iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Matt Knutson @mattknutson.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

Why is mapping if layers important? Tells us which layers get most attention. Layer schema helps to match the issue with the expertise of the person investigating to discover and address the instance of cheating.

000

Matt Knutson @mattknutson.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

We coded the incidence of how these categories are discussed. Application level had overwhelming majority at 59, with 12 protocol, 6 infrastructure, and 5 game level. 44.3% of corpus published between 2021 and 2024. Most studies on PC platforms (86.9%), and 57.4% used technical/experimental methods

100

Matt Knutson @mattknutson.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

Different levels of cheats: application (e.g. wall hacks), protocol (e.g. DDoS), infrastructure (e.g. modified peripheral), or game (e.g. undisclosed bug exploitation). Looked at 4,158 articles from database, duplicate removal: 61 peer reviewed studies included (full text available).

100

Matt Knutson @mattknutson.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

Not all digital cheating is e-doping. Applied term. Some cheats are allowed by developers in single-player games. In custom games for Dota 2, certain cheats can be allowed. Distinction of cheating is blurry. Is it cheating? [Seems to me to be a case of metagaming, a la Boluk and LeMieux.]

100

Matt Knutson @mattknutson.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

E-doping is hacks and cheats during esports games. Used for altering competitive outcomes. Analogous to doping - we propose it should be treated with the same investigative rigor. Esports integrity is crucial. Foundation of esports is fair play. Unlike traditional sports, regulations not addressed.

100

Matt Knutson @mattknutson.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

Panel hopping at #ERNC26, now sitting in on "Regulation, Integrity & Ethics." Next presentation is on e-doping in esports. Esports is growing. Has its own problems, like no unified government structure. Different kinds of integrity issues - one threat is e-doping.

100

Matt Knutson @mattknutson.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

Bair: Not many organized leagues in Asia. Leagues that do exist in Korea kind of more like invitational model. Teams compete against each other, championship at the business's facility. Titles are aligned with regional interests. A lot of console games in Japan but get picked up by pro orgs.

000

Matt Knutson @mattknutson.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

Smith: There are collections of students. There is fragmentation, though a bit more organized than US model. Gawrysiak: Important to talk about budgets. Tough to travel to pop up tournament, as university we have a very set budget. Everybody is fighting for resources, get teams there.

100

Matt Knutson @mattknutson.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

Smith: We compete in two main competitions. University Esports and NSE. Where there are gaps, do pop up tournaments. NSE was acquired by British Esports, governing body and trade advocacy group in the UK. They're getting involved in university Esports system. Spoken with them about running events.

100

Matt Knutson @mattknutson.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

Gawrysiak: This is a story-driven business. We compete in only one league and some publisher leagues so that we can compete against other major universities, peer institutions. Trying to drive revenue through that competition.

100

Matt Knutson @mattknutson.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

Gawrysiak: European competition for soccer a model. So many opportunities, trying to drive engagement. All comes down to recruitment and retention for the University. Syracuse is $93K/year to get a degree. Working hard to bring in students and retain my them.

100

Matt Knutson @mattknutson.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

Over 2,000 collegiate esports programs in North America but more than 70 competing conferences, leagues, and tournament bodies with little standardization. Is consolidation realistic? Gawrysiak: Competition is a freaking mess. Trying to figure out what makes sense. Running a Smash invitational.

100

Matt Knutson @mattknutson.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

[Jenny produces a huge list of university Esports leagues on the projector.] National, regional, annual tournaments, and international university esports leagues. Most comprehensive list of leagues compiled to our knowledge.

100

Matt Knutson @mattknutson.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

Bair: Esports program manager at Syracuse. Work with student center and esports major. Have worked with GenG, T1, Chinese esports, and player orgs in Japan. Was previously lecturing at Shenandoah. Differences between continents and on professional side.

100

Matt Knutson @mattknutson.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

@cdsmithgames.bsky.social: Academic lead for esports at University of Suffolk in the UK. Representing European style of collegiate esports. Have worked at a couple universities now, supporting them from the academic side. Distinct separation between collegiate teams and institutional support.

100

Matt Knutson @mattknutson.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

Gawrysiak, Executive Director of Esports at Syracuse. Oversee competition and academic - all things esports on campus. Three facilities there, 80 PCs, about 20-25,000 square feet of space. A lot of goals for esports at Syracuse. Have previously worked with programs all over.

100

Matt Knutson @mattknutson.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

Day three of #ERNC26: "Bridging Esports Futures: Worldwide University Esports Competition Structure" moderated by Seth Jenny with Joey Gawresiak, Nikita Bair, and @cdsmithgames.bsky.social

100

Matt Knutson @mattknutson.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

"Phygital": physical plus digital. Conducted a COVID era "auto-netnography" of 2500 hours of play in CS:GO & Valorant over 31 months. 650,000 words of diaries, 10,000 screen shots of results. [Sounds like some Pilgrim in the Microworld stuff.]

000

Matt Knutson @mattknutson.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Shared community, culture, how we navigate social situations. Heritage crosses generations. Nostalgia is looking back, but living heritage connects past, present, and future. I moved to Vietnam, which is a mobile-first nation. Explored Vietnamese gaming culture. Student translated interviews.

100

Matt Knutson @mattknutson.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

A huge amount of Japan gaming heritage in an Irish childhood in the 80s and 90s. Got a Sega Genesis, my uncle played with us... [Wait are these AI generated images of a kid playing different video game consoles...?] Japanese toy lines, consoles, suffused my childhood in Ireland.

100

Matt Knutson @mattknutson.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Afternoon keynote of #ERNC26 is Brian McCauley, "Gaming Heritage Is Infrastructure: Esports and the Digital Society." Gaming Heritage is all the memories, culture, experiences. I'm discussing infrastructure as people and the meaning behind it. Media Management and Transformation Center, Jönköping.

110

Matt Knutson @mattknutson.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Tagging her now on this thread: @rileymdunn.bsky.social Very enlightening presentation!

000

Matt Knutson @mattknutson.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Appropriate coaching? Some people try to tell me my topic is niche. Menstrual cycle impacts all AFAB people, it's not niche. Hoping when we finish this, can put some information into that sphere, lead some public communication. For now, just chat about it. Lead into conversation with curiosity.

100

Matt Knutson @mattknutson.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Would it be helpful to give advanced schedule? Starting to learn more about longer-term implications, mood health. Conversation with primary medical professional. For a coach managing those discussions, inappropriate to make recommendation. But better to refer player to their doctor.

100

Matt Knutson @mattknutson.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Q and A Female athletes could use hormonal contraceptives, but no one in our data set was using those. More mistrust with those contraceptives among younger players, could be a cultural thing we're seeing with Malaysian players.

100

Matt Knutson @mattknutson.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Esports may not get ready for menstrual-informed training. Training environments may need slightly different expectations than what we have in male spaces. Support starts small. Small decisions go a long way in shaping culture. Co-design practices working with female players.

100

Matt Knutson @mattknutson.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Positive experiences of coaches being accepting. Men and make coaches shape culture, acceptance, and safety. Some were open with sharing info with male coaches. Poor experiences with coach may impact ongoing participation and development. One player felt this impacted her career development.

100

Matt Knutson @mattknutson.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Acknowledgement even from those who didn't experience much impact from their cycle that others did. Sociocultural factors shaped access, belief, and management strategies. Advice about cycle passed on from other female family and friends.

100

Matt Knutson @mattknutson.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Menstrual symptoms shape performance perceptions. Both a universal and individualized topic. Concern for impact of menstrual symptoms on team progress and performance. Source of stress and concern. Brain fog, feeling spaced out: participant felt unready to play. Blamed herself for team loss.

100

Matt Knutson @mattknutson.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Went through reflexive thematic analysis. Engaging in reflexivity throughout. Majority were international competitors in women's tournaments. Quite a few participants from Malaysia. Still going through our translations.

100

Matt Knutson @mattknutson.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Menstruation in esports media: "Bwipo's sexist rant" headline, for example. Little to know research on women in esports, growing need for increased science communication. Preliminary outcomes from interview based study with female esports players. Talking about perception among other things.

100

Matt Knutson @mattknutson.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Predictable shift and change in hormones, physiological changes throughout the body. Influences cognition skills, mood & emotion processing. Not something that happens in isolation in our bodies. Some positive changes: increased energy, assertiveness. Similarities btwn sports and esports athletes

100

Matt Knutson @mattknutson.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Rise of women's esports. Also massive rise in interest in health, wellbeing, & performance research. This research isn't always applicable to everyone. Women make only 6% of participants. No sex-specific analysis of health or physiology in esports, such as the menstrual cycle. Increased risks.

110

Matt Knutson @mattknutson.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Finally is Riley Dunn on "Esports athletes' experiences and perceptions of the menstrual cycle in training and competition." Competition is for all genders and sexes, but it's not realized at the highest levels, low representation of women. Barriers to entry, harassment/toxicity, even at org level.

120

Matt Knutson @mattknutson.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Afternoon session of the day at #ERCN26: I presented on competitive MTG as a "peripheral esport," a term central to the book I'm currently writing. Second in the panel was Ole Martin Pedersen Gjestad on his experiences in Norway with KRED.

110

Matt Knutson @mattknutson.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Kitamura: A good sport is truly entertainment, gateway to communication. Common language of games. Listening to baseball on radio brings me together with other fans.

000

Matt Knutson @mattknutson.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Anderson: Someone has to step up and take the reigns. In a vacuum, someone will do that. [Hey is anyone going to talk about sportswashing's negative side?]

100

Matt Knutson @mattknutson.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Anderson: Topic of tourism a springboard. From Saudi position, a lot of that is about driving people to tourism. Given international nature of this sport, people took airplane ride for World Cup, sporting has that power. Bringing people to these countries puts country on the map. Good for everyone.

100

Matt Knutson @mattknutson.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Esports as vehicle for soft power? Gonzalez-Holland: for young people especially, it's going to be powerful. Already have the data that young viewers is continuing to grow globally. Going to happen one way or another. Is spending alone going to be enough? I think not. Create cultural credibility.

100

Matt Knutson @mattknutson.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Anderson: One great example, Ministry of Sports, Youth, and Culture in Malaysia to prepare a proposal, what is this industry. Partnered with academics from universities with esports programs. Brought together as many experts as we could to prepare consulting report. Certification program now.

100

Matt Knutson @mattknutson.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Anderson: Individual states have done a good job to rally program around their state. Effort to bring things together, but feels like quicksand sometimes. Game changes with national initiative. Everything gaming can do: we still don't have quite the right foundation, but a lot of pressure on it.

100

Matt Knutson @mattknutson.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Gonzalez-Holland: we've been in a siloed position for a long time. Being here is super refreshing, but also reveals a huge gap. These conversations a great starting point to develop relationships. In north America, path to pro, internship programs partnering with universities. Learn to bridge gap.

100

Matt Knutson @mattknutson.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Anderson: Conversation has shifted in recent years to how we can leverage benefits of gaming. Passion for so many of our community. Responsibility to understand it. To thrive, it needs attention and funding. Juxtaposition in esports: people willing to do anything to see it thrive-> like a nonprofit.

100

Matt Knutson @mattknutson.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Kitamura: individuals with disabilities have been able to fulfill dreams through their involvement in esports. Still plenty of room for the scope to expand. Need for further dialogue with the government. (Sorry, I'm trying to summarize a steam of auto-translated text, kind of a moving target.)

100

Matt Knutson @mattknutson.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Anderson: Esports is a group of individuals who are very well-intended, collaborative, purposeful. Inclusive with those characteristics. How governments see and define esports, progress has been made. Want to truly understand this beast they can't wrap their arms around.

100

Matt Knutson @mattknutson.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Gonzalez-Holland: At this point, what isn't esports? Education, development, research - boundless entity at this point. At Cloud9, we're open to what more esports can become. What are the outcomes that governments are looking for? Tourism, athlete development, education? Swiss army knife flexibility

100

Matt Knutson @mattknutson.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Kitamura: I was born blind, unable to understand screens, but with siblings was able to play PaRappa the Rapper as a kid. Gr w up playing competitive games against friends. Thought this was ordinary, but others found my accomplishments unbelievable. Active blind esports player. I main E. Honda.

100

Matt Knutson @mattknutson.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Anderson: Fitgamer founder and CEO. Background in science, 12 year investment banker on Wall Street. Had risen in ranks, got job I thought I wanted, resigned 6 months later. Was in office until 2:00 a.m. many nights, had little outside of that. Dived into health and wellness to rehabilitate myself.

000

Matt Knutson @mattknutson.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Gonzalez-Holland: senior director of operations at Cloud9. Before entering industry, human factors researcher. Studies pro-social behavior in co-op settings for US Navy. Applied perspective of global operations across different programs. Intersection of strategy and execution. Now based in Tokyo.

100

Matt Knutson @mattknutson.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Panel has unique perspectives on this discussion. Jordan Whitaker, has been around the globe, parents were career diplomats. During this time I observed how people operate. Work with federal government to be effective. Worked in national security consulting for about 7 years. Switched to esports.

100