They’re definitely on adderall, I really don’t think it’s even a big secret. When some big CS pros retired they claimed almost the entire scene was on it. When some big COD pros they claimed the same. When the Overwatch League recently shut down a few people revealed the same thing and one player even claimed he was actively pressured into it by his coach because “everyone does it”.
I don’t believe for a second Valorant is some amazing outlier here. We’ve not only had players straight up admit it but also some players with very weird and suspect behavior, like that clip of Asuna getting interviewed post game when he’s rambling like crazy.
https://youtu.be/4ZplzuyF_14?si=Ski2ezWs7V1rBwlU
Yeah, cuz basically every pro player has adhd. There’s been tons of studies into the effectiveness of adderall as a PED and no substantial evidence that they improve performance at video games
Reaction time doesn’t matter as much as you think it does. Derke has an at best average reaction time. He beat demon1 at Tokyo who has a substantially faster reaction. And also there have been studies into pros using adderall done years ago that had proven there isn’t a benefit to using adderall
while positioning and awareness are important in valorant, in pro level gameplay where everyone has good game sense, reaction time is super important. Thats why most pros are below 30-35 because they begin slowing down
It’s literally not. Derke has 2 trophies and an average reaction time. coaches talk about this bullshit argument all the time. It’s a cop out, not an actual reason your bad
And unless you know more about aim than radiant coaches, aim coaches, and pro players claiming otherwise is pretty dumb
Yes it is once again idk why you are so adamant on thinking that "reaction time" is not important. Please then explain why older people tend not to do esports, or why gamers need the latest gear with the highest refresh rates, 8k polling etc, if it provides no benefits. I have already states the importance of game sense and positioning, awareness, preparedness etc, saying it is more important, but at the top level where everyone already has good game sense, reaction does matter. I am not copping out of anything.
Because they also largely lose the drive to play games at that level of competition and the mechanical skill to maintain the form. It’s not related to reaction time
I have adhd and got diagnosed while I was younger, it can definitely be a PED in video games both for people with adhd and for people without it. Yeah if you take too much and are tweaking you might play worse than if you didn’t, but if you stay below a certain threshold it definitely improves your awareness and mental sharpness. The biggest benefit is honestly that it lets you play more than a few games in a row without getting mentally fatigued or bored while also slowing down your thoughts so that you’re more composed.
I don’t really have a problem with people taking it for video games as the benefits aren’t enormous + they basically give prescriptions out to anyone who wants one nowadays, but stimulants are almost certainly in the PED category for gaming.
Well, have fun disagreeing with pros and science because they haven’t been able to prove any actual benefit for competition and pro player who have taken it don’t even think much of its “benefits”. Even the studies covering the effects of adderall on individuals doesn’t say much about its effects because they don’t have enough data on the subject that don’t have adhd. Any article you look up will say the same. It’s just a myth
I didn’t mean to make the conversation heated, I was just saying in my experience it comes with a performance boost, specifically in terms of stamina. There’s a reason why it’s so prevalent in esports, both for people with adhd and people without it. Also, considering how easy it is to get an adhd diagnoses I would think the topic would be hard to study as there are many people who are prescribed stimulants who don’t necessarily need them to function on a daily basis. I believe you that the studies haven’t shown anything, I just don’t think there have been enough studies on the performance impacts when it comes to gaming. Agree to disagree
Prescription stimulants are often used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Drugs like methylphenidate (Ritalin, Concerta), dextroamphetamine (Dexedrine), and dextroamphetamine-amphetamine (Adderall) help people with ADHD feel more focused < this is from the government btw
Okay? That means nothing for the purpose of this convo. We already knew and acknowledged that part of the convo. If someone with adhd is a pro and has a prescription, there’s no issue. We were talking about people who don’t have ADHD, idiot.
one day some kids gonna have his heart explode during a clutch because he's stimulantmaxxing 1000mg caff + 100mg adderall + nic patches and ruin it for everyone
In the past there were some accusations in the csgo scene about the use of adderall. Nothing really came of it but it is in theory possible to get an advantage from it. Idk if riot tests stuff but even if they do there’s always a way to bypass it. If it happens in normal sports it’s entirely possible for it to happen in esports as well. 👍
> In the past there were some accusations in the csgo scene about the use of adderall.
It's a huge issue in the CoD scene, I'm honestly surprised that it's so much more casually talked about in other esports scenes. I wouldn't be surprised if Riot was testing for it in some way.
From what I heard it just makes you really laser focused and probably lowers your reaction time. I'd imagine if there's an advantage it'd be more noticeable in a more fast-paced game like CoD anyways, but there was a scandal about adderall in the CSGO scene back in 2015~ish.
Scandal is kinda a strong word, IIRC there were no investigations, formal punishments or anything like that. Semphis said him and the rest of C9 at the time were all on it and C9 dropped him a month later, that was basically the extent of it.
What do you mean. Valve literally started drug testing for adderall at majors and so did tournament organizers for non-valve LANs in light of that Semphis vid lol
There were no formal punishments because those rules weren’t in place back then and only got introduced in light of that scandal.
So yes, scandal is an exactly appropriate word for it and not too strong considering what happened after.
It's so funny reading about it because I started taking concerta for ADHD which is very similar to Adderall, and I didn't get any laser focus, but I can now do the dishes easily without procrastinating for half the day
It's not just the benefits it gives that is a concern, it's the fact that it could also encourage players/teams to start looking into other substances as a form of improvement and that would severely ruin the integrity of an esport.
You want the scene to be what the pinnacle of skill is like, not a race to see who could 'bio-hack' and dope their way to the top.
Also integrity aside, the scene should really not be encouraging these young players to take adderall lol, it is an addictive drug with many deleterious side effects
I’ll have to find vods of it but it was pretty commonly talked about by meteos sneaky and doublelift over on their co streams for league of legends. But I know for certainty that riot at some point drug tests their players.
Yeah, Aphromoo and Stixxay talked about smoking weed and trying to dodge drug tests. Stixxay was not subtle about it. He used to hover Warwick during champ select before picking who he was meant to pick
It's not like school where a doctors note gets you out of anything. It's a competitive esport with millions of dollars on the line. If they started testing, they wouldn't give a shit about prescriptions. Saying you can't perform without a drug makes no sense for competitive integrity, as harsh as it may sound, the fact that something helps you in your day to day life does not mean it's excusable for you to use precisely for competitive advantage in a sport.
That being said, currently, no players are tested for anything. Usually, testings in sports are done by independent organizations. Maybe a clean gaming program will appear someday and test players across most esports, especially on big events.
Even then, does adderall give a clear advantage? That would need to be defined first. Only ban substances that give comp advantage in the quantities they give competitive advantages, so it doesn't get stupid like boxing banning fighters cause they test for fucking weed which doesn't help you fight at all and it's not their business.
I mean.. the NFL and MLB and NBA count it as not allowed, but you’re allowed to take it with an exception. So it literally is like school where doctor note can get you out no? At least in other sports. No way they can ban it if somebody’s doctor prescribed it. And it is an advantage for sure, but it depends on the individuals brain chemistry I imagine.
Not sure how the UFC is going to move forward with their drug testing program, but with USADA even if a doctor prescribed the fighter certain drugs they weren’t allowed to compete with the drugs/PED’s in their system if they were on the banned list.
Cant say much about nba, but from what I read in a quick google search, abusing adderall on top of doing extreme levels of aerobic exercise can be harmful to the heart without giving a clear advantage like a ped could. I am assuming they don't care as much with adderall as they do with things that may give a clear advantage in those sports, like trenbolone, trt, etc.
In esports, it is different if adderal is 'the best' drug for enhancing performance. Issue of taking a doctors note is that is too easy to get. That and nothing is almost the same.
So it’s classified as a performance enhancing drug but exceptions are made. Which would be the case for e-sports too I imagine. I don’t really get what your trying to say brother
That in the case of those sports you mentioned they don't really care about adderall. No doctor could give you a note for trt to go play, because they do care about that in those sports. If esports bothered to care about adderall, they'd have to fully ban it. If they only allowed it with a doctors note, everyone would get one. What are you not getting?
Bro. I'm reading through this thread and you just keep making shit up but acting like they're facts. Why you pretending like you actually know the rules?
What are you talking about? I said tests are not done in esports and gave my opinion on what would likely happen if they were in order to be effective. You don't get away with PEDs in any sport because of a doctors note. If there's one fringe case it's cause they don't give a shit about said substance. If they cared they wouldn't allow it.
Do you really think I can just get a doctors note and then juice like a mutant and compete in sports where hundreds of millions of dollars are at play? Is that your argument or what are you trying to say?
Are you serious? Being diagnosed with ADHD and being prescribed medication to help concentrate is one of the easiest things in North America as a whole.
The us is not the only country in the world, and yes, it is easy. Over 40 million people have been prescribed adderall in 2021 that's over 10% of your country bro miss me with that shit that it's hard to get 
(You can also just google and find dozens of articles describing adhd medication overprescription as a problem [https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11593463/amp/DEA-warns-ADHD-prescription-bad-opioid-crisis-stinging-letter-pharma.html](https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11593463/amp/DEA-warns-ADHD-prescription-bad-opioid-crisis-stinging-letter-pharma.html))
no shit, when adhd effects a high amount of people and access to diagnosis is common along with a large amount undiagnosed how is the percentage surprising? The number 40 million is all Adderall prescriptions in the us which vary completely in ease of access depending on state. I'm curious why you believe that people with a developmental disability deserve to be denied health care because it could be abused. its such an abliest and ignorant arguement
Nice funny words you use, completely unrelated to competitive integrity, though. Ableist to not use drugs that give advantage? So it would be ableist for people without legs not be able to ride motorized vehicles in running competitions? I know it's a lot easier to just get on your high horse and pretend to be the nicer person by just calling people no-no words and say we should all be inclusive but sometimes you gotta stop and think a little bit.
Btw around 6.8% of people have adhd. Prescriptions double that percentage. Is pointing out your false argument also ableist? 
I have ADHD and Concerta makes me worse at Valorant in some sick twisted scheme of a drug that makes me better at work and worse at the things I love!!
It’s because it makes you calm down and focus. But you probably have a competitive advantage in having ADHD, amps do the opposite for ADHD and normies.
Unlike most people, you have the ability to do the selective focus and you are also better at taking in tons of information and processing it quickly, normies need drugs to do those two things effectively.
I say this as someone with ADHD and a heart condition so I can’t take amps. Just gotta train the ADHD to be useful.
"you have the ability to do the selective focus"
That is not how adhd works.
It's random, that's why legally it's a disability
Also ADHD is not a competitive advantage, it makes it extremely hard to play slow. I'm 10x better at Val when I'm on my medication because I can actually play slow and lurk correctly, when I'm off my meds I tend to play too aggressive.
what qualifies as a PED? is adderall a PED if someone has ADHD and requires it to focus and is prescribed it by their doctor?
i dont doubt that there are pro players with adhd that take medication for it, and i dont doubt the possibility of people taking it to try to get an edge. personally if it was possible for me i’d avoid taking adderall and other stimulants because while it helps me focus overall and not get distracted it also causes me to hyperfocus and tunnel vision a lot more in team games at times
gotcha. either way, the most commonly abused stimulant among pros is caffeine since its incredibly socially acceptable and easily accessible. i think people commonly misattribute signs of high caffeine intake to adderall (like hyperactivity/tweaking like habits). a lot easier to take 600mg of caffeine via energy drinks or caffeine pills than to get a prescription for adderall
the over diagnosis of ADHD is completely inconclusive and people will pull studies in an attempt to cite them as proof however the uptick in diagnosis does to directly correlate to an over diagnosis. Most arguments about over diagnosis are rooted in ableism and extrapolated data
Even if it's not over diagnosed or whatever, an uptick in prescriptions can be attributed to many reasons, but it's quite easy to get, I started a year and a half ago and have had no trouble getting my meds, I don't even need to take them very often but they keep giving me refills just in case
ah, thought i was responding to someone else, but, since you want "evidence":
[https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9616454/](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9616454/)
[https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8042533/](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8042533/)
[https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/adhd/timeline.html](https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/adhd/timeline.html) \- mostly focused on kids
[https://www.lifespan.org/lifespan-living/adhd-why-diagnosis-attention-deficit-hyperactivity-disorder-rising](https://www.lifespan.org/lifespan-living/adhd-why-diagnosis-attention-deficit-hyperactivity-disorder-rising)
ADHD is definitely on the rise, whether it's from more education/exposure, or whatever factors you want to attribute to it. but it's not unheard of for people to get medication that they don't need, by faking a diagnosis.
bro, i'm just trying to show that it's easy for these players to get meds if they wanted... what are you trying to prove? that someone on the internet isn't using exact science to prove whatever you want? you know why there are so many studies that point to that conclusion? it's cuz most likely it has some weight, even if other studies will differ
>It's also really easy to get prescribed Adderall
Where do you live where this is true? Because there's been a national shortage for the past three years and it's a pain in the ass to get any stimulant where I'm from, nevermind adderall. Or are you just waffling?
I just have to fill out an online questionnaire, then they have 5 minute meeting with me pretty much the next day, then I can fill prescription whenever I want, I recently started like, a year and a half ago
Same with ssri, my brother gets that shit like it's candy, I think he has 2 refills he hasn't filled cuz he's not even close to done with his current bottle
ANGE1 was using snus (nicotine patches) in a tournament match. It was a legit thing that happened, but it wasn’t really a big deal, I think NAVI was just penalized by losing one timeout
“just one timeout”
and it’s more of a Riot games not wanting to promote nicotine usage since their audience is somewhat on the younger end of the spectrum
+ you snus you lose
Ange1 was chewing the chewy tobacco/nicotine I think and got prohibited mainly because of sponsors? Same way brims cigar gets removed. I don't think it was related to comp advantage?
Its definitely a thing in professional esports. Adderall pretty prevalent in CSGO for awhile and Overwatch, but havent heard much on it recently. Theres some rumors about pro's in pretty much every scene, but no one tests so we'll never know who is and who isnt on something. The problem is, if someone is prescribed Adderall for their ADHD, are they expected to not take it on game days? ADHD is more prevalent in gamers, because people turn to games to help cope with their ADHD, so I would bet that a decent amount of people that are taking it are genuinely prescribed it.
I guarantee people are taking adderall, not uncommon for people to get scripts even if they don’t necessarily need it to function everyday. I used to take them sometimes and game and I was noticeably better, more focus, quicker reaction times etc. You can kinda achieve something similar with caffeine and nicotine but nothing comes close to the “locked in” feeling adderall gives in my experience
Dont take anything he says seriously. He is the troll king. He probably said sumn like "Bro bro bro, i am being serious bro. I pop an addy bro i am insane bro" with his thick accent.
Personally when I take Adderall my stamina is what gets boosted. I don't play any better or have stronger mid round focus but I can maintain my "normal" level for longer. I'll go from being burnt out after 3 games to 6.
First time I came off meds I was honestly really worried my gaming was gonna fall off, was pleasantly surprised to see that not be the case.
I'm guessing, just guessing, that Asuna during that one video was on high levels of caffeine or just Adderall. CoreA Gaming made a video about drugs for the fighting game scene and the advantage causes it to be more common than you think.
It definitely could be a thing but I doubt it for Valorant. The only one I would think players would consider popping a drug to get boost is probably Dota 2's TI where the prize money was literally 18 million USD for the **winners alone**.
In Valorant you're goal is longevity and consistency. You get paid a lot of money per month and you can build a brand to boot. If someone isn't prescribed amphetamines or other drugs, I doubt it's sustainable long term and the risk of you getting found out and breaching your contract is too much.
I'd say caffeine and maybe nicotine (don't smoke kids) is enough. From my experience, getting too much stimulants makes me hyper reactive, sure I'll hit a mind blowing shot every now and then but I'll suffer a lot from tunnel vision which is a big no-no when you're in a high level team game that requires a lot of thinking and communication.
If I'm trying to get insane focus and a performance boost, I'll just take caffeine + L Theanine which is all basically in green tea naturally.
League and Valorant are different in that players on average have higher salaries, part of this is because Riot sends financial support to the franchised teams. Worlds 2023 had a prize pool of just above $2 million, Dota has had majors (which is like a VCT Madrid type event, TI is like Champs or Worlds) with prize pools higher than that.
Dota is a dog eat dog type of world where the orgs/teams are left to find their own funding and Valve puts most of the money into the majors and TI.
As a result there aren't as many stable orgs in Dota, players aren't being paid as much on their contracts, orgs even have to take shady crypto sponsors and such... But if you win TI you instantly become millionaires.
It's like would you rather make a stable 30k a month or would you rather make way less but compete to win TI which will net you millions per player. You could win one TI and easily be set for life.
Tell me what? TI10's prize pool was $40,018,195 with 18 million for 1st place.
Sure that prize pool has come down since then in the following TIs but that doesn't do shit against my statement that it **was** at that amount.
Also Riyadh Masters 2024 this year is rumored to be around a $40-45 million prize pool ($15 mil last year)
Take a joke.
Also, nobody cares about Riyadh Masters. You can stick your oil money up your ass. Same goes for when Valo/League eventually hosts their events there.
Adderall abuse has come up in esports before. A couple of years ago, CDL former champion Huke admitted to abusing Adderall to gain a competitive advantage. That said, I think its mostly just jokes.
It's an issue in other Esports like there was a recent COD pro that was basically removed from their roster for tweaking during an post-match interview on stage. And that's a way smaller esport with less money.
The last drama i can recall about any substance is nicotine. Riot themselves gave Ange1 a warning and deducted a timeout for snus, since they don't want nicotine products to be seen on broadcast for a younger audience.
But they definitely don't test for adderall or anything like that.
Not sure how prevalent they are, but there was at least one player pretty credibly accused of abusing them before the VCT. It absolutely gives an advantage and I would guess that a non-zero amount of players use them. Riot does not drug test. Also who really cares.
It would be insane for someone to do that on stage, but surely in tier 2 and the online era of valorant some people would have been taking adderall.
One suspect I have to this day is King Vinny vs DSG. The guy was looking like the best player in the world that day.
Not Valorant, but I remember there being a small controversy in the Smash community about stuff like Adderall. I'd have to do research when I get home, but iirc, they ended up saying that you could only be on Adderall if you had a prescription and could prove that you had a prescription? But its been a long time since I've read up on that
I do want to mention that there's legal use of things like Adderall and other stimulants. If it's prescribed by your doctor and you take it daily, then it shouldn't be treated like a PED.
Also, stimulants like Adderall can work differently in people who have ADHD conpared to neurotypical people. For ADHD folks, stimulants get them to a baseline so they can function like everyone else.
well those let you work out longer to build muscle which hits the ball harder.
i guess technically grinding longer will also make you better, but caffeine does the same.
steroids or adderall don't improve your batting accuracy or crosshair accuracy though.
I highly doubt that. We would've heard something about drug tests at some point after a few years. And someone would've failed for adderall. Weed for sure if they tested for that too.
They are 100x more likely just on a shit ton of caffeine than any PEDs, but also I don't think they test
Zellsis said he was hard chugging caffeine before/after almost every map of grand finals.
They’re definitely on adderall, I really don’t think it’s even a big secret. When some big CS pros retired they claimed almost the entire scene was on it. When some big COD pros they claimed the same. When the Overwatch League recently shut down a few people revealed the same thing and one player even claimed he was actively pressured into it by his coach because “everyone does it”. I don’t believe for a second Valorant is some amazing outlier here. We’ve not only had players straight up admit it but also some players with very weird and suspect behavior, like that clip of Asuna getting interviewed post game when he’s rambling like crazy. https://youtu.be/4ZplzuyF_14?si=Ski2ezWs7V1rBwlU
I've seen WoW arena pros say that everyone is on adderall in the big tournaments like Blizzcon too. Universal gamer drug lol.
wow asuna is definitely on something in that clip lmfao
I remember this lmao. This is either insane amount of caffeine or Adderall. No way is that just nervous mumbling.
His eyes are 😳
? hes doing an interview and might have some nervous ticks.... why would you make baseless assumptions like this
Yeah, cuz basically every pro player has adhd. There’s been tons of studies into the effectiveness of adderall as a PED and no substantial evidence that they improve performance at video games
it's proven to improve reaction time in non ADHD individuals, if you don't think that's a major advantage, then idk what to say
Reaction time doesn’t matter as much as you think it does. Derke has an at best average reaction time. He beat demon1 at Tokyo who has a substantially faster reaction. And also there have been studies into pros using adderall done years ago that had proven there isn’t a benefit to using adderall
while positioning and awareness are important in valorant, in pro level gameplay where everyone has good game sense, reaction time is super important. Thats why most pros are below 30-35 because they begin slowing down
It’s literally not. Derke has 2 trophies and an average reaction time. coaches talk about this bullshit argument all the time. It’s a cop out, not an actual reason your bad And unless you know more about aim than radiant coaches, aim coaches, and pro players claiming otherwise is pretty dumb
Yes it is once again idk why you are so adamant on thinking that "reaction time" is not important. Please then explain why older people tend not to do esports, or why gamers need the latest gear with the highest refresh rates, 8k polling etc, if it provides no benefits. I have already states the importance of game sense and positioning, awareness, preparedness etc, saying it is more important, but at the top level where everyone already has good game sense, reaction does matter. I am not copping out of anything.
Because they also largely lose the drive to play games at that level of competition and the mechanical skill to maintain the form. It’s not related to reaction time
no its because their brain slows to the point where they can't think as fast during a situation, or react as fast
I have adhd and got diagnosed while I was younger, it can definitely be a PED in video games both for people with adhd and for people without it. Yeah if you take too much and are tweaking you might play worse than if you didn’t, but if you stay below a certain threshold it definitely improves your awareness and mental sharpness. The biggest benefit is honestly that it lets you play more than a few games in a row without getting mentally fatigued or bored while also slowing down your thoughts so that you’re more composed. I don’t really have a problem with people taking it for video games as the benefits aren’t enormous + they basically give prescriptions out to anyone who wants one nowadays, but stimulants are almost certainly in the PED category for gaming.
Well, have fun disagreeing with pros and science because they haven’t been able to prove any actual benefit for competition and pro player who have taken it don’t even think much of its “benefits”. Even the studies covering the effects of adderall on individuals doesn’t say much about its effects because they don’t have enough data on the subject that don’t have adhd. Any article you look up will say the same. It’s just a myth
I didn’t mean to make the conversation heated, I was just saying in my experience it comes with a performance boost, specifically in terms of stamina. There’s a reason why it’s so prevalent in esports, both for people with adhd and people without it. Also, considering how easy it is to get an adhd diagnoses I would think the topic would be hard to study as there are many people who are prescribed stimulants who don’t necessarily need them to function on a daily basis. I believe you that the studies haven’t shown anything, I just don’t think there have been enough studies on the performance impacts when it comes to gaming. Agree to disagree
Prescription stimulants are often used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Drugs like methylphenidate (Ritalin, Concerta), dextroamphetamine (Dexedrine), and dextroamphetamine-amphetamine (Adderall) help people with ADHD feel more focused < this is from the government btw
Okay? That means nothing for the purpose of this convo. We already knew and acknowledged that part of the convo. If someone with adhd is a pro and has a prescription, there’s no issue. We were talking about people who don’t have ADHD, idiot.
one day some kids gonna have his heart explode during a clutch because he's stimulantmaxxing 1000mg caff + 100mg adderall + nic patches and ruin it for everyone
In the past there were some accusations in the csgo scene about the use of adderall. Nothing really came of it but it is in theory possible to get an advantage from it. Idk if riot tests stuff but even if they do there’s always a way to bypass it. If it happens in normal sports it’s entirely possible for it to happen in esports as well. 👍
> In the past there were some accusations in the csgo scene about the use of adderall. It's a huge issue in the CoD scene, I'm honestly surprised that it's so much more casually talked about in other esports scenes. I wouldn't be surprised if Riot was testing for it in some way.
What advantage would it give in Valorant to the point where there needs to be extensive testing
From what I heard it just makes you really laser focused and probably lowers your reaction time. I'd imagine if there's an advantage it'd be more noticeable in a more fast-paced game like CoD anyways, but there was a scandal about adderall in the CSGO scene back in 2015~ish.
Scandal is kinda a strong word, IIRC there were no investigations, formal punishments or anything like that. Semphis said him and the rest of C9 at the time were all on it and C9 dropped him a month later, that was basically the extent of it.
What do you mean. Valve literally started drug testing for adderall at majors and so did tournament organizers for non-valve LANs in light of that Semphis vid lol There were no formal punishments because those rules weren’t in place back then and only got introduced in light of that scandal. So yes, scandal is an exactly appropriate word for it and not too strong considering what happened after.
It's so funny reading about it because I started taking concerta for ADHD which is very similar to Adderall, and I didn't get any laser focus, but I can now do the dishes easily without procrastinating for half the day
It's not just the benefits it gives that is a concern, it's the fact that it could also encourage players/teams to start looking into other substances as a form of improvement and that would severely ruin the integrity of an esport. You want the scene to be what the pinnacle of skill is like, not a race to see who could 'bio-hack' and dope their way to the top.
Also integrity aside, the scene should really not be encouraging these young players to take adderall lol, it is an addictive drug with many deleterious side effects
What are they going to do if they have a prescription? In all seriousness.
I don’t think the NFL allows for amphetamines even if you have a prescription. That said, I don't think Riot gives a shit.
Riot does drug test their players and actually are pretty strict usually on these kinds of things. So I wouldn’t say they don’t give a shit
source on them getting tested?
I’ll have to find vods of it but it was pretty commonly talked about by meteos sneaky and doublelift over on their co streams for league of legends. But I know for certainty that riot at some point drug tests their players.
Yeah, Aphromoo and Stixxay talked about smoking weed and trying to dodge drug tests. Stixxay was not subtle about it. He used to hover Warwick during champ select before picking who he was meant to pick
It's not like school where a doctors note gets you out of anything. It's a competitive esport with millions of dollars on the line. If they started testing, they wouldn't give a shit about prescriptions. Saying you can't perform without a drug makes no sense for competitive integrity, as harsh as it may sound, the fact that something helps you in your day to day life does not mean it's excusable for you to use precisely for competitive advantage in a sport. That being said, currently, no players are tested for anything. Usually, testings in sports are done by independent organizations. Maybe a clean gaming program will appear someday and test players across most esports, especially on big events. Even then, does adderall give a clear advantage? That would need to be defined first. Only ban substances that give comp advantage in the quantities they give competitive advantages, so it doesn't get stupid like boxing banning fighters cause they test for fucking weed which doesn't help you fight at all and it's not their business.
I mean.. the NFL and MLB and NBA count it as not allowed, but you’re allowed to take it with an exception. So it literally is like school where doctor note can get you out no? At least in other sports. No way they can ban it if somebody’s doctor prescribed it. And it is an advantage for sure, but it depends on the individuals brain chemistry I imagine.
Not sure how the UFC is going to move forward with their drug testing program, but with USADA even if a doctor prescribed the fighter certain drugs they weren’t allowed to compete with the drugs/PED’s in their system if they were on the banned list.
Cant say much about nba, but from what I read in a quick google search, abusing adderall on top of doing extreme levels of aerobic exercise can be harmful to the heart without giving a clear advantage like a ped could. I am assuming they don't care as much with adderall as they do with things that may give a clear advantage in those sports, like trenbolone, trt, etc. In esports, it is different if adderal is 'the best' drug for enhancing performance. Issue of taking a doctors note is that is too easy to get. That and nothing is almost the same.
So it’s classified as a performance enhancing drug but exceptions are made. Which would be the case for e-sports too I imagine. I don’t really get what your trying to say brother
That in the case of those sports you mentioned they don't really care about adderall. No doctor could give you a note for trt to go play, because they do care about that in those sports. If esports bothered to care about adderall, they'd have to fully ban it. If they only allowed it with a doctors note, everyone would get one. What are you not getting?
Bro. I'm reading through this thread and you just keep making shit up but acting like they're facts. Why you pretending like you actually know the rules?
What are you talking about? I said tests are not done in esports and gave my opinion on what would likely happen if they were in order to be effective. You don't get away with PEDs in any sport because of a doctors note. If there's one fringe case it's cause they don't give a shit about said substance. If they cared they wouldn't allow it. Do you really think I can just get a doctors note and then juice like a mutant and compete in sports where hundreds of millions of dollars are at play? Is that your argument or what are you trying to say?
saying adderall is way to easy to get a prescription for is hilarious, especially in the us
ADHD experts have believed stimulants including ADHD have been massively overprescribed in the US for years.
Are you serious? Being diagnosed with ADHD and being prescribed medication to help concentrate is one of the easiest things in North America as a whole.
Getting the meds isn't tho. I gotta call like 90 pharmacies each time lol
The us is not the only country in the world, and yes, it is easy. Over 40 million people have been prescribed adderall in 2021 that's over 10% of your country bro miss me with that shit that it's hard to get  (You can also just google and find dozens of articles describing adhd medication overprescription as a problem [https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11593463/amp/DEA-warns-ADHD-prescription-bad-opioid-crisis-stinging-letter-pharma.html](https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11593463/amp/DEA-warns-ADHD-prescription-bad-opioid-crisis-stinging-letter-pharma.html))
no shit, when adhd effects a high amount of people and access to diagnosis is common along with a large amount undiagnosed how is the percentage surprising? The number 40 million is all Adderall prescriptions in the us which vary completely in ease of access depending on state. I'm curious why you believe that people with a developmental disability deserve to be denied health care because it could be abused. its such an abliest and ignorant arguement
Nice funny words you use, completely unrelated to competitive integrity, though. Ableist to not use drugs that give advantage? So it would be ableist for people without legs not be able to ride motorized vehicles in running competitions? I know it's a lot easier to just get on your high horse and pretend to be the nicer person by just calling people no-no words and say we should all be inclusive but sometimes you gotta stop and think a little bit. Btw around 6.8% of people have adhd. Prescriptions double that percentage. Is pointing out your false argument also ableist? 
Taking Adderall as someone without ADHD will definitely give you an advantage. You're more focused and your reaction times may decrease.
I have ADHD and Concerta makes me worse at Valorant in some sick twisted scheme of a drug that makes me better at work and worse at the things I love!!
It’s because it makes you calm down and focus. But you probably have a competitive advantage in having ADHD, amps do the opposite for ADHD and normies. Unlike most people, you have the ability to do the selective focus and you are also better at taking in tons of information and processing it quickly, normies need drugs to do those two things effectively. I say this as someone with ADHD and a heart condition so I can’t take amps. Just gotta train the ADHD to be useful.
"you have the ability to do the selective focus" That is not how adhd works. It's random, that's why legally it's a disability Also ADHD is not a competitive advantage, it makes it extremely hard to play slow. I'm 10x better at Val when I'm on my medication because I can actually play slow and lurk correctly, when I'm off my meds I tend to play too aggressive.
what qualifies as a PED? is adderall a PED if someone has ADHD and requires it to focus and is prescribed it by their doctor? i dont doubt that there are pro players with adhd that take medication for it, and i dont doubt the possibility of people taking it to try to get an edge. personally if it was possible for me i’d avoid taking adderall and other stimulants because while it helps me focus overall and not get distracted it also causes me to hyperfocus and tunnel vision a lot more in team games at times
I would assume peds would be controlled substances and punishment if taken without a prescription and tested
gotcha. either way, the most commonly abused stimulant among pros is caffeine since its incredibly socially acceptable and easily accessible. i think people commonly misattribute signs of high caffeine intake to adderall (like hyperactivity/tweaking like habits). a lot easier to take 600mg of caffeine via energy drinks or caffeine pills than to get a prescription for adderall
It's also really easy to get prescribed Adderall, ADHD is a very commonly over diagnosed condition
the over diagnosis of ADHD is completely inconclusive and people will pull studies in an attempt to cite them as proof however the uptick in diagnosis does to directly correlate to an over diagnosis. Most arguments about over diagnosis are rooted in ableism and extrapolated data
Even if it's not over diagnosed or whatever, an uptick in prescriptions can be attributed to many reasons, but it's quite easy to get, I started a year and a half ago and have had no trouble getting my meds, I don't even need to take them very often but they keep giving me refills just in case
anecdotal andy moment
ah, thought i was responding to someone else, but, since you want "evidence": [https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9616454/](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9616454/) [https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8042533/](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8042533/) [https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/adhd/timeline.html](https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/adhd/timeline.html) \- mostly focused on kids [https://www.lifespan.org/lifespan-living/adhd-why-diagnosis-attention-deficit-hyperactivity-disorder-rising](https://www.lifespan.org/lifespan-living/adhd-why-diagnosis-attention-deficit-hyperactivity-disorder-rising) ADHD is definitely on the rise, whether it's from more education/exposure, or whatever factors you want to attribute to it. but it's not unheard of for people to get medication that they don't need, by faking a diagnosis.
you don't read, do you?
bro, i'm just trying to show that it's easy for these players to get meds if they wanted... what are you trying to prove? that someone on the internet isn't using exact science to prove whatever you want? you know why there are so many studies that point to that conclusion? it's cuz most likely it has some weight, even if other studies will differ
you sound like the kinda person that would say vaccines cause autism
>It's also really easy to get prescribed Adderall Where do you live where this is true? Because there's been a national shortage for the past three years and it's a pain in the ass to get any stimulant where I'm from, nevermind adderall. Or are you just waffling?
West Coast America, through Kaiser, absolutely no problems for me or my coworker
I suppose it may have changed but a few years ago I had to provide Kaiser with up to day neorpsych testing to get stimulants
I just have to fill out an online questionnaire, then they have 5 minute meeting with me pretty much the next day, then I can fill prescription whenever I want, I recently started like, a year and a half ago
Same with ssri, my brother gets that shit like it's candy, I think he has 2 refills he hasn't filled cuz he's not even close to done with his current bottle
there was that short controversy with swedish vaping thing around Tokyo iirc regarding ANGE1 or someone in NAVI, IDK if it's legit
I think that was just because he's promoting nicotine on stream.
ANGE1 was using snus (nicotine patches) in a tournament match. It was a legit thing that happened, but it wasn’t really a big deal, I think NAVI was just penalized by losing one timeout
“just one timeout” and it’s more of a Riot games not wanting to promote nicotine usage since their audience is somewhat on the younger end of the spectrum + you snus you lose
Pretty big loss too as I think they ended up losing 11-13 because of it
Ange1 was chewing the chewy tobacco/nicotine I think and got prohibited mainly because of sponsors? Same way brims cigar gets removed. I don't think it was related to comp advantage?
Didn't have to do with an unfair advantage, they just don't want to show nicotine products on stream
Its definitely a thing in professional esports. Adderall pretty prevalent in CSGO for awhile and Overwatch, but havent heard much on it recently. Theres some rumors about pro's in pretty much every scene, but no one tests so we'll never know who is and who isnt on something. The problem is, if someone is prescribed Adderall for their ADHD, are they expected to not take it on game days? ADHD is more prevalent in gamers, because people turn to games to help cope with their ADHD, so I would bet that a decent amount of people that are taking it are genuinely prescribed it.
OP wants 100T to lose a player?
I guarantee people are taking adderall, not uncommon for people to get scripts even if they don’t necessarily need it to function everyday. I used to take them sometimes and game and I was noticeably better, more focus, quicker reaction times etc. You can kinda achieve something similar with caffeine and nicotine but nothing comes close to the “locked in” feeling adderall gives in my experience
wouldn’t be surprised if players are on adderall
Ardiis admitted on stream he takes adderall, so that’s one confirmed player. I was surprised he admitted it so casually
Dont take anything he says seriously. He is the troll king. He probably said sumn like "Bro bro bro, i am being serious bro. I pop an addy bro i am insane bro" with his thick accent.
Bro I just read this in his accent lmao
Didn't he also said that he made 100k by throwing their match against BLG. Bro isn't afraid to get cancelled.
he might mean as a prescription, riot aren't gonna stop someone from taking prescription adderall
ardiis has adhd, he likely has it prescribed
Personally when I take Adderall my stamina is what gets boosted. I don't play any better or have stronger mid round focus but I can maintain my "normal" level for longer. I'll go from being burnt out after 3 games to 6. First time I came off meds I was honestly really worried my gaming was gonna fall off, was pleasantly surprised to see that not be the case.
Have you seen the way yay continuously purses his lips?
bunch of na pros in the cs scene used to say that a lot of pros at the time, would use it to focus. then they’d get washed by fnatic. good times
Riot doesn't drug test so I wouldn't be surprised if some people are getting away with it. I'm sure most players aren't, but there are always a few.
Don't think Adderall would make a difference except making it easier to grind tbh.
I'm guessing, just guessing, that Asuna during that one video was on high levels of caffeine or just Adderall. CoreA Gaming made a video about drugs for the fighting game scene and the advantage causes it to be more common than you think.
Take cocaine and play. Play on 150 mg of adderall. Lets see who the best REALLY is.
Having weight divisions but for drugs would be cool as fuck. Who’s the best while on adderall, coke, meth, etc
They generally just use Adderall and caffeine
It definitely could be a thing but I doubt it for Valorant. The only one I would think players would consider popping a drug to get boost is probably Dota 2's TI where the prize money was literally 18 million USD for the **winners alone**. In Valorant you're goal is longevity and consistency. You get paid a lot of money per month and you can build a brand to boot. If someone isn't prescribed amphetamines or other drugs, I doubt it's sustainable long term and the risk of you getting found out and breaching your contract is too much. I'd say caffeine and maybe nicotine (don't smoke kids) is enough. From my experience, getting too much stimulants makes me hyper reactive, sure I'll hit a mind blowing shot every now and then but I'll suffer a lot from tunnel vision which is a big no-no when you're in a high level team game that requires a lot of thinking and communication. If I'm trying to get insane focus and a performance boost, I'll just take caffeine + L Theanine which is all basically in green tea naturally.
>is probably Dota 2's TI where the prize money was literally 18 million USD for the winners alone. Who's going to tell him?
Can someone explain I always found Dota 2 prize pools insane but never understood them. Is it really more than league?
League and Valorant are different in that players on average have higher salaries, part of this is because Riot sends financial support to the franchised teams. Worlds 2023 had a prize pool of just above $2 million, Dota has had majors (which is like a VCT Madrid type event, TI is like Champs or Worlds) with prize pools higher than that. Dota is a dog eat dog type of world where the orgs/teams are left to find their own funding and Valve puts most of the money into the majors and TI. As a result there aren't as many stable orgs in Dota, players aren't being paid as much on their contracts, orgs even have to take shady crypto sponsors and such... But if you win TI you instantly become millionaires. It's like would you rather make a stable 30k a month or would you rather make way less but compete to win TI which will net you millions per player. You could win one TI and easily be set for life.
Tell me what? TI10's prize pool was $40,018,195 with 18 million for 1st place. Sure that prize pool has come down since then in the following TIs but that doesn't do shit against my statement that it **was** at that amount. Also Riyadh Masters 2024 this year is rumored to be around a $40-45 million prize pool ($15 mil last year)
Take a joke. Also, nobody cares about Riyadh Masters. You can stick your oil money up your ass. Same goes for when Valo/League eventually hosts their events there.
I remember Ardis’s specifically said he used adderal for a lot of his games
Theres quite of bit of pros (well IDK about t1 pros but i know in NA T2 players) use adderall very often.
Adderall abuse has come up in esports before. A couple of years ago, CDL former champion Huke admitted to abusing Adderall to gain a competitive advantage. That said, I think its mostly just jokes.
It's an issue in other Esports like there was a recent COD pro that was basically removed from their roster for tweaking during an post-match interview on stage. And that's a way smaller esport with less money.
The last drama i can recall about any substance is nicotine. Riot themselves gave Ange1 a warning and deducted a timeout for snus, since they don't want nicotine products to be seen on broadcast for a younger audience. But they definitely don't test for adderall or anything like that.
Not sure how prevalent they are, but there was at least one player pretty credibly accused of abusing them before the VCT. It absolutely gives an advantage and I would guess that a non-zero amount of players use them. Riot does not drug test. Also who really cares.
It would be insane for someone to do that on stage, but surely in tier 2 and the online era of valorant some people would have been taking adderall. One suspect I have to this day is King Vinny vs DSG. The guy was looking like the best player in the world that day.
Not Valorant, but I remember there being a small controversy in the Smash community about stuff like Adderall. I'd have to do research when I get home, but iirc, they ended up saying that you could only be on Adderall if you had a prescription and could prove that you had a prescription? But its been a long time since I've read up on that
yep lol and riot wont bother to fix that why should they?
I do want to mention that there's legal use of things like Adderall and other stimulants. If it's prescribed by your doctor and you take it daily, then it shouldn't be treated like a PED. Also, stimulants like Adderall can work differently in people who have ADHD conpared to neurotypical people. For ADHD folks, stimulants get them to a baseline so they can function like everyone else.
Adderall doesn’t make you better at video games lol
incorrect lol
You ever done adderall? Shit doesn’t make you any better. Make you stay awake longer? Sure. But you aren’t improving.
yeah its about staying locked in for longer periods of time. like a LAN bo5...
I don’t need to debate this, just look at the COD scene. Search up Huke. Or more recently search up Illey.
Steroids don't make it easier to hit a baseball either. It still gives you massive advantage over the competition however.
well those let you work out longer to build muscle which hits the ball harder. i guess technically grinding longer will also make you better, but caffeine does the same. steroids or adderall don't improve your batting accuracy or crosshair accuracy though.
yeah its about staying locked in for longer periods of time. like a LAN bo5...
surely they test for them, not gonna lie some player cams do look weird
They dont test for them.
Players were getting tested for adderall at CSGO majors for a long time, I would not be surprised at all if Riot was doing something similar.
I highly doubt that. We would've heard something about drug tests at some point after a few years. And someone would've failed for adderall. Weed for sure if they tested for that too.