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(unpopular opinion) Sneaky perfectly explains why NA can't compete

WinDoos·11/1/2019, 8:21:55 AM·36 votes·14,771 views

As per usual NA didn't look to hot this year, even teams like Splyce (EUW third seed) went further than NA's best.

I'm going to speculate why NA keeps under-performing every year by looking at C9 Sneaky. This is not to point finger at him, the issues with Sneaky are similar to the issues that applies to most NA pro players.

1) Work ethics are super low

After loosing in worlds Sneaky took a vacation in Korea.

Sneaky also went traveling in the middle of the LCS season to take new photos of himself that he could later post at twitter and such. Mostly for "meme points" I suspect.

We could also track sneaky during his time at EUW and he did not play a lot of solo Q. He never reached a "top rank" and korean/chinese pros that arrived later surpassed him in both games played and rank sort of quickly. 10 hours solo Q is nothing, the Koreans/chinese pros were online for so many more hours 16-20+ hours days daily are common and they scrimmed too. The dedication to the game also assured they stay in the tournament while Sneaky and his team went packing.

2) NA pro's suck because Riot is treating them too well

After another year of failure Riot is again pointing the finger at themselves asking: "What can we do to help NA so they don't suck?"

We hear ideas like low-ping servers, more tournaments, more scouting to find new talents and what not. But I think the main issue here is the pro's themselves.

NA pro's think they can relax, travel, stream etc for 10-11 months of the year and then when it's time for worlds "get serious" and bootcamp for 3 weeks and catch up to everyone else.

It just don't work that way, hard work triumphs everything and other servers are putting in hard work. You are never winning or even getting close to winning worlds unless you have a team of players that are willing to put in more time than a normal 9to5. If NA want's to compete and be among the best they need to push it's players to practice as hard as Korean and be willing to spend at least 14-16 hours days most of the days perfecting various aspects of their game, you can count in time spent at the gym as practice.

3) The lack of competition is enabling low work ethics

Take a player like Bjergsen, he know there is basically nobody in NA that can take his spot. He don't have to work hard in NA to stay on a team, in EUW or Korea he would have been replaced by now after the lack of success against C tier teams, but he still stomps or do OK against most NA mid-laners.

Take sneaky, the guy suffer from low APM. Yet he is the best option C9 have (when you consider fame a plus). He looks "okay-ish" in LCS but he lose lane every time when he faces a competent LPL/LCK/LEC team. Yet I'm 100% sure he will have a team in NA next year as well, and he won't be preforming any better, Sneaky just like most NA pros don't need to be better than he currently are to stay in a top team in NA.

4) NA don't hire to win

Overall you can just check the roaster of most NA teams and know you won't win, you know it, everyone knows it. But perhaps "winning" isn't even the goal of NA teams, you don't employ say sneaky due to his "mad skills".

You hire him due to celebrity status. And you want the exposure he gives to your brand.

NA need to value "skill" over "celebrity status" if it are to compete and not be a meme at worlds. But I don't think this is changing, NA loves it's pros and NA will probably disappoint next year as well due to this and various other factors.

65 Comments

Galiö11/1/2019, 12:42:40 PM12 votes

You lost me at number 3.

Bjergsen is super overrated. He almost AFK farms Midlane all game. Almost never wants to do anything prior to the 15-20 minute point.

Everyone in NA pro play fundamentally plays the game poorly and other than this year the were very reluctant to play anything other than 'standard'.

Which brings me to the point that NA players are too complacent and dont have an actual good practice environment.

Like if you wanted to make a 'super team' in NA

Youd have

Top: Licorice Jungle: ?!?!? Mid: Bjerg/Jensen Bot: Doublelift Sup: Corejj?!?

And even that team could have a hard time getting our of groups.

Also why does NA have no good jungle talent in pro play?

Both midlaners are ok (not amazing compared to rest of the world)

Also NA players/analysts/coaches have toxic or low opinions of meta shifts and drafts which hurts them up until something like MSI and even then 'no one tries' there.

I think a good step would be a better tournament realm. Increased scrims AND new professional scrim teams.

Those teams would consistent of new players and teams that are paid by other team to play against in blocks.. then you can also develop those players and shift them into academy or mainstage team if they show promise. The purpose of those teams are for scrimming/development and not for stage play.

Percentages11/2/2019, 12:45:36 PM6 votes

In the west, this is a GAME, something to do for recreation and fun. not to grind 16+ hours in a day committed to it living in an apartment with a bunch of other dudes playing day in and day out.

ModJikker11/2/2019, 3:08:48 PM6 votes

14-16 hours days most of the days

That's not dedication, that's unhealthy. Like seriously, that is REALLY unhealthy and if anything, at least NA players are taking care of their health on the side.

Going on a vacation? Also healthy and mentally refreshing after some terrible losses. I don't fault any player for that.

IncrediPhiLL11/1/2019, 12:57:13 PM4 votes

Probably an unpopular opinion, but id rather watch Sneaky perform as a pro than watch NA be successful at Worlds.

Saezio11/2/2019, 7:07:51 PM4 votes

Oh btw, another problem with NA is the OTP mentality. NA is the region with the most one tricks, and by far the most onetricks in challenger. That's something I don't understand at all. And it always seems like NA has the smallest champ pool. ALWAYS

kyoyaoaaa11/1/2019, 8:58:08 AM3 votes

Maybe there's rarely a go-getter attitude because everyone around you has decided they no longer give a shit? Competitiveness comes from both parties caring, otherwise it's just a big floppy meme and it seems acting like an idiot is idolized. Being polite or just a quiet person is "fake" "boring" "weird"!!! The big names act like uncivilized shit stains, unruly children and they're popular because of it. We are social creatures, we want to fit in. What better way to do that than be a loud impolite idiot yourself?

The idontgiveafuck attitude is like the plague.

MakJuice11/1/2019, 8:23:01 PM2 votes

Unfortunately op you are just wrong on many areas, but are right mainly on sneaky being a big reason on why C9 failed miserably and has never been nothing more than a meme..

However to say that they don’t take it seriously enough throughout the entire year only pertains to a few and not the many in my opinion.

What I see the bigger problem being is NA never adjusting well at the end of the year like the other regions... North America does a lot better at MSI than worlds on a yearly basis. That is what you should be dissecting, is those 5months. Not the entire year process.

In my opinion the biggest problem is how we decided we were going to buy our talent over seas rather than spend years grooming our talent like Europe did and Korea China does.... look at our best mid Laners in NA, they both came from Europe. Team liquid has a Europe mid lamer, a Korean top laner, and a Korean support. I like TL and I do think that team can have and find great success. However for the rest of the region teams like liquid are the reason the region stays garbage. They see liquids success and want that instant success so they follow the same formula, which gives us what we seen at this worlds.

III BAKURYU III 11/1/2019, 5:59:40 PM2 votes

Look at TSM 2016 and NA in general at a point that NA was in my opinion the most competitive it ever was up to that point. 2017 was also competitive with Best of 3's and what not.

2016 TSM spent close to a year( 2016 Spring they had to fight just to make the Playoffs 9-9 and even then they had to face 3 Seed Cloud 9, 1 Seed Immortals and eventually the 2 Seed CLG). So even in Spring they more than likely practiced hard. That Summer TSM literally didn't stream and was again, at the time the best NA team "ever".......they went 3-3 and eliminated in the group stage......D-Lift the most veteran player at the time in North America was so exhausted he literally took a split off(his intention until he came back and joined TL for some games). NA players can't handle what the Asian teams put themselves through to win.

NA can't compete... after 10 years I think it's a telltale bet to say NA just doesn't have what it takes.

D-Lift was also still streaming 2 days before his Worlds match started and didn't really seem all that interested. So yes, it's an NA situation and not just a single player(Sneaky) but again, you can't fix something that doesn't want to be fixed. The NA players don't give a flying f$ck about winning Worlds! It's all about making quick $ and even foreign players know such and how desperate NA is( Arrow, Huni, Reignover, Impact, PowerofEvil, Crown) they didn't come over to help NA( NA honestly need them as much as it sucks) NA will never compete with the rest of the world GET OVER IT!

JustDonnyy11/1/2019, 8:25:23 AM2 votes

[deleted]

Chalze11/2/2019, 2:54:13 PM2 votes

He also becomes a trap from time to time. [sg-lulu]

BigBellBrute11/10/2019, 8:20:56 PM1 votes

Well if NA hired people to win, instead of bitching about Sneaky's work ethic, you'd be bitching about how you could never get into Kim, Jung, Choi, Lee, and Pak as team Liquid.

Dunk and Dine11/1/2019, 11:47:56 AM1 votes

NA pros dont have as many tournaments to play for in the regular season thats why they have more time to relax stream etc

BibblesBop11/2/2019, 2:26:05 AM1 votes

I agree. Let me share an anecdote.

I have a friend from Jamaica. He says the only way for people to get out of the extreme poverty is by getting a scholarship in basketball or baseball. He used to play basketball all day every day as a kid/teen. He told me if someone didn't get a scholarship from a US college, they were stuck in poverty for the rest of their life.

He got a D1 scholarship for basketball at some small college in the northern midwest. He was so poor he had no coat. A teammate bought him one. He graduated, stayed in the US, worked super hard and supported his family in Jamaica. This dude seriously busted his ass compared to 99% of his classmates. If he failed(his classes or his duty as a player), he would have had to go back to live in poverty that most people in NA can't even fathom.

Not only was this guy apparently a baller, but he was a damn good accountant, too.

TL:DR Its pretty obvious why Chinese/Koreans/Russians are way more motivated than NA players.

Yordle Xayah11/2/2019, 4:40:33 AM1 votes

I mean, look a Bjergsen. The deal he signed with TSM just screams "I care about brand and money, not competing to be the best"

He can do whatever the hell he pleases, but people then shouldn't be surprised when these teams continue to fail year after year.

Beacon Academy11/2/2019, 5:51:04 AM1 votes

The players not trying as hard as their foreign counterparts is a result of US culture in general.

NA will most likely never win. Plain and simple.

Even if NA imported a bunch of foreign hotshots, the culture would ruin them sooner or later.

XJ9999999999999911/2/2019, 10:09:10 PM1 votes

its because xj9 hasnt been able to play for a team yet. if xj9 played in a team na would have won worlds years ago

Madra11/3/2019, 9:37:22 AM1 votes

NA didn't win because of our junglers. Lira, Blaber, Xmithie, Svenskeren. That's not going to cut it. And NA junglers aren't going to get better because they are playing most of their professional games against junglers like Lira, Blaber, Xmithie and Svenskeren.

Snowbrand11/3/2019, 10:11:58 AM1 votes

It's not because NA is bad, it's just that the competition is so strong. This year C9 lost to Griffin and G2, Clutch to SKT (!) and FNATIC and RNG. TL lost to IG (last years worlds winners) and DWG. Like those teams are extremely good. It's not a failure for NA to not get out of groups considering which teams they are playing against.

Hayaishi211/4/2019, 12:05:28 AM1 votes

Yeah. As it happens to other sports NA is complacent.

You can see it in Soloq too. Everything is about memes and poggers nobody takes it seriously