Guinness World Records has bestowed a new record to Permastunned Gaming, an esports team composed entirely of gamers with various disabilities. Permastunned has teams competing in CS:GO, Valorant, Call of Duty, Overwatch, League of Legends, Dota 2, and Magic: The Gathering, and with its ten members, has received the Guinness World Record for largest esports team for people with disabilities.The award was handed down to Permastunned co-founder Alexander "Cristal1337" Nathan, a lifelong gamer with congenital muscular myopathy. Alexander's condition made it difficult for him to enjoy sports, but gaming turned out to be a far better calling. Alexander co-founded Permastunned in January 2019 along with fellow streamers Yakobis, Shattovv, and Adante, with the dual goals of both competing in esports tournaments and raising awareness for gamers with disabilities."In general, advocacy for disabled people in esports has pushed me to become politically active," noted Alexander in an interview with Guinness World Records. "I've learned a lot about the philosophy of disability, sociology, accessible infrastructures, and what it means to live with a disability across different cultures."
Alexander said Permastunned faces an uphill battle in the professional esports scene. Many tournaments don't allow special equipment for disabled gamers out of concern that it might provide non-disabled gamers an unfair advantage. He also said that more games need to improve their accessibility features, such as improving text and subtitles. However, it's the difficulties society places on disabled people that Alexander considers to be the greater hurdle.
"While there is always room for improvement, I believe that we have reached a point where most people, regardless of disability, can find at least one or two games they can participate in without necessarily being considered an underdog," explained Alexander.
Alexander is proud of his team and their accomplishments, noting that "it proves to me that we are making a difference in the world." You can learn more about Permastunned on the team's official site and keep track of their accomplishments on Permastunned’s Twitter page.