Save the LCS

It’s really depressing to see LCS viewership dropping, and I think a major reason for this is the lack of competitiveness domestically and internationally. A lot of people cite the talent problem as the reason for this, but there have been plenty of talented enough rosters in the LCS to compete internationally; think TSM 2016 Summer or TL’s current roster. I think the problem is a coaching problem. There are many coaches with a lot of game knowledge, but most of them are unable to see what’s actually important in winning games consistently. In this article, I’m going to give an example of just one fundamental of the game that is consistently overlooked by LCS teams, that by working on would be one step forward in becoming more competitive: objective setups.

In this first example, I want to show a team properly setting up for an objective and the following result. Starting at 29:26 game time, FPX have pushed out their side waves as much as can be done safely, and then group to push the mid wave (they have numbers advantage since Viktor has to fix the bot wave). Then, they move into river and the enemy jungle to start controlling vision around the objective. After Kayle pushes the top wave, FPX again group to push the next mid wave; this is important so that JDG can’t retake vision around the objective. FPX repeat these steps until eventually, worried that the enemy team could be on baron, Viktor walks up and gets picked. Galio is also able to find a great flank due to this vision control, and FPX end the game.

Next, let’s look at some examples of what happens when you don’t set up for an objective properly to emphasize the importance of objective setups. At 26:52 game time, T1 are looking to set up baron (sides are pushed and they should be grouping to push mid wave), and they engage a fight thinking that it is their timing window. The problem is T1 are skipping steps in setting up for an objective; Viego is still pushing the mid wave and Gnar is moving over but isn’t there yet. T1 end up engaging a 3v4 (3v4.5 if you count GP ulti) and lose the fight.

In this example, at 30:03 game time, T1 are starting baron without proper set up; they don’t have enough deep vision in the enemy jungle. Eventually, this is what enables the enemy Gragas to find a pick onto Ezreal, putting T1 in another difficult position. I have written an in depth guide on how to set up for objectives here.

These examples show how important objective setups are to winning games. If you watch enough LPL or LCK, you will see teams follow certain steps when setting up for objectives, but when you watch LCS, year after year, teams never learn how to do this properly. If we want to regain the popularity of our sport, we need to become more competitive. It is time to stop recycling the same coaches year after year, a lot of which are former players who have a good instinct for the game but don’t understand how to lead a team to success, and bring in some new coaching talent who understands what it takes to win and can effectively teach that to their teams.