esports pros need better physical health.

This is not a new topic. Esports organizations (back when money was flowing in from investors and such) had physical therapists on staff and gyms inside their team houses. In China, where esports is still a big deal, I toured an esports home arena and saw all kinds of gym equipment and doctors’ offices. But it most definitely has not been taken as seriously as it should.

While esports is seen as just “sitting,” you need to be in shape to sit with your back straight (or leaning forward) for 10-plus hours a day, year-round. If not, your back will be extremely sore. And any hand injuries are a huge deal. You need to stretch your fingers and wrists, maybe even strengthen them. But in general, you should be overall healthy to be in the right mental and physical state to compete at a high level in anything.

Despite this, very young players often retire from mental strain, exhaustion, and hand-related injuries.

Call of Duty pro Thomas “ZooMaa” Paparatto is a controller player that had to quit at 25 years old due to a weakness in his thumb and wrist. He had surgery on it a few years back, causing a lot of anxiety and stress as he attempted to recover. Unfortunately, the injury returned once more, “making it really hard for me to compete at the highest level against some of the best players.

“Playing through the weakness and pain in my hand just isn’t possible anymore,” he tweeted.

He isn’t the only controller player to have retired due to hand injuries. Keyboard and mouse players are also easily injured, including StarCraft II, Counter-Strike, and League of Legends. One person on Reddit even recalled: “It used to be a badge of honor to have carpal tunnel surgery scars for StarCraft players, or at least it was extremely common.”

Royal Never Give Up’s Jian “Uzi” Zi-Hao ultimately retired from League of Legends due to ongoing issues with his shoulder. It impacts his entire arm, with a doctor allegedly telling him his arms are similar to those of a 50-year-old. Cloud9’s Hai “Hai” Du Lam also retired due to ongoing wrist pain from tendonitis. He was unable to keep up with the grueling practice.

The best esports player of all time, Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok notoriously has wrist pain that comes and goes. In 2023, he had to step down from T1 to recover from cubital tunnel syndrome. His hands are insured for nearly $1 million.

The list goes on. Countless careers ruined from early wrist and hand injuries, brought on or exacerbated by constant playing. Clinton “Fear” Loomis retired from Dota 2 after being diagnosed with tennis elbow following ongoing arm and wrist injuries. Aziz “Hax” Al-Hami had to step away from Super Smash Bros. Melee after undergoing multiple hand and wrist injuries from repetitive stress on his joints. Issa “Issa” Rahim retired from Fortnite due to a persistent hand injury. He was just 19.

These players are all relatively young. But that is often part of the problem. These younger players often don’t feel the need to work out and stretch. They aren’t focused on their health. They are developing bad eating habits and posture. They fear taking breaks. They don’t want to slow down.

More support is needed. Esports organizations should require stretching and additional exams for affected body parts. Nobody in their early 20s should be retiring from constant wrist pain. While many joke that esports is not a sport, there are still real injuries from constant practice and competition. And they shouldn’t be treated as a joke.

Let’s hope Kakeru can recover and make a return. Japanese fans are wishing him well, even saying he makes the wrist bandages look cool. Let’s hope he has the resources to overcome this.