Are E-Sports Competitors as Hot as They Seem?: A Study of Streaks in Professional StarCraft
Date
2014
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Producer
Director
Performer
Choreographer
Costume Designer
Music
Videographer
Lighting Designer
Set Designer
Crew Member
Funder
Rehearsal Director
Concert Coordinator
Advisor
Moderator
Panelist
Alternative Title
Department
Haverford College. Department of Economics
Type
Thesis
Original Format
Running Time
File Format
Place of Publication
Date Span
Copyright Date
Award
Language
eng
Note
Table of Contents
Terms of Use
Rights Holder
Access Restrictions
Open Access
Terms of Use
Tripod URL
Identifier
Abstract
This paper studies the common sports idea of "hotness," short periods of time in which players perform noticeably better or worse, in professional videogaming. Long thought to have been disproven following Gilovich's 1985 paper, and those that followed, recent studies have challenged such findings. More specifically, my study aims to establish the prevalence of the belief in this idea among players and viewers of professional StarCraft, and then to analyze whether such beliefs are valid. I first presented a survey to fans of professional StarCraft to extrapolate the prevalence of the belief in "hotness", discovering that a vast majority believes in its effects on some level. I then created a model to determine whether players perform differently while on streaks, eventually showing a general lack of support for the idea of streak effects. Finally, I discussed possible reasons for these findings and areas for future research.