How the Professionals Play

[quote=Teyso][center][color=#00ff00][h1]Introduction:[/h1][/color][/center] I recently had an assignment for a Media Class to look at celebrity obsession from an analytical perspective, and it got me thinking... [center][img=http://www.rollins.edu/phil-rel/images/the_thinker2.jpg][/center] Many of us obsess over Pro teams and players. We watch streams and copy champion picks and builds from the latest tournaments. I assume that we do this because we aspire to be that skilled, make money the way they do, and/or be that famous. Maybe it is just as simple as we want to win like they do, but we do not look at everything about their play, just their play-style or builds. [center][color=#ff8000][h1]The Topic: What About Their Behavior?[/h1][/color][/center] If we already obsess over them, and copy some aspects of their play, why have I never heard of people discuss their behavior and interactions in game? Do I not read enough news, or have we left the topic of how they behave socially in game in the dark? [center][color=#00ffff][h1]Potential Questions:[/h1][/color][/center] 1) Do most pro's get there just by being very skilled individually? 2) Are they this good because they work together and behave like good teammates, or does that not even affect the outcomes of their games due to their amazing skills? 3) What are the trends with this? Are there more polite players in the top divisions or are the majority of those players more rude, but very skillful? ----- EDIT #1 Wow, thanks for all the responses guys! I guess what I'm trying to bring to light, and what some people have pointed out in this thread, is that people who get to the higher levels of play for the most part do not behave in a toxic manner. This leads us towards the concept of: [center][h2][color=#ff0000]Toxic behavior consistently loses games[/color][/h2] ... Am I right? [h2][color=#00ff00]Another Question: How much are people aware of the fact that their toxic behavior drags them down and inhibits their playing?[/color][/h2] [color=#00ffff][h2]Some Resources on this topic:[/h2][/color] [columns]Link to Resource [nextcol width=30]| | [nextcol width=500]Description of Resource[/columns] - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - [columns][url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dsNuey2bLHE]HTTL On Gaining 'ELO'[/url] [nextcol width=30]| | [nextcol width=500]A streamer goes off on a tangent about how to climb rankings. Note that he talks more about interactions with other players, and not as much about player skill.[/columns] - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - [columns][url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cOIZXxB1nlI]Extra Credits: Toxicity[/url] [nextcol width=30]| | [nextcol width=500] A great discussion on this issue by entertaining and experienced vloggers from within the gaming community.[/columns] [/center] -----[/quote]

[quote=Mooninites]No one here is pro, so no one will know[/quote]

[quote=Joshified]I don't obsess over any of the pro players :3 The only stream I occasionally watch is TheOddOne's since he is hilarious. Perhaps for your examples you could look into some of the more obvious extremities? The Ocelote video thing that popped up on the League of Legends main screen (after you load up the game) was pretty interesting and showed how he was an aggressive player and how he made the decision to become a better role model. I would definitely look into that, since it seems to tie in with what you are looking at quite well.[/quote]

[quote=utopus][quote=Teyso] [color=#00ff00]Introduction:[/color] I recently had an assignment for a Media Class to look at celebrity obsession from an analytical perspective, and it got me thinking... Many of us obsess over Pro teams and players. We watch streams and copy champion picks and builds from the latest tournaments. If we already obsess over them, and copy some aspects of their play, why have I never heard of people discuss their behavior and interactions in game? Do I not read enough news, or have we left the topic of how they behave socially in game in the dark. [color=#00ffff]Questions:[/color] 1) Do most pro's get there just by being very skilled individually? 2) Are they this good because they work together and behave like good teammates, or does that not even affect the outcomes of their games due to their insane skills? 3) What are the trends with this? Are there more polite players in the top divisions or are the majority of those players more rude, but very skillful? [/quote] 1. Probably not. You can look at people like XJ9, or the TheRainMan who are both really really great players, but aren't really considered pro, because they aren't part of a team. Afaik, Soloqueue doesn't solely determine one's pro-ness. 2. Absolutely. If you look at TSM's philosophy, they say repeatedly that they never remove someone from the team because they think they are bad - it's always about attitude. It's about whether they are respectful, obedient, and cooperative. 3. Not sure. I'm sure each person has a different answer, but i'll let someone like percy, c4, throat, or hax answer this for me c:[/quote]

[quote=Jebus McAzn]It varies by region. Korea has the best and the most competitive teams in the entire world, and they have a drastically different philosophy than the NA region. Pros are harvested from the solo queue ladder and are scouted by teams. Teamwork is paramount - there are fantastic mechanical players like Faker and Imp, but they always know how to work with the team. Everybody is polite at the top, as players suffer severe backlash from the community for being bad-mannered - for example, MaKNooN challenging Shy to 1v1 for the All-Star spot while he was intoxicated actually earned him enough backlash to lose the #1 position. Whether you're on a team or not is all about skill - if you're underperforming, you will be dropped and replaced immediately regardless of how much the community loves you.[/quote]

[quote=PsiGuard][quote=Teyso] [color=#00ffff]Questions:[/color] 1) Do most pro's get there just by being very skilled individually? 2) Are they this good because they work together and behave like good teammates, or does that not even affect the outcomes of their games due to their insane skills? 3) What are the trends with this? Are there more polite players in the top divisions or are the majority of those players more rude, but very skillful? [/quote] 1) They generally have to be skilled enough to gain some recognition before they're picked up by a team. Most professional players have high soloqueue ratings. Skill does not guarantee a spot in the LCS though, as there are many skilled players that are not part of a team. 2) Team coordination and synergy are crucial to competitive play. I'm surprised you even asked this question. 3) It sounds like you're talking about soloqueue now. I played with a lot of diamond teams when I was in plat 1 and they're a mixed bunch. It's a better community than bronze and silver since a lot of the more destructive attitudes players have don't survive the climb to diamond. There are still plenty of rude players and some great teammates. I wouldn't say there's one prevailing temperament. Different people behave differently.[/quote]

[quote=IceCreamy]1) Yeah I think so, I've watched some vids in which they explained how they found guys like FNatic puszu and NiP Mimer. Simply because in solo queue they got matched, they were impressed, took him on the team. 2) Dunno if you've seen the ocelote video - he used to be a really toxic player and yet he has been on SK for the longest of times. They are good because of their skill, not for their behavior. 3) No idea, guess it's a little of both ^^[/quote]

[quote=kT coffee][quote=Teyso] [color=#00ff00]Introduction:[/color] I recently had an assignment for a Media Class to look at celebrity obsession from an analytical perspective, and it got me thinking... Many of us obsess over Pro teams and players. We watch streams and copy champion picks and builds from the latest tournaments. [color=#ff0000]The Assumption:[/color] I assume that we do this because we aspire to be that skilled, make money the way they do, and/or be that famous. [color=#ff8000]The Topic:[/color] If we already obsess over them, and copy some aspects of their play, why have I never heard of people discuss their behavior and interactions in game? Do I not read enough news, or have we left the topic of how they behave socially in game in the dark. [color=#00ffff]Questions:[/color] 1) Do most pro's get there just by being very skilled individually? 2) Are they this good because they work together and behave like good teammates, or does that not even affect the outcomes of their games due to their insane skills? 3) What are the trends with this? Are there more polite players in the top divisions or are the majority of those players more rude, but very skillful? [/quote] Most pros have way higher individual skill than most players, which only makes sense. In a high ranking environment filled with thousands of players that either got there with practice or natural skill, which are most likely to be picked up for a team? Also, note that tournament-level play strays away so much from solo queue that pros are their own breed of good in general. First and foremost it comes from proper individual skill in most cases. Strong players that are stronger in terms of knowledge and game sense than they are in individual skill are rare, but there are some notable examples such as Saintvicious, Chauster and Lilac. To put it simply, a team is typically assembled initially as a collective of potential players and then player chemistry and communication is made. As such, it's safe to assume that teamwork comes along later than individual skill, but still, teamwork is the most decisive factor in the outcome of their games. I wouldn't know statistically, but I highly doubt it matters. Between a good player being a dick because he feels he's entitled to do so and a good player that accepts his skill and remains modest about it, there's really nothing that affects their performance at a LAN if you ask me. The statistics might be interesting just for the sake of seeing whether players are more modest than they are pompous, but you'd have to form a distinct line between those two so it would probably end up subjective as fuck anyways.[/quote]

[quote=sulle17]Hahah i know ocelote was a rager, pretty sure more proffesionals were before. And yes they need to have individual skill, else they would've never been accpeted into any of these teams, only if they are some old-ass teams that played together in S1, for example in Fnatic, both Cyanide and xPeke have played together for quite some time and both of them got an insane amount of skill on their specific roles to play. So yes both teamwork and skills is essential to become proffesional.[/quote]

[quote=samgoeslol]well trm is a pro the way i see it since he earns his money playing league. the main aspect for pro players is reliability; they have to be consistent so the teamplay can come into effect. I follow the pro players because i wanna improve. i dont really wanna be a lolplayer for a living...[/quote]