Those looking to enhance their performance in the Cyberathlete Professional League (CPL) next year had best read the entry rules very carefully.

There will be a new clause in player contracts which allows the CPL to test participants for drugs, reports Tom's Hardware. Of the new testing program, CPL found Angel Munoz (left) said:

The potential for (drugs) being an issue absolutely concerns me, It should concern anybody in eSports, because as the stakes get larger, as in any sport, people will look for an edge... In 2007, we are going to have the right to drug test someone. It's going to have to be this way.

Munoz told Tom's Hardware that the tests will not be random, and not all competitors will be required to provide a sample.

Drugs said to be commonly used at some LAN gatherings include crystal meth and Ritalin. Both apparently increase stamina, reflexes and concentration, at least in the short-term. Those attributes match up quite well with the demands of the action games played on the pro circuit. When the CPL starts testing, all illegal drugs and certain prescription items will be checked.

Those who enjoy a swift Red Bull to calm their nerves before a deathmatch need not worry, though, as the league has no plans to regulate those, partially because it wouldn't be practical, and partially because Munoz is "not sure that caffeine is the right drug for gaming."

Guess it's back to the practicing for the rest of us, then...

-reporting from the U.K., GamePolitics Euro-spondent Mark Kelly