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Whether you play video games or haven’t picked up a controller for decades, there is a strong chance you have heard about eSports.ESports are hard to understand, filled with jargon,and not exactly like the sports you typically associate with competition on a global scale.If you’re looking to watch1be looking to do sth试图找到做某事的办法。it, understand it, or just get a better idea of what on earth it all means: this is your guide to eSports.

不管你是现在玩电子游戏抑或几十年都没有摸过游戏控制器，都很可能听说过电子竞技。电子竞技很难理解，行话满满，完全不像你通常想到的那些全球性竞赛。如果你想观看、理解它，或者只是想更好地了解电子竞技究竟是什么，本文就是为你准备的电子竞技指南。

What does ‘eSports’ actually mean?

“电子竞技”到底是什么？

[2]Generally, the easiest definition is competitive gaming at a professional level.It only includes video games, but pretty much any game with a winner and a loser can be played as an eSport,although the bigger the player base and the more support it has, the better the competition.

[2]一般来说，电子竞技最简单的定义就是专业级别的竞争性游戏。它只包括视频游戏，但是几乎任何有赢家和输家的游戏都可以作为电子竞技来玩，不过玩家群体越大，它的支持者就越多，竞争性也越强。

[3]How that exactly works differs from game to game.The majority of popular eSports are team-based games played in leagues or tournaments throughout the year, culminating in one final event.Some of those leagues or tournaments are region-specific, meaning that,for most of the year, European teams will only play other European teams, North American teams will only play other North American teams, and so on.

[3]电子竞技的运作方式因游戏而异。大多数流行的电子竞技是团队赛，有全年的联赛或锦标赛，最终一场决赛定胜负。一些联赛或锦标赛针对特定区域，即在一年的大部分时间里，欧洲赛队只会对战其他欧洲赛队，北美赛队只会对战其他北美赛队，以此类推。

[4]Some games are a head-to-head,one-on-one format, though.Fighting games such asStreet Fighter V, for example, orHearthstone, a card game where each player has a custom deck of cards that are played to defeat the opponent, without any team alongside them.

[4]不过，有些游戏是一对一直接交手的。例如，像《街头霸王V》这样的格斗游戏，或者像《炉石传说》这样的卡牌游戏。《炉石传说》的每个玩家都有一套自定义牌组，用于击败对手，而无须团队随同。

What sort of games can be an eSport?

哪种游戏可称为电子竞技？

[5]The games themselves can come in a wide variety of formats, although there’s two main variants nowadays: first-person shooters, ‘MOBAs’.First-person shooter is self-explanatory, while MOBA stands for Multiplayer Online Battle Arena.

[5]游戏本身可以有各种各样的形式，但现在主要有两大类型：第一人称射击游戏和MOBA。前者一如其名，后者即多人在线战术竞技游戏。

[6]That’s the first bit of jargon you’ll need to know for eSports.Generally,MOBAs are all about two teams playing as heroes with unique abilities, strengths,and weaknesses.The goal is to kill the opponents to gain an advantage and destroy their base on the opposite site of the map.By killing opponents, they gain gold and experience, which can be used to improve the character.

[6]这就是首先要了解的一点点电竞行话。一般来说，所有MOBA游戏都是两队玩家扮演具有独特技能和优缺点的英雄来互相攻击。其目标是杀死对手以获得领先，并摧毁游戏版图中对方的基地。通过歼灭对手，他们会获得金币和经验，可用以升级角色。

[7]League of legends and Dota 2 are the two biggest MOBAs, and have a recognisable top-down perspective.Firstperson shooters, on the other hand, typically swap between showing a player’s perspective and a flying camera when spectating.

[7]《英雄联盟》和《刀塔 2》是两款最大的MOBA游戏，具有可识别的俯视视角。另一方面，第一人称射击游戏通常在观看时可在玩家视角和鸟瞰图景之间转换。

[8]In a first-person shooter (often referred to as an FPS), the goal can differ.In some games, likeCounter-Strike:Global Offensive, the goal is simply to kill the opposing team.In others, likeOverwatch, it can be a ‘king of the hill’mode, where teams fight over a location, the first team to control it for a set amount of time wins, or a ‘payload’mode, where teams take turns attacking and defending, fighting to push the payload to a final objective.

[8]在第一人称射击游戏（常称为FPS）中，目标可能各不相同。在一些游戏中，比如《反恐精英：全球攻势》，其目标只是杀死对方玩家。而在其他游戏中，比如《守望先锋》，玩家可以选择“占领要点”模式，为争夺某地作战，率先在规定时长内控制该地的队伍获胜；玩家也可选择“运载目标”模式，每队轮流攻击和防御，努力将运载物送达最终目的地。

[9]Other eSports can be card games,sport games, strategy games, and fighting games.Sports games are generally the simplest, given they’re based on real-world sports, while fighting games are also accessible, given the more obvious back and forth of punches and kicks.

[9]其他的电子竞技包括卡牌游戏、体育游戏、策略游戏和格斗游戏。体育游戏通常最简单，因为它们基于真实世界的体育运动，而格斗游戏也易上手，因为一来一往的拳打脚踢更加直观。

[10]Strategy games, likeStarCraft 2,are all about players building armies and trying to defeat each other with optimal unit movement, army composition, and tactical choices.Battles are won and lost of tactical choices and quick movements.Card games, likeHearthstone, challenge players to best one another with monsters and spells, the first person to lose all of their health loses.

[10]像《星际争霸2》这样的策略游戏，则是玩家建立军队并试图以最佳的单位移动、军队构成和战术选择来击败对手。战术选择与移动速度决定了战斗的胜负。卡牌游戏如《炉石传说》，要求玩家用怪物和法术来互搏，首先耗尽生命值的玩家输掉比赛。

What are eSports players competing for?

电子竞技玩家因何而赛？

[11]The players themselves are generally then competing for both cash prizes and glory.International competitions can come with huge prizes, plus sponsorships deals for teams involved.Rick Fox, three-time NBA champion with the Los Angeles Lakers, made headlines when he took the plunge into2take the plunge into sth果断行事，做出决定做某事。eSports and is now the owner of franchise Echo Fox.Echo Fox has teams forLeague of legends,Counter-Strike:Global Offensive, and more.

[11]玩家自己通常会为争夺奖金和荣耀而赛。国际比赛可能奖金丰厚，参赛队伍还会获得商业赞助。曾三次随洛杉矶湖人队夺得NBA（美职篮）总冠军的里克·福克斯果断投身电子竞技，一度成为头条新闻，他现在是Echo Fox战队的老板。Echo Fox战队拥有征战《英雄联盟》和《反恐精英：全球攻势》等众多电游的团队。

[12]Many leagues now offer regular salaries and player rights.By remaining in competition, and not getting knocked out, players will receive a guaranteed salary, while winning competitions can earn greater rewards.

[12]许多战队现在都提供固定薪水和玩家权利。玩家若能在比赛中保持战斗力而不被淘汰，便能获得有保障的薪水，而赢得比赛能获得更多奖励。

Where can I watch all of this?

在哪里观看电子竞技？

[13]In-person, eSports tournaments are generally held at major arenas.In London, the Gfinity Arena holds regular tournaments, while the biggest events will be held are larger venues.

[13]可亲临现场观看，电子竞技锦标赛通常在大型场馆举行。在伦敦，Gfinity竞赛场定期举办锦标赛，而规模超大的赛事将在更大的赛场举行。

[14]Watching online, how you can watch these games differs from tournament to tournament, as some platforms get exclusive rights.The typical platforms are Twitch, a website where people stream themselves playing video games, and YouTube.Sometimes, ESPN will show a tournament on TV, and the BBC have dipped their toes in the water3dip one’s toes in the water小心尝试，探索。in the past, but Twitch and YouTube are generally the platforms of choice.

[14]也可在线观看，不同的锦标赛决定了观看平台的不同，因为有些平台拥有独播权。代表性平台有Twitch（玩家可将自己玩游戏的视频上传到该网站）和YouTube。有时候，ESPN（娱乐与体育节目电视网）会在电视上播放某场锦标赛，BBC（英国广播公司）也已尝试过，但是Twitch和YouTube一直都是玩家首选平台。

[15]Some tournaments will also have streams for those new to the game.Commentators (typically called casters when referring to eSports) on these streams will go into what each character’s abilities do, as some games have rosters of over 100 unique characters,each with 5 unique abilities.

[15]一些锦标赛还会为游戏新手提供解说视频。解说员（在电子竞技中通常称为主播）在视频中会详细介绍每个角色的技能，因为有些游戏有100多个独特的角色，每个角色拥有5项特殊技能。

How can I know what everyone does?

如何了解每个角色的技能？

[16]This is a pretty hard question to answer, as it’s different for each game.In games with heroes or unique characters, the best way to work this out is through visual cues, or searching the character’s name.

[16]这是一个非常难回答的问题，因为每个游戏都有所不同。在有英雄或独特角色的游戏中，最好的办法是观看视觉提示或搜索角色名字。

[17]Big, burly characters will often be‘tanks’, leaders that withstand damage and dictate the team’s movements.Those with large weapons will be damage dealers, generally called carries, and often characters with a staff or other magical equipment will either be a ‘support’,healing and enabling allies, or another carry, dealing damage with spells.

[17]高大壮实的角色通常是“人肉盾牌”，这些开路者可以承受伤害并指挥团队行动。那些拥有大型武器的角色将担当物理伤害，通常被称为胜利引领者。一般情况，带有小兵或其他魔法装备的角色要么作为“辅助者”，治愈队友和解除队友控制状态，要么就是另一个胜利引领者，担当法术伤害。

[18]There are huge resources online for what characters do, but learning to use the visual cues is the easiest way to understand.

[18]电竞中的角色们都干什么，网上有大量资源可查看，但是学会使用视觉提示是最简单的了解方式。