Why eSports Players Wear Two Headphones

Pro eSports players are seen wearing a pair of white headphones in their ears in gaming tournaments, along with a professional set of headphones. There are several reasons why these gamers wear the second set of headphones.

eSports players wear two headphones for in-game sounds and for communicating with teammates. Crowd noise can interfere with gameplay, so professional eSports players use noise-canceling headphones to block the interference.

Each headphone has its own use and benefits, as it sits comfortably in the pro eSports gamer’s ears. Let’s learn why.

Wearing Two Headphones

Live gaming events are similar to that of any other professional event.

The crowd noise heightens the room and is consistently roaring through the player’s ears.

The adrenaline of all the players is at an all-time high, the crowd is tense, the announcers are energetic, and the camera crew moves all around the stage.

With all of the commotion of the screaming crowd and communication between the broadcast/camera crew, there’s a lot of noise that radiates to the players’ ears.

Professional eSports players, especially in shooting games, need to hear every single footstep that is taken.

It’s extremely tough to do so, with all the nervousness and intensity that fills the airwaves.

If you’ve ever experienced a LAN party yourself with your friends, you’ll notice the noise of buttons being mashed, people who aren’t playing having conversations on the side, and possibly outside noise making its way into your ears.

Multiply these distractions, which an eSports player has to deal with in front of thousands of fans.

Crowd Noise

An eSports audience is loud from the very beginning. If it’s a one-on-one battle like Street Fight or Super Smash or a team deathmatch style game like CS: GO, there’s always a distraction from the crowd.

This causes the audience always to be cheering or yelling some sort of heartfelt emotion when something major happens.

Here is a visual of an average eSports audience in a competitive scene.

The eSports player must try to focus and face the audience behind a computer screen. It can be a lot for a young 16 years old to handle, especially as close games start to amplify the pressure.

Block Out Game Casters Noise

Watching an eSports event is similar to watching any other sports broadcast.

What sets eSports apart from most sports are the charismatic and entertaining game casters.

They’re full of energy and excitement as they make a simple elimination sound like it’s the game-winning score.

It’s what makes the broadcast that much more exciting.

Here is an example of an eSports broadcast live on air:

All of the casters on this list bring a high amount of energy to their broadcast, which is necessary; however, it may distract the player. Drowning out these sounds, along with a raging crowd, is a tough technical and physical task.

See Our Complete List Of Helpful Gaming Articles Here.

Avoid Technology Noise From Staff

It takes a well-coordinated technological team to make any eSport event work.

From the camera crew down the keys being smashed during the game, the noise from the technology adds to the already chaotic environment.

Although they don’t make any noise, the lighting can also be a mindless distraction for a player.

Bright lights fill the stage to illuminate the players.

Also, moving strobe lights shift before and after games, as the casters may highlight different players.

What Comes Out Of The Two Headphones Pro Gamers Wear?

In-Game Sound

The white pair of headphones (similar to the iPhone headphones) sits inside the gamer’s actual professional headphones.

These headphones project in-game sounds so players can hear shots, footsteps, etc. These headphones are the essential headphone to the player.

The second pair and much larger headphones serve a different purpose.

The noise-canceling, thicker headphones that fit completely over the player’s ear will pump white noise into their ears.

On to of the noise-canceling headphones, there’s still a perfect chance that noise can distract the player.

To stop this, players will often have white noise pumped into their headphones.

White noise is often low-frequency static that allows the cancellation of outside noises.

Players can play their game and listen strictly to the white earbuds pumping in the game sounds.

This white noise is crucial to focusing just on the game and not the crowd.

Communication With Teammates

If the big pair of headphones isn’t pumping in white noise, it’s often used to communicate with teammates.

The large noise-canceling headphones will eliminate all the outside noise while filling the gamer’s ears with teammates’ voices.

This is common among players who don’t play in front of massive crowds but still want to effectively hear the game while using a different set of headphones to communicate with teammates.

Communication with teammates is crucial as they navigate the landscape and identify opponents.

Clear and effective means of communication is a must for teams to be successful.

Poor communication can be the difference between staying alive and rotating the zone and poorly navigating the landscape and being eliminated.

Clean, clear, and effective communication is what sets good teams apart from great teams.

Conclusion

Two headphones or earbuds are often worn by gamers to reduce the outside noise.

This is often caused by large crowds or normal distractions (such as parents, pets, or friends) in a gaming room.

It’s necessary to wear two headphones when competitive gaming so 100% of your focus can be toward the game and eliminate distractions.

Two headphones are necessary if you’re casually gaming.

Simply one set of noise-canceling headphones will do just fine. We do recommend, however, if you’re in a crowded PC bang or are in an environment where two headphones are needed, it might not be a bad idea to have white earbuds on you at all times.

For console gamers, having a good quality pair of over-the-ear noise-canceling headphones will do just fine when gaming at home.