Effects of a Playoff Match on Competitive Anxiety and Autonomic Regulation in Professional esports Players

A competition is considered a stressful situation since it causes physiological and emotional changes in the responses of athletes and consequently influences their performance. The aim of our study was to investigate competitive anxiety and heart rate variability (HRV) in professional eSports athletes, comparing the responses before and after matches based on whether they won or lost. We hypothesized that victorious players would display more favorable autonomic and anxiety-related responses after the matches compared to those who were defeated.

We recruited fifty male esports players from 10 different Brazilian teams and carried out the experiment across two sessions. Initially, 24 hours before the game, players signed the informed consent form, and sample characterization, along with player familiarization with anxiety and HRV, was performed. Following this, the players recorded their anxiety levels and HRV at rest for 10 minutes, both 60 and 30 minutes prior to the game (baseline time points), as well as 10 minutes after the conclusion of the game.

Regarding anxiety, our results demonstrated that the victory group (VG) exhibited significantly lower scores for both cognitive and somatic anxiety in the post-game time point, coupled with increased scores for self-confidence when compared to the baseline (BL) and pre-game time points. In opposition, the defeated group (DG) displayed significantly elevated scores for cognitive and somatic anxiety during the post-game time point, accompanied by decreased self-confidence scores compared to the baseline and pre-game time points. Regarding heart rate variability (HRV), the victory group (VG) demonstrated a significant increase in SDNN, rMSSD, and HF measures, coupled with a significant decrease in the LF/HF ratio. Conversely, the defeated group (DG) exhibited a significant decrease in SDNN and rMSSD, along with a significant increase in the LF/HF ratio.

Our results revealed that VG exhibited better HRV responses, indicating greater parasympathetic activation. VG also showed lower levels of cognitive and somatic anxiety and higher levels of self-confidence in the post-game time. In contrast, DG demonstrated worse HRV responses, indicating greater sympathetic activation, along with higher levels of cognitive and somatic anxiety and lower levels of self-confidence in the same post-game period.

In summary, the VG exhibited superior HRV responses in conjunction with lower levels of anxiety compared to the DG.