In an interview with Mohan “Launders” Govindasamy, pro Counter-Strike player Kory “SEMPHIS” Friesen was asked whether “everyone does Adderall” at certain esports events. “Yeah”, was the answer.
Via Motherboard, the admission centred on an ESL event in Poland in March where the communication between Friesen and his teammates was… a bit much (you can see the game in question here).
“I don’t even care,” Friesen tells Govindasamy, referencing the comms that day. “We were all on Adderall. I don’t even give a fuck. It was pretty obvious if you listened to the comms. People can hate it or whatever.”
Adderall, normally prescribed to treat ADHD, can help players focus. Practically, Friesen’s public admission isn’t surprising: esports is a career and has money in it, so just like regular sports, there will be those willing to take some drugs in order to increase their performance. It’s only surprising that he admitted it in the first place, since it’s not something that’s spoken of very often.
For what it’s worth, the ESL’s rules on drug use are as follows:
To play a match, be it online or offline, under the influence of any drugs, alcohol, or other performance enhancers is strictly prohibited, and may be punished with exclusion from the ESL One.
You can watch the full interview below.
Comments
15 responses to “Pro Counter-Strike Player: ‘We Were All On Adderall’”
doping in the pro gaming circuit. n00bs
It almost screams, “Are we a real sport now!?!” Doesnt it??
I suffer ADHD and was on dexamphetamine, something that turned my life around – couldn’t deal with school an really struggled and through medication and cunselling became an A grade student.
To see people abusing this medication is insane – in Australia it’s a heavily restricted medication and abusing it is very illegal. Someone is stealing or selling a restricted prescribed drug and should go to jail.
100% agree, my story is much the same, relationships suffered, basics that everyone takes for granted were almost impossible and I felt separated from normal life and society. Dexamphetamine changed my life. I did not become an A student but my quality of life improved immensely. Unfortunately I was not lucky and remain on them. While maturing, ADHD sufferers can “grow” out of it as their brain matures and rewires itself. I am 27 and would not be able to maintain a job and be successful without them.
To see people abuse it is really sad. ADHD is still seen as an excuse by many, and its treatment just a way for lazy people to concentrate because they lack any self control.
I’ve been following this thing on the CSGO subreddit since it popped up and apparently in the US, they just hand amphetamines out as if it’s candy. You just have to do a little test and it’s not unheard of that people lie just to get the prescription. They say it’s that easy to get. If true, it’s disgusting that it’s like that there.
This doesn’t bother me at all. Sport is competition, and in competition you use any advantage you can get. If adderall helps you concentrate a little better, go for it. It improves the quality of competition.
Agreed but having said that NA CSGO has always been behind EU CSGO who lean on healthy diets, regimented schedules and adequate sleep to perform well than getting jacked up on Adderall.
The problem with this is, if people start taking adderall (or other performance enhancing drugs), it sets the precedent; everyone else is expected to take them too, otherwise they can’t keep up.
Fact is taking these drugs have long term side effects on your health; some people may be willing to accept these side effects, but that isn’t fair on the others who want to compete but aren;t willing to accept the side effects.
Imagine you were a semi-pro boxer and you were just approached by a sponsor to go into the pro circuit, but were told you had to take a performance enhancing drug that will make you sterile in 5 years, otherwise they won’t let you in; that’s what it would kind of be like.
Pro gamers (or any other pro sports competitors) should never be forced to choose between their health and their professional career.
No but really, take competitive gaming seriously.
So this is where Stephen Dank went.
“We were all on Adderall. I don’t even give a fuck.”
Watch out guys, we got a badass over here.
What was said hasn’t been translated form what the context it was used. Semphis was on the csgo team Cloud9 when this happened, when he says “I don’t give a fuck” it is being used in that he doesn’t care about the repercussions of what will happen now because they had dismissed him from their lineup without any reasoning and now revealing the whole team was on adderall; he’s not worried about what’s going to happen next.
You can’t be drunk and play competivie CS GO. What is this Nazi Germany.
Being a former drug dependant person, I have to say that this guy is an absolute moron. I am all for free choice and yes, narcotics under the opiate/amphetamine banner are S8 Controlled Drugs. I.e heavily regulated and very addictive. BUT if not used properly with extreme caution, they WILL make your life a living hell. He is ignorant, clueless and immature. Who gives a fudge he says? He will when he finds out one day he’s addicted to a powerful chemical and begins to deal with the reality drug abuse brings people into. I.e hell
From personal experiece, getting hooked on pharmaceutical grade narcotics is no different to getting hooked on S9 Prohibited Drugs (I.e Heroin). I used to be on Oxycodone, then Methadone, now Buprenorphine (50x stronger than Morphine) just to half-function. He has NO bloody idea what he’s doing and better get given a reality check, FAST!
What a completely irresponsible dumbass. The legality isn’t even half the problem, it’s the crushing impact drug addiction has on your life and health. It’s so easy for anyone to fall victim to addiction because they have no idea what the price is. I’ve been on some of the strongest narcotics and…..He will regret it.
Adderall is not a narcotic dude. Calm down. Adderall is pretty common in colleges/uni’s as well. And people with ADHD often come of it as they get older. It’s not some crazy addictive killer drug.