In any team sport, cooperation is key. From football to ice hockey, it takes the efforts of the entire team to fend off opponents and successfully win the game. While there may be certain players who are more famous or gifted than others—such as Cristiano Ronaldo in football or Wayne Gretzky in ice hockey—they still require the support of their teammates to truly shine. This is no different in esports.
In a League of Its Own
Video games started as single-player endeavors where individuals fought non-player characters and bosses. As Internet technology improved towards the late 1990s, competitions began to feature team-based capture the flag or team deathmatch bouts for first-person shooter (FPS) games like Unreal Tournament. Following this, multiplayer competitions for real-time strategy (RTS) games such as Starcraft became common in the early 2000s. In 2013, multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) game DOTA 2 was released by Valve, becoming one of the most prevalent and highest-paying esport games worldwide. Fast forward to today, and MOBAs are dominating the international esports stage.
Since its launch in 2009, MOBA game League of Legends (LoL) has grown to become the world’s largest esport. The premise of the game is simple: each team consists of five players who have to work together to destroy the opposing team’s base. On a casual level, LoL is an extremely fun game where friends can play together or individuals can join random teams online and meet new people. However, in the professional arena, LoL is complex and challenging, with a steep skill curve and a rigorous ranking structure.
Just as with physical sports, spectators love to watch top-ranking gamers work their magic. Many celebrity LoL gamers live stream their games to build a fan following. As of this September, over 270 thousand LoL gamers are streaming on Twitch, and 23.9 million hours of LoL content are viewed per week. Due to its extreme popularity, the annual revenue generated by LoL in 2020 was a staggering $1.75 billion, with the current LoL World Championship prize pool standing at a cool $2.34 million.
Teamwork Makes the Dream Work
While we cannot all be tournament-worthy players, LoL is still a great game for friends with unranked accounts to enjoy together. The most commonly used Summoner’s Rift map features two opposing bases, three lanes of traffic, and two sections of jungle. The five players on each team have to come up with a collective strategy to successfully traverse the map and destroy their enemy’s defenses and base.
Because each lane has its pros and cons, they are better suited to different characters. As a part of the team, players have to choose a champion that will benefit the big picture the most. Junglers, for instance, excel at killing monsters but generally cannot tank lanes on their own. Meanwhile, high damage solo champions can take the middle lane on their own but still benefit from the support of junglers in a fight. Having a diverse set of champions on a team to distribute across the map to fulfill the various needs of damage, tanking, and crowd control is essential towards achieving a victory.
On top of this, the synergy of champions within the team can provide an extra advantage when clashing with opponents at choke points. For example, the classic pairing of Orianna’s Shockwave and Malphite’s Unstoppable Force can create a powerful wombo combo (a term used to describe a perfectly timed combination of attacks that cause utter destruction) that will easily wipe out the entire enemy team.
Good communication is another important factor that will determine whether an LoL team wins or loses. If you watch any world-class tournament team on Twitch, you will notice that the players are constantly speaking to each other. By sharing information on enemy whereabouts, ability cooldowns, and potential plays, team members can be quick to respond to opportunities or reinforce weaknesses.
A Lesson for Life
The essence of playing as a team is to work towards a common goal and leave your ego behind. This is crucial to learn when playing with friends, and even more so when playing with strangers. Outside of the gaming arena, teamwork is a useful skill for anyone to hone. As the personalities of young people are still evolving and their minds are more open to change, high school is a perfect time to start practicing the principles of teamwork.
For high school students, playing LoL can teach them to behave with maturity and prioritize the greater good over petty desires. The benefits of learning to work and play as a team will be apparent in group projects, school sports, and even at home. In addition, the bonding and synergy developed between players can set the stage for positive friendships and enduring relationships that will extend past their school years.
League of Legends may be a competitive game, but success in the game is rooted in teamwork. Through becoming team players, high school students can become better citizens and work together to build a better society.