The ESL has announced the first measures to tackle the use of Performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs) at its events.

Kory "⁠SEMPHIS⁠" Friesen's recent revelation that Cloud9's players were taking Adderall, a psychostimulant drug used in the treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), during ESL One Katowice earlier in the year has stirred the debate about the use of PEDs by professional esports players.

After previously announcing that a plan was underway to begin "drug policing, education, and prevention among participants of [its] competitions", ESL has now revealed that it has partnered with the Nationale Anti Doping Agentur (NADA), "to help create an anti-PED policy that is fair, feasible and conclusive while also respecting the privacy of players."



At ESL One Cologne players will be tested for controlled substances

ESL also has plans to meet with the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) to enforce its anti-drug policy in other regions, such as the United States and Asia.

"The expertise of NADA and WADA will help ESL to produce a PED prevention program that will encompass all players participating in competitions organized, hosted or produced by ESL," a statement by the ESL read. "This program will help ensure that all players are provided with the information and structural support they need to help them manage the physical and emotional pressure of professional gaming."

At ESL One Cologne, in August, players will be tested for controlled substances as ESL wants to ensure that its "values of exemplary sportsmanship and integrity are maintained." In the future, every Intel Extreme Masters, ESL One and ESL ESEA Pro League event will also have these very same tests administered, the German company has guaranteed.