What an exciting year for Riot Games and their insanely popular game, League of Legends (LoL). SK Telecom (SKT) proved what most of the world already knew: they were the king of League of Legends. But the way SKT did it set off a ripple effect that is changing the way the pro-teams play. The epicenter of that ripple? The rotation of Faker and EasyHoon.
In seasons prior, the substitute on a team was mainly the back-up for the weakest position on the team. Or in some cases, if a player is dealing with an injury, the backup could easily make the switch into the game. What SKT showed was that with arguably the two best Mid-laners (or two best players) in the world, a rotation of the two could keep teams off balance. In SKT’s example, Faker, known for his assassin-heavy play, and EasyHoon, known for his mage-heavy play, offer two very contrasting playstyles. By doing this, teams would have to split precious time planning and practicing for the two very good players. Most pro players are very good on different champion classes, but there is a big reason Faker is the assassin king and EasyHoon could be his equivalent with mage champions.
There is one other way to look at this whole idea of subs: Motivation. Faker has been in the pro scene for a while now, and while only 19 years of age, he is considered a LoL veteran. As we see in other competitive situations, when a player gets comfortable with his role, he can slack off a bit. I’m not accusing Faker of slacking off one bit, but what better way to rekindle the passion a player once had when he was new and had to prove himself on the Rift? You get that new and exciting young talent behind him. It’s a common motivational tactic to make sure you get the best performance every time, every match. Hypothetically speaking, let’s say Faker is in a slump. His combos aren’t timed right and he’s finding himself out of position quite a bit and paying for it. You can swap him out for EasyHoon who is battling to prove his worth and gain that time with the team in battle. Faker would be upset he was pulled and he would work to get back to his peak performance. This way, you get two highly motivated players who want to compete.
In 2015, less than half of all pro teams carried a full-time 6th man. Going into Season 6, we already have seen the addition of the 6th man in most of the pro teams. In some cases, I’m looking at you Team Liquid, five. That’s right, five subs! For Team Liquid, the backups are also the starting members of Team Liquid’s Challenger Series team, Team Liquid Academy. And now, they are all listed on their NA LCS team’s active roster as subs. For the first time in all of the LoL Professional Leagues, one team has a backup for every role. It doesn’t stop there. All ten players live together in the team’s gaming house. According to an interview between The Daily Dot and Team Liquid’s coach, Mark “MarkZ” Zimmerman, “They will be entrenched in a professional setting where they are pushed internally by management and their peers. Competitively, LCS players know there are hungry players behind them (while having the security that they have another chance) and the Challenger players know they have opportunities ahead of them.” Team Liquid’s Challenger Series team is in the Final Four of their league. Maybe it’s paying off? By doing this, it allows Team Liquid to develop in-house LCS-ready players with their Academy team by attacking the LCS learning curve many Challenger Series players face.
You may be thinking, “Five subs? That’s got to be a lot of additional money.” Correct. The one lesson we learned from the off-season so far is this: NA is rich, EU is underpaid, and Korea can’t fight off the exodus of their players to Chinese teams (also for financial reasons). FNATIC’s dream roster of outstanding rookies mixed with the leadership and shot-calling of YellOwStaR, disbanded after winning the Season 5 EU Spring Split, going 18-0 in the EU Summer Split, and finishing in the Semi-Finals of Worlds, leaving Febiven and Rekkles, their midlaner and ad carry respectively, to pick up what’s left of a historic 2015 team. Huni and ReignOver left for NA for a big pay increase with their new team, and LCS newcomer, Immortals. Fan favorite, and LoL Legend, YellOwStaR left also, but for the NA powerhouse, Team SoloMid.
With growing sponsorships and popularity of E-Sports around the world, soon having a backup for every position will be the norm. Strategy and team chemistry will play just as big of a role as Tahm Kench being un-benched in Worlds. And let’s not forget. With the format changes in NA and EU (Best of 2 and Best of 3, respectively), players will be playing longer each weekend. Fatigue becomes a big factor. Maybe having five subs won’t just help keep players motivated. Maybe it will help them stay fresh.
Season 6 is only two weeks away! Only time will tell us if this “Age of Subs” will form into anything worthwhile.
See you on the Rift!
Featured Image portraits courtesy of lolesports.com. Header designed by Jon Byrum.
