PERSONALITY TRAITS OF ESPORTS PLAYERS

The fastest growing segment of sports is esports, or electronic sports, where players compete by playing video games. This paper presents a narrative review of the literature with the aim of systematizing the literature on personality traits of esports players. Research shows that esports players have lower levels of extraversion and agreeableness compared to athletes, which is explained by the lower social interaction in esports. Differences in agreeableness can be explained by the less structured environment in esports, where there is no developed system of clubs and coaches as in traditional sports. Compared to athletes, esports players show higher levels of neuroticism. Athletes have more self-confidence and a positive physical and emotional self-image, while esports players spend more time in the virtual world. Lower-ranked esport players in competitions had more pronounced agreeableness, extraversion, and lower openness to new experiences. In traditional sports, the results were different. Extraversion and agreeableness are correlated with high performance in traditional sports. Narcissism (Dark personality traits) had a positive effect on player success as measured by players’ peak rankings potentially through better emotional regulation while playing.