Ben Greenfield Fitness: Diet, Fat Loss And Performance

Imagine a stadium full of screaming fans. Zoom in on the contestants. They're sweating from the intensity of the competition. What could it be? Boxing? MMA? Basketball? Tennis? American ninja warrior? Nope. It's electronic sports, also known as eSports, and the "athletes" are headset-wearing, energy-drink-guzzling, smart-drug-popping gamers. And this sport is booming.  Top eSports tournaments now draw audiences that rival the biggest traditional sporting events, and live streams online routinely attract more than 100,000 viewers. Companies like Coke, Nissan and   Red Bull sponsor tournaments, and last year alone, over 205 million people watched or played eSports. As a matter of fact, today's eSports tournaments rival practically any big sporting event. The League of Legends Championship sold out Staples Center in 2013, then sold out the 40,000-seat World Cup Stadium in Seoul a year later while drawing an online audience of 27 million -- more than the TV viewership for the final round of the Masters. Videos of