Just like in "real" sports, many personalities in "e-sports" make a point of being douchebags. Some make a point of being a nice person.
> For me the social aspects, as well as the "mastery" aspects of gaming were just too simple, too simulated.
I agree, in multiplayer games "mastery" relates to improving mechanical skill, i.e. getting better at mashing specific button sequences as fast as possible or getting better at flickshots. These take a lot of time to get marginal improvements (e.g. improving your aim just a little bit beyond your personal baseline can take thousands of hours). In singleplayer and RPG games, "mastery" happens on the character and doesn't require anything from the player beyond either repeating some action a large number of times (e.g. picking locks to improve lockpicking skill) or simply allocating "skill points" awarded by advancing the game.
This is an incredibly shallow analysis. Most competitive multiplayer games have important strategic elements too. Positioning, knowing when to engage, effective team communication, countering opponent strategies, etc.
Don't mistake this for defending video games, but you can't expect a productive discussion when the strawmen stood up are so absurd.
Unless you're making a critique against games at large (physical and video), I'm not sure what you're getting at.
It's their job, which they get handsomely compensated for. Wasting away thousands of hours grinding Dota or CS:GO is the job of very few people, while the grand majority of gaming addicts are simply wasting a significant chunk of their life.
* Having solid basic skills in a profession is crucial; in contrast, almost nobody really needs a virtuoso. Practically, nobody needs a rock star or diva.
* Always be reliable, even if others are not (don't pay back unreliability by being not reliable yourself). Be the one who is on time and does his homework. (In contrast, in school I learned that what technicality qualifies as homework often does not pay off.)
* Continuity is key to get a decent chance to succeed (again, in contrast school taught me that you can make things up as you go along, as long as you are somewhat talented).
To relate to the topic: the problem with many video games is that reliability and continuity come effortless. You simply need to go online and play. In contrast, as an amateur musician, I had to make sure I have the right gear, plan the transport without owning a car, make sure I can get into a rehearsal room regularly, find the right people to play with (the ones who have the connections that are needed to actually get a gig) et cetera.