Thursday, July 25, 2013

Why expanded rosters are great for the LCS.



With any sport it’s not just about the players on the field, there are also players on the bench who come in at critical moments to utilize their specific skillset in relief. Many people forget about the unsung heroes because they aren’t always the flashiest or just might not be known yet. With League of Legends continuing its evolution as an Esport we are now seeing an expanded bench is now impacting the game. Many of the rosters in the past have been only five people and when people were swapped out it was usually followed by them leaving the team for another team thus continuing the cycle. Many of the fans didn’t know who officially the subs on different teams were so it was always a surprise when someone new was playing. This was one of the different things about how the LCS was functioning compared to more traditional sports.

With worlds coming up and some teams struggling they are looking for a solution to fix their current problems. Subs have been getting called in and rosters are being expanded to add additional players and coaches. The roster swaps that we have seen so far have led to lots of success for the teams that could lead to a new trend that will boost the level of competition to a new level. Teams will have to prepare for different game-plans as no two players are alike and everyone has their own style and tendencies. This could lead to some really cool things with how the game continues to evolve in the competitive scene. With having expanded rosters it could allow teams to have players that specialize in playing certain ways or champions. Although many players are able to play a wide variety of champions very well could see players emerge that are extremely specialized. What I mean by this is there could be players who specialize in playing defensive and stalling games out to the late game or the opposite hyper aggressive players whos early game play can snowball games very early on.  
A swap can provide many things for a team like a different play-style or champion pool which can give a team a completely different look. An example of this is what we saw at the EU LCS event in Tenerife during week six. Evil Geniuses, formally Counter Logic Gaming EU, has been typically known as a team that draws games out and focuses on the late game. A problem with this strategy is if teams can get ahead of them early on they are able to stop them from ever reaching that point. With the high stakes of season three and the recent struggles they have been having, currently 8-10 and tied for last in the EU LCS, they looked to shake it up. 

The face of EG ex CLGEU Snoopeh will now be splitting time with their new member and jungler, Shacker. Notice I didn’t say either of them were substitutes because they are both important members of the team who will be serving very different roles. The play-styles of these two are so different with Snoopeh being a defensive early game player while Shacker is more of an aggressive early game player. This will allow them to play different styles and show a different look that can force teams to study the different styles that they might have to play against depending which jungler is playing. Now teams that go in to play EG will need to prepare to play against two very different strategies that will come two very different players both of which have very different champion pools. In this case it could be argued that it might be like playing against two different teams as the styles are so different.

This means that a team might not know exactly which players are playing on the opposing team until the point when the lineup cards are submitted and considered official by the rules.   
Per section 3.3 Roster Submission of the LCS rule book, Requests to modify a starting lineup may not be submitted any later than two hours prior to start of broadcast and/or webcast on a day in which the team is playing a match. This roster card must identify the five Starters for the team’s first match of the day, as well as any available Reserve players for subsequent matches that day.” (Riot Games, 2013)

That rule is very important as it states that teams don’t have to release their rosters ahead of time allowing for their opponents to focus on playing against certain comps. As rosters continue to expand and teams start using more players the games will become more exciting and more epic then they already are. This is a huge step forward and a big reason to be excited for the future as a fan of the LCS. 

How do you guys feel about these expanded rosters, let me know and leave your thoughts in the comments section!


4 comments:

  1. I think it's sensible for teams to have expended rosters, if anything it makes it more like regular team sports where they have extra players who aren't always on the field; it keeps the opposition on their toes! In my opinion it's good, maybe it makes it easier for more players to get into eSports :)

    Also I think because some of the newer teams are bringing new tactics with them the older teams feel like they need to step up their game somewhat to keep up and win. Changing rosters to suit the current situation works for some teams (NiP seem to be doing particularly well after theirs), I think by the end of the split most of the teams will have adapted to the newer play style of the new teams to the summer LCS and will be fairly equal which should lead to some really exciting games to watch :)

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  2. I'm not surprised they chose to do that because it gives the team more flexibility and forces players to play at the top of their game I honestly think people are blowing it up more than it should be League is in many ways like a real team sport so the need for different ways to play each game is there people see it as something very innovative and surprising which honestly it isn't I'm just glad someone finally thought of doing it because it evolves you as a team.

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    1. Also keep in mind this is not meant negatively in any way I just come from a semi pro level in Handball hence why I'm not surprised

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    2. I totally agree and understand where you are coming from, its just for the most part like I said. Substitutes weren't really and thing as much as replacements were.

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