MSI remains to be ongoing, however it’s already official: Europe’s LEC is the weakest League of Legends area on the planet.
EMEA’s representatives, Movistar KOI and G2 Esports, did not win a single sequence throughout the Important Stage. Even earlier than that, G2 desperately struggled within the Play-Ins and barely squeaked by 3-2 in opposition to FURIA and GAM Esports.
A disappointing 3-1 loss to Taiwanese crew CBTC Flying Oyster eradicated MKOI, whereas G2 crashed out after an embarrassing 3-0 defeat by the hands of North American rivals FlyQuest.
It was the primary time an APAC crew had gained a best-of-five in opposition to a ‘main area’ in 13 years, the primary time for the reason that well-known Taipei Assassins gained Worlds in 2012.
And Europe’s report in opposition to NA opponents within the final two years is now a dire 3-13.
You would argue that it was an ideal storm. EMEA’s groups got here into MSI’s unforgiving format low on confidence and needed to battle in opposition to rosters that may doubtless go down of their area’s historical past as among the greatest.
This FlyQuest line-up is likely to be one of many strongest rosters NA has ever put collectively, at the least actually in recent times. This CFO crew are clearly the true deal, a particular crew that pushed T1 to the restrict with a generational expertise in teenager Tsai ‘HongQ’ Ming-Hong.
There have been even otherworldly elements at play. The Grandmother of CFO jungler Yu ‘JunJia’ Chun-Chia apparently travelled to a Taoist temple to ask if her Grandson would achieve success, and the deity stated sure. This inspired Junjia to develop into a professional participant, and he has since develop into a consecutive, two-time MVP for his area.
However that’s far too form, you didn’t want a deity to know that the LEC would battle at MSI this 12 months.
European groups have been struggling internationally for some time; particularly for the final two years as no LEC crew has made it previous the Swiss Stage on the earlier two World Championships. It’s maybe the area’s longest ever stoop, however nothing new; Europe has had unhealthy outcomes at worldwide tournaments earlier than. What actually issues, and what’s regarding, is simply how flaccid among the performances have been this event. Particularly from G2.
EMEA has misplaced its identification as a area.
There was no aggression, no creativity, no try to even attempt to make their opponents uncomfortable. The EMEA representatives have been taking part in with concern and reservation, that’s the largest fear.
The LEC has an identification disaster
“We introduced our personal aptitude. G2 once they confirmed up in their very own type, they’re profitable. When Fnatic are doing their type, they’re profitable.
“Simply keep true to yourselves. Don’t attempt to chase anybody, don’t attempt to copy anybody. Simply be assured, don’t restrict yourselves both. Go into this event, play your subsequent video games believing which you can f***ing win the whole lot.
“That’s the mentality that you must have to overcome the perfect. Something is feasible in case you consider and play with confidence and keep true to yourselves, so do this for me, Europe. Please.”
These have been the infamous phrases of former LEC coach Jakob ‘YamatoCannon’ Mebdi again in 2018. That 12 months, Fnatic reached the Worlds ultimate. The following 12 months, G2 gained MSI and reached a Worlds ultimate themselves. European League of Legends had entered its golden age. And now, seven years on from that speech, we couldn’t be additional away from that success.
Well-known soccer supervisor Pep Guardiola has his ways right down to a science and, regardless of his success, many armchair followers declare he has killed soccer. He’s all about management and has taken flashy and thrilling gamers who might dribble previous a whole crew, like Jack Grealish, and turned them into boring robots who move sideways every time any opponent is inside 10 ft of them.
G2 have taken an analogous route. Final 12 months, their roster had explosive highs however in the end didn’t succeed internationally so administration determined they wished one thing extra constant and secure. The outcome has been a stagnant, predictable crew with no inventiveness who’re extra constant, however at a a lot decrease degree than their predecessors.
On the LTA North’s Dive podcast, former professional William ‘Meteos’ Hartman defined why the idea behind this variation was all improper:
“This doesn’t really feel just like the G2 you consider while you consider Europe in worldwide tournaments… I really feel like they’re identified for being a artistic crew, virtually chaotic in the best way they play. Even when there have been low lows, these excessive highs have been value it. I really feel such as you want these risk-taking moments.
“I don’t assume the reply is saying we don’t need any threat of trying horrible, so we’re simply going to play actually managed and secure. Numerous the time, that’s simpler to play in opposition to. And also you’re taking part in in opposition to these groups which are doing that too, however simply manner higher.”
Isaac ‘Azael’ Cummings-Bentley agreed and added to that time: “G2 was all the time so enjoyable to observe and scary to play in opposition to as a result of their gamers have been going to play hyper-aggressive, they have been going to be in your face.
“Sure, generally they’d have these video games the place they’d run it down, G2 at their peak would nonetheless lose to what was known as the wildcard areas… however then they’d flip round and beat T1. They’d that confidence to maintain going at you, and I felt like G2 on this occasion appeared very reserved. I hate to make use of this time period, however at instances it felt like they have been taking part in to not lose as an alternative of taking part in to win.”
Maybe, Fearless Draft makes it tougher to drag out these pocket picks. That decide can solely be performed for one recreation, so it may’t outline the sequence and impression future drafts. Again in 2019, G2 virtually gained a whole ultimate due to the weird Sona Taric bot lane.
However the purpose all of us take pleasure in Fearless, it makes creativity necessary; groups have to drag out extra obscure picks. If something, Fearless affords extra alternatives for gamers to be creative and specific themselves.
We’ve seen groups play a comp of 4 or 5 prime lane or bot lane champions within the first recreation to focus on a participant. A crew might play one thing odd in Recreation 1 to attempt to cheese a win whereas their opponents waste their robust meta picks. Even in recreation 5, solely 60 champions will probably be banned in whole, whereas there are 170 champions within the recreation, there should be shock picks that would nonetheless make an impression.
Who’s accountable for the LEC’s MSI woes?
After any sort of main loss, followers are going to need to level fingers, and as common, the blame goes to the choice makers on every crew, as NLC assist Erik ‘Treatz’ Wessén does within the tweet above.
It’s all the time tough to guage with out being there for the decision-making course of, however there have been questionable decisions. Everyone knows how messy the low season has been for Fnatic, with Grabbz adamant Fnatic would make LEC Summer season modifications after accusing gamers of not placing the work in.
The truth that an skilled organisation like Fnatic is panicking and making last-minute roster modifications earlier than the ultimate cut up of the 12 months and Worlds tells you that one thing isn’t proper. I don’t assume mad GM choices are the one purpose the LEC is presently struggling, however these questions do should be requested.
One issue I gained’t settle for is the notion that there isn’t the expertise pool in Europe, that’s nonsense. And I’m not going to say that Europe misplaced all of its most proficient gamers to NA’s increased wages both. Sure it’s painful that Kacper ‘Impressed’ Słoma isn’t taking part in within the LEC anymore however there have been 4 Europeans within the LTA North final cut up.
The expertise concern is as a result of the area remains to be in a transition interval and, extra importantly, gamers aren’t being developed correctly. The LEC has misplaced lots of elite gamers like Marcin ‘Jankos’ Jankowski, and one in every of EU’s goat Perkz simply retired from LoL esports final month. However different wonderful abilities have emerged like Karmine Corp’s Caliste ‘Caliste’ Henry-Hennebert.
So many rookies are handled as disposable. They get promoted for a cut up or two, after which once they don’t instantly succeed, they’re changed and by no means thought-about once more.
Simply have a look at Paweł ‘Czekolad’ Szczepanik, who not too long ago performed within the EMEA Masters ultimate. 5 years in the past, he performed for Excel Esports, who had an sadly poor tenure within the LEC, for one Spring Cut up and since he couldn’t carry that struggling crew into the Playoffs, he hasn’t been given one other probability since.
Czeckolad misplaced that latest EMEA Masters ultimate to Los Ratones, whose roster are principally former LEC gamers. It’s not as a result of the earlier technology of gamers are essentially extra proficient, it’s as a result of they’ve had time to compete on the prime degree and study their commerce whereas competing in opposition to the perfect.
And it comes again to identification. Europe used to take pleasure in its expertise, it was the benefit LEC groups had over North America and their reliance on importing. Most LEC groups have given up on investing in academy rosters, and increasingly more need to imports from Asia.
As YamatoCannon stated years in the past, the place is the assumption? EMEA wants confidence in itself; the area must again its expertise and have religion that they will beat any crew taking part in their type. Creativity and long-term funding in expertise, that’s what the LEC was constructed on, and that’s the solely manner will probably be in a position to thrive once more.
Whereas LEC groups regroup, yow will discover odds on the subsequent MSI champion on LoL betting websites.
In my seven years of esports writing, I’ve introuduced esports protection to newspapers, interviewed among the largest names within the business, and pushed viewers mad with the puns in my YouTube scripts. I’m most pleased with the latter.
