Translation

"Gamers described like nerds is an outdated stereotype"
Gaël "Poko" Gouzerch, 22 years old, professional esports player, Overwatch League finalist

"It may come to you as a surprise, but injuries are common in my field. Loads of players suffer from the carpian tunnel syndrome (pain, sensitivity disorders and hand strength reduction). There are a lot of surgeries performed. I believe that it is like in every field: when you repeat the same actions over and over, you can hurt yourself. At the very least, your body will try and tell you that what you do is not normal and that you have to stop. I've suffered from tendinitis after I swapped my keyboard. I had a wrist rest on the old one, and when started playing without it, my left wrist took a beating. I had to take a week off.
Having good posture is essential. Sometimes, we spend up to 10 hours in front of our computer, tense, focused. You can be huddled up, curving you back. It's not good for your health. If you play in the wrong conditions, you won't last long. So I always try and sit straight and spend a lot of time in physical training. I like it. The team provided us with musculation equipment, and running helps me improve my stamina in order to hold up on stage, where matches can be exhausting.
In my team, younger players sometimes think that they live a in a dream, that they can play until 3 to 4 am. I believe that a good life hygiene is fundamental, as much as having a regular sleep pattern and a healthy diet, in order to be ready for the matches. The staff encourages us to do sports, but nobody is forced to do it. In some teams, players have time slots dedicated to it.
A few years ago, people saw gamers as nerds who did not leave their homes. It's an outdated stereotype. Our team training is three hours solo in the morning, followed by 4 hours as a team. After that, we spend 2 hours watching the VODs. Some even play after that. We can reach 10h a day, 6 days a week. Good thing we have a day off, or we would become crazy. When a match is scheduled, we train for 2 hours and then go on stage. We're not far away from the Blizzard Arena, where tournaments are organised, in LA. I like running during when coming back home, sometimes, people laugh at me, saying 'But what are you doing, Poko, aren't you tired?' But no actually, I'm not. All that stress, that pressure has to come out somehow. We have to externalise it. So I run. I run after every match. Apart from the Overwatch League finals, I couldn't. I was dying to, but I couldn't
(Statements collected by Paul Arrivé)