Riot Games Must improve their Western Infrastructure in Order to Compete

On Sunday, November 10, 2019, nearly five years ago in Madrid, we witnessed the last instance of a Western organization coming close to achieving the highest level of success in League of Legends eSports.

Since then, despite being dedicated and committed, European or American teams have not come close to replicating G2's run from half a decade ago. If Fly Quest, North America's top seed and the only Western team left, manages to secure a handful of tier 2 turrets against Gen.G this Sunday, it would be considered a successful achievement.

The international tournaments for two major regions are on the verge of reaching an apocalyptic state, which could impact viewership, sponsorship, and competitiveness in the years ahead.

Since the Summer 2020 split, LEC views are down from around 40 million to 28 million. Peak viewership is also down from around 1 million to 600 thousand, negatively affecting prize pools. The viewership of LCS has significantly decreased, dropping from 33 million to 10. The North American competitive landscape is close to undergoing a major change, transitioning into a Northern and Southern Conference that includes teams from South America.

Europe has turned into a region dominated by a single team. This dominance can negatively impact the region's performance in international tournaments as the teams may not be adequately challenged to improve their skills to compete with the likes of Korea and China.

Not only a problem in eSports but also evident in traditional sports like football. For instance, PSG (the football team, not Talon) has consistently failed to meet expectations in European competitions despite their strong performance in domestic leagues.

In order to sustain the eSport industry, it is essential for both the American and European regions to cultivate local talent whilst also nurturing established professional gamers' abilities.

What practical changes can be made by Riot to enhance the regions and elevate them to a point where they are no longer consistently viewed as the underdog? What are the limitations that both regions face?

The Limitations

Simply put, eSports has become an integral part of everyday life in countries such as South Korea. In other words, they are highly embraced by society and serve as a primary means of social interaction among people.

To put things into perspective, there are more PC cafés in South Korea than there are Starbucks in the US. They offer an affordable social space for gamers to interact with friends. In the early days of League, certain cafes encouraged customers to return by offering IP boosts and unlocking all champions for every game mode. In China, over 20% of the population utilizes PC cafés, with 70% of them engaging in computer gaming, although for different reasons (PCs being considered a luxury rather than a commodity).

Korean PC Bang, Source: Business Insider

Unless there is a significant shift in culture in the West, Eastern teams will continue to hold this advantage.

Moreover, professional players typically experience ping rates of 7-11ms in Korean and Chinese solo queues, nearly equivalent to playing on a LAN server. In contrast, North American and European servers have ping rates of approximately 67ms and 20ms, respectively. In a game where precise reaction times are crucial and can be hindered by an internet connection, this distinction is significant.

It is impossible to solve this issue unless Riot Games decides to divide the regions to improve players' ping, which would result in longer queue times in higher elo due to fewer players on each server.

What can be done?

Client Spectator

In order to grow the competitive community, more players need to be exposed to competitive gameplay. One way to achieve this is to include an in-game spectator mode on a delay for professional matches embedded within the Riot Client rather than clicking on a link. In other competitive games like Counter-Strike, this feature is available, enabling players to spectate a specific player and gather additional insights not typically provided in a standard broadcast.

While this notion has been discussed in the past, having an in-game spectator mode has the potential to bring more exposure to the average player.

In addition, it would enable spectators to focus on specific roles. For instance, if a player primarily plays in the top lane, they would have the option to concentrate solely on that role, matchups, and how professional players approach certain situations.

The drawback of this approach would be that live streams would lose revenue and viewership. However, if there were more in-game advertisements scattered across the rift, would this be able to counteract it?

Riot Games already showcases in-game advertisements, and if the spectator mode attracts more viewers, could it attract higher-paying sponsorship deals making it an economically viable option?

Source: Lolesports

Another option could be to embed the Twitch/YouTube stream into the client if Riot did not want to go down the client spectator path.

Increasing the visibility of competitive gameplay would be highly beneficial for Western culture. Generating greater interest could elevate the game's reputation at a competitive level. As more individuals engage seriously with the game at a higher level, competition will intensify, fostering a more positive practice culture for both up-and-coming and seasoned professional players.

Improve the exposure of Grassroots Competitive Play

Achieving the highest ranks in League of Legends is widely recognized as a challenging endeavor. Players invest days, and sometimes years, striving to reach their peak performance level. Similar to traditional sports, there is no assurance that players will receive a financial reward for the time they dedicate to the game. The highest-ranking leagues in each region are considered 'tier 1', which many players have heard of, while the 'tier 2/3' leagues encompass academy, Challenger, and smaller regional competitions.

Although the lower-tiered leagues may not attract as much attention as the main leagues, and that is understandable. Nevertheless, there is no justification for not promoting lower-league matches in a similar manner to create excitement around emerging talents. Enhancing the visibility of lower leagues can be achieved through various methods. One effective approach would involve showcasing game highlights on tier 1 League of Legends streams. Additionally, interviewing well-known figures about emerging talent can help build excitement around the Challenger League scene.

Should Riot decide to establish a funded under-17 youth league for western regions for example, provided that appropriate precautions are taken (such as ensuring players are shielded from community toxicity), it would have the potential to breathe new life into the professional scene for the foreseeable future.

Riot Games backs grassroots eSports initiatives like University tournaments, which are often viewed more as friendly competitions rather than platforms for emerging elite players. There are other successful competitions such as The British Esports Student Champs that are open to all secondary schools and colleges within the UK to apply.

University Esports. Source: Riot Games

Allow the Practice Tool to be Multiplayer

Upon its introduction in 2017, the practice tool was well-received by players for its ability to enhance build paths, improve damage output through skill orders, and allow for the practice of specific mechanics on champions. For example, various one-tricks that play champions like Riven have utilized the practice tool to hone their animation canceling or wall hops. It has become an integral part of League. However, its limitation lies in being solely accessible for single-player use.

If a team could repeatedly practice a specific aspect or mechanic they need to improve on in a scrimmage setting, or against their Challenger team, such as revisiting a particular team fight and approaching it differently to achieve the optimal result, limit testing at specific choke points on the map, or deliberately setting yourself 5k gold behind opponents to learn how to play from behind, can assist a team in pushing their limits to the fullest, especially if they are inexperienced in coming back from a losing position and finishing the game.

G2 falters at Baron after what was a very respectable performance against Chinese champions, BLG. Source: Lolesports

As previously stated, League of Legends is a game where timing is crucial. Improving by just 1-2 seconds on a baron play during practice can be the determining factor between victory and defeat for a team. Allowing a team to practice certain scenarios will not only allow players to have more tactical avenues but also feel confident to execute them on stage.

Western competitive League of Legends needs to be built from the ground up, but that can only be done if it is helped from the top down. Undoubtedly, this article presents a subjective viewpoint, and there valid arguments that support both sides of the debate. Ultimately, the aspiration is for Western regions to become more competitive and for fans to enjoy a superior standard of gameplay. As enthusiasts of the game and its professional scene, it is unlikely that anyone desires to witness the decline of the game in specific regions. To secure the game's enduring presence in Western society, Riot Games must explore alternative strategies to guarantee its competitive sustainability in these regions.

Sources:

https://escharts.com/tournaments/lol?search=lec

https://www.statista.com/statistics/1127612/south-korea-number-of-pc-bangs-by-province/#statisticContainer https://cafely.com/blogs/research/starbucks-statistics#:~:text=There%20are%2016%2C482%20Starbucks%20stores,a%20total%20of%2038%2C137%20worldwide.

https://medium.com/the-esports-journal/its-the-ping-stupid-c42bc4f4f6fb

https://champs.britishesports.org/about