[LoL] Response to: H2k-gaming getting fined for trolling.

 There was a news that I heard which stated European team has been fined for trolling in a challenger series. They bought inefficient items, blew summoner spells, and delayed the game for their enjoyment. People who hear about this news have two different opinions. One half says that is the right move, and second is 'they took more challenge by buying inefficient items and showed skill.' I will tell you right now I am with the first half.

E-sports is growing, wants to be accepted as a real sport, and slowly becoming one. While it is all fun and games during solo que or ranked with your friends, challenger series is a part of e-sports which needs to main professionalism. In order to become a real sport, they must hold same degree of integrity and sportsmanship that we expect from other sports. The sportsmanship is when they respect each other and play fairly with all their effort to make sure they tried their best.

In the case of this situation, that wasn't the case. They were delaying the game, buying unnecessary items which is clearly a disrespect to the other team. No matter how much of a lead you may have, it is not right to just troll the other team in a professional setting. An example that comes to my mind is when Manchester City (soccer team) visited a lower skilled team, NA all stars or something like that, and when Balotelli had a good chance in front of the net, he tried some spinning move for some fancy goal which failed. He was booed by the fan and subbed by the coach. That was disrespectful to the enemy team and both enemy team and the viewers want to watch players try their best, not some stupid stuff. While it may be enjoyable to watch from one point, purposely delaying the match to make fun of the enemy team does not match the sportsmanship that is required of a proper sport.

For some info: http://ca.ign.com/articles/2014/07/23/league-of-legends-team-fined-for-trolling

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[LoL] Reasons why NA don't have 'talents'

In League of Legends, North America has been regarded as the weakest region. And unfortunately, the results in international competitions weren't in favor of NA either. Some of the reasons behind it, such as coaching staffs and practice regimens in Asia, were pointed out and many of them have been already incorporated in NA teams as well as EU teams. There has been a lot of international drafting in NA scene recently, such as Seraph and Helios from Korea, Dexter and Amazing from EU, and a whole team from China. Although people agree that general skill level in NA pro scene has increased, but the fact that Chinese team who wasn't the top team in Chinese league is in 1st place in NA brings more questions onto the table.

I will expand on one point that didn't get as much emphasis as other points in my opinion.

"No Trainee"

An infrastructure from Korea that has yet to be seen in NA is trainee system. It can be connected with solo que scene that is seen as less competitive compared to Korea as well. The environment that potential pro players play in is just not very comparable to what they will actually experience. The trainees are able to experience lifestyle and practice regimen that is close to the pro player while also learning from them side by side.

Some may say that playing in a regular ranked 5 team and participating in other tournaments regularly will give you that experience, but the problem is that the other infrastructures are not in place for these amateur teams. I would say the closest to this system would have been Cloud 9 Tempest which unfortunately didn't make it through the relegation tournament.

Some what, close to what I would like to see is A and B team for one organization, but with how LCS is set up, that doesn't seem like a huge possibility for a while. More professional players playing with an infrastructure in place will allow faster and more growth in NA. With different mindsets and cultural norms between Asia and NA, this may not even be a possibility, but with current progress and view of NA player pool, I don't think NA will be able sustain itself with star players.

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