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Why do they use two pairs of headphones?

If I didn't know how professional they are, I would say it's cheating (someone could tell what the opponent is doing by watching the big screen). But obviously during such prestigious tournaments the reason must be different. Are they listening to coach or referee perhaps?

Person playing games

Robotnik
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    um... er... why is it cheating? – badp Mar 04 '12 at 14:42
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    Maybe it's his phone or something. It's cheating because, um, maybe his mom gives him tips or something. Yeah. – JohnoBoy Mar 04 '12 at 14:44
  • @badp Depends on what it's hooked up to. If it's a cellphone, then as mentioned in the question, someone in the audience could be cluing him in to what his opponent is doing. – Izkata Mar 05 '12 at 03:22
  • I didn't realise pros did this, im hear doing it just to listen to music when i dont want wmp running in the background – DCA- Aug 28 '13 at 09:49

1 Answers1

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It's in order to block out noise from the surrounding environment, to prevent the players from hearing the commentary or tell-tale cues from the crowd. The GSL and other big tournaments can get very loud at peak attendance so measures need to be taken accordingly.

The actual game sound is broadcast through the white pair of earbuds. Then, to block out external noises, white noise is fed into the large pair of headphones on their head. This way the player can only hear the game sounds.

So in that sense, this isn't actually about the player cheating, but rather about preventing them from doing so using the crowd/commentary.

MLG has some additional sound-blocking measures; not only do the sound-dampening headphones the players wear generate white noise, the sound-proof booths themselves are equipped with A/C and white-noise generators, for additional security.

Pyritie
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Mana
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    I think you've mixed it up a little. The big pair is for white noise, the in-ears are for game sounds. Otherwise, the player wouldn't be able to hear the game sounds, because of the white noise that would be directly in his ears. – kba Mar 04 '12 at 17:05
  • @KristianAntonsen Thanks, I was wondering about this actually. – Mana Mar 04 '12 at 18:09
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    Is it actually white noise or an anti-noise to cancel out the crowd? Wouldn't a white noise be just as distracting as the crowd? – Jeff Mercado Mar 04 '12 at 18:24
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    Actually lots of people use white-noise as a sound-blocker when they are in a loud place. I myself know tons of people that work in a big office and use this to keep themselves from getting distracted. – HolyThunder Mar 04 '12 at 19:52
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    Chess tournaments solve this by, uh, placing the players in a separate room. They have to do that anyways, so the players can't see the audience's reactions - so I still don't understand why this is necessary. – BlueRaja - Danny Pflughoeft Mar 04 '12 at 21:06
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    Do you actually have source on this? This does sound 100% plausible, mind you, and goes on line with what I would've guessed, but... – badp Mar 04 '12 at 21:13
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    @BlueRaja-DannyPflughoeft It's been a long-standing tradition in Starcraft competitively in Korea for the players to play in front of the audience, as opposed to in a separate audience. I presume this is because this way the audience can see their stars in person playing the games in front of them, to boost emotions/tension amongst the crowd. – Mana Mar 04 '12 at 21:50
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    @BlueRaja-DannyPflughoeft well chess players aren't listening to sound anyway (as the gamers are listening to the game sounds already). Also chess is much less "energetic" than pro gaming. – Jonathan. Mar 04 '12 at 21:50
  • @badp I have no specific source; this is something I've heard re-iterated by people on forums/video comments and commentators for Starcraft many times. – Mana Mar 04 '12 at 21:52
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    @BlueRaja-DannyPflughoeft: Also, StarCraft is real-time. If you're looking at the crowd, you're not looking at the screen, which is far more important. – hammar Mar 04 '12 at 22:29
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    @blueraja the chess comparison also ignores the importance of information asymettry in RTS games, a dimension which doesn't apply to chess at all. – LessPop_MoreFizz Mar 05 '12 at 00:38
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    @LessPop_MoreFizz and hammar: Exactly, so not being able to see the crowd should be even more important in SC2! – BlueRaja - Danny Pflughoeft Mar 05 '12 at 01:44
  • @BlueRaja-DannyPflughoeft - Seeing doesnt really matter in this case. The action is so fast that looking at the crowd to get tips would probably cost you more than you could get. Not to mention any signing would likely be caught. They have made the decision that the potential for cheating is worth the risk to provide the stadium atmosphere for the contest. – Chad Mar 05 '12 at 17:18
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    I always assumed it was a marketing/product placement thing... the big set was for show, and the earbuds were just player preference. – Problematic Mar 06 '12 at 05:44
  • And team games like League of Legends they'll often have three. With an extra around the neck for the mic to talk to teammates. – Sysyphus Apr 26 '13 at 13:44
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    Some of you are forgetting about commentators. It's not just about the crowd, it's about the commentators talking about what's going on. In Starcraft or LoL they commentators will often talk about things that one player shouldn't know what's going on. In chess, they might be talking about possibilities that they have discovered, which could lead the players to formulate different plans than they would've on their own. – DLeh Jan 29 '14 at 20:36
  • There's a lot of little things event organizers have to consider when it comes to LAN tournaments. In CS:GO they have to make sure that the teams can't see each others faces. I remember there was controversy at one tournament where the opposing sides were angled towards each other a bit and players could see each others faces. Apparently people accused others of looking over to see if there was a reflection of a white screen to see if their enemies were flashbanged. – JMac Jan 23 '17 at 18:36