Experiences of Choke Among Professional and Amateur Esports Players: A Qualitative Investigation

Esports frequently invoke high-pressure circumstances in which player performance is crucial; in these contexts, moments of critical underperformance (‘choke’) can have deleterious consequences for the underperforming player or team. In this research, we employ comprehensive qualitative methodologies (interview and survey) to investigate the antecedents to, and underpinnings of, choke experienced by both amateur and professional esports players. Using reflexive thematic analysis, we identify both commonalities and differences in the experience of choke across both groups. Both amateur and professional esports players report Nervous Activation and Overconfidence mental states prior to a choke episode, and cite pressures such as Stakes and Spectator Pressure. In contrast, professional players alone report pressures such as Team, Stage, Reputation, Rival, and Sexism pressures, whereas amateurs alone cite Lack of Focus, Frustration and Underconfidence mental states. Finally, when recalling an episode of choke, amateur players experience more mechanically-driven performance failures, whereas professional players report strategic failures. We propose that these findings contribute to a more complete understanding of performance amongst both professional and amateur players of esports titles, and can be employed to scaffold and support performance in high-pressure gaming contexts. This work extends initial work in the empirical investigation of choke in esports spaces.