Professional competitive gamers are often derided as fake athletes. After all, who could possibly compare sitting in front of a computer screen mashing buttons on a keyboard and mouse to running several miles on a soccer pitch or ramming into the linesman opposite you play, after play?
But intense competition of any kind is grueling work, as evidenced by the sweat that was pouring down Simon “Boetar” Heinks face by the end of Splyce’s hard fought seven game battle against Method in the World of Warcraft Arena World Championship. Despite going the full length of the series, the defending champions were able to pull things out, thanks in part to a surprise draft for the final game that knocked Method off balance.
It’s possible that the environmental controls inside BlizzCon were just out of control. Boetar competing in jeans and a hoodie probably didn’t help either. But if you really want to know why one of the best World of Warcraft players in the world was sweating so much by the end of the championship, this clip will give you a clue.
The finer points of World of Warcraft PvP aside, basically what happened was that Boetar was supposed to die and then he didn’t. Clutch heals, perfect positioning, and perhaps a bit of luck were all that separated him from death and Method from claiming the title. You can see the roller coaster ride his health bar goes on in the top right corner.
Boetar did everything he possibly could and simply had to hope that it would be enough to help his team carry the day. Like a hitter who just sent the baseball hurtling toward the edge of the park in the bottom of the ninth, the rest was up to chance.
As a result of winning the Grand Final, Splyce walked away from this weekend with $120,000 more than when it started. You can watch the final match in its entirety right here.