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I wish to start watching LoL esports, but I am not sure where to begin.

Laughing Fish··2 votes·2,009 views

This Saturday there is a game between SK Telecom T1 and GE Tigers, and Sunday there is a game between TIP and TSM. Would these games be good starting points?

29 Comments

Reynard the ƒox3 votes

The best way to get started is to just start. Yes, definitely watch those matches if you have the time. They're coming late in the competitive season, so you may not understand everything that's going on (TiP v TSM is a semi-final match, for example), but you'll never get invested if you don't start somewhere.

Also, I have no idea what's going on in Korea but I watch all the games I can from the scene because Monty and Doa are fucking hilarious and at the same time give more intelligent analysis than anything you'll ever hear out of the NA guys.

obfusk8n1 votes

I agree. The casters do a good job. Expect to be lost at first, but you'll catch on. The game play is entertaining at a minimum and you absorb more and more as time passes.

3tyson2 votes

Uol watch all uol games they r fucking epic be sure to watch uol

Vixanys2 votes

Those would be pretty good starting points.

Saturday has H2K (best team EU) vs Fnatic. c9 vs TL is the other Saturday match.

Sunday is the TSM vs TiP and SK vs UoL

Remember a lot of the older matches are on the VODs page of Lol Esports (make sure you leave "Show Results" OFF for No Spoilers)

Laughing Fish1 votes

Thanks for the link man! I will watch some of those!

Pyke Pony1 votes

{quoted}

Those would be pretty good starting points.

Saturday has H2K (best team EU) vs Fnatic. c9 vs TL is the other Saturday match.

Sunday is the TSM vs TiP and SK vs UoL

Remember a lot of the older matches are on the VODs page of Lol Esports (make sure you leave "Show Results" OFF for No Spoilers)

H2K is the 3rd best EU team...

Vixanys2 votes

SK is 1 dimensional at best (and lacks warding ability that would prevent them from being shut down)

Fnatic is arguable the 1st or 2nd best team in EU, but I think h2K on pure skill, team coordination, team synergy and objective control is at least in my opinion, what makes them the best team in EU.

Pyke Pony1 votes

{quoted}

SK is 1 dimensional at best (and lacks warding ability that would prevent them from being shut down)

Fnatic is arguable the 1st or 2nd best team in EU, but I think h2K on pure skill, team coordination, team synergy and objective control is at least in my opinion, what makes them the best team in EU.

FNC is without a doubt, better than H2K. They proved it both during regular season by beating them twice and in the semi finals were they won 3-2. We will soon know whether H2K is better than SK on the 3rd place best of 5 matches.

TheGrandAlliance2 votes

I made a thread about this concept not too long ago...

Basically if your completely new to Esports...

  1. Find a team you care about. If you don't have a preference stay with the "honorable favorites"... that is Fnatic for EU and TSM for NA.
  2. Watch every game the team played this split... even the "boring" ones. You need to learn everyone so you have appreciation for the game.
  3. Watch all of the Prime Time Leagues for S5. Watch this show each week... they do a good work summarizing LCS action.

Once you have done this and you have lots of time left over; you can start to watch other teams, or watch both EU/NA. Also try to watch some of the matches of the "lesser" teams as well. Once you do you will better understand and appreciate LCS.

FHMarshy1 votes

My Breaking Bad man, Although watching the games will be entertaining, I would suggest, if you have time, to catch up on all the games for NA LCS since 2 weeks ago. You would have more clue as to what is on the plate etc.

It's like watching "Better Call Saul" is good, but it would be better if you watched "Breaking Bad" first.

Laughing Fish1 votes

Well I read up on the current rankings and recent game results, so I have a decent understanding of who ranks where.

AbiwonKenabi1 votes

That's a lot of VODs though. Even the shortest games are still 30 minutes if you include watching champ select and getting into the game. What about some of the longer ones?

This is probably a good time to get into it, since playoffs is a ton of fun with awesome picks. Plus you can get hyped for Summer split, which can be a fresh start for a new viewer.

AbiwonKenabi1 votes

I would personally recommend starting in LCS, the biggest reason being it isn't showing in the wee hours of the morning. Both NA and EU LCS are in the semifinals of the Spring Split playoffs, which basically means the first half of the season is ending and at the end of it there will be an NA and EU champion on top.

TSM vs TiP should be a pretty good match. They are each fighting to get into the finals in a best of 5 match. TSM is usually pretty fun to watch, and its likely TiP is riding high after their dominating victory over Gravity in the quarter finals.

Not to discourage you from watching LPL or LCK (Chinese and Korean leagues respectively), I just know most people don't want to be up at 4:00 in the morning just to watch a League match. NA LCS is usually at noon PST on Saturdays and Sundays, EU LCS is on Thursday Friday and starts at...9am PST? This week is unusual because of playoffs.

Ask me questions if you have any! :)

Vixanys1 votes

VODs man VODs! You don't need to watch things live to still excited!

AbiwonKenabi1 votes

Oh phooey, watching live is where it's at. :P

I'm just more familiar with NA and EU, so while I'm sure there are exciting games in the east, I can't really say much about other than what info I randomly pick up from events like IEM.

Laughing Fish1 votes

Well I would be watching them later in the day in the VOD section. I am mostly interested in LCS, but I have seen a few games with Faker, and he is always entertaining to watch.

AbiwonKenabi1 votes

If you want to follow SKT then go for it! I just don't personally have as much knowledge on the LCK broadcast.

I can tell you that the LCS coverage is quite good though. :)

Vixanys1 votes

LCK has some of the best commentators in the world of League Esports. ggDoA and ggCMontecristo! Super Powers of Class and Sophistication.

AbiwonKenabi1 votes

I'm sorry to say this but....I don't like Montecristo

gasp!

Yeah sorry, I've never been a fan of Montecristo. That's just my personal opinion though.

As far as shoutcasters go, I miss Joe "Just call me Joe" Miller and Deman for EU LCS. Deficio is good, the new guy is fine and Quickshot is ok, but EU just doesn't have "it" anymore for me. I was happy to see Joe at IEM though.

blueberrypancake1 votes

I think the Coaches in EU are the funniest

The Gambit coach said that the UOL is gonna bull some BS like "Frozen Heart first item Varus Top"

Dem Na coaches are too salty (cuz Na is the atomic symbol for sodium :)

planters1 votes

thanks for pointing that out. I didnt bring my reading glasses and almost didnt see what you did there.

Vixanys1 votes

I live in a cave and I saw what he did there. It was cheesy.

Vixanys1 votes

Joe Miller is my favorite, but Monte and Riv are the only other ones I like. Jatt is usually just wrong and it bugs me. Deficio, and this may sound bad, I hate his accent. I just do. Quickshot, Sjokz and Pyro just don't do it for me. I can't even count Phreak (he's become annoying) and Zirene/Dash are ok...i guess.

I guess most of the above is just personality. While I like correct and factual information. Which is what Monte brings in this Lack of Joe Miller world.

Akeydel1 votes

If you want just good league games (with commentary) heres a few great ones:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XUFmbdTksuo#t=3m20s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nRAoZJolrYI#t=4m11s

blueberrypancake2 votes

I watched the first but not the second

I'd say though the best game this season is either

UOL vs TSM game 1 San Jose (dat TF jungle),

UOL vs FNC Week 8 (its like a reverse xpeke if you know what that is)

UOL vs GMB Game 2 playoffs (Man-bear-pig-flash-slap-first-blood)

Akeydel1 votes

The second one is my favorite game ever played, if you watch the first 5~10 minutes you'll understand. but I'll probably watch the ones you posted.

Toa of Death1 votes

I actually consider myself still fairly new to the LCS scene. I caught a few games here and there at Worlds but I didn't follow much before that. I knew most of the teams names though, couldn't go anywhere in League without seeing TSM, C9, LMQ(when they were still around), CLG, Fnatic. Worlds was probably the best time for anyone to get into LCS. Plenty of teams to choose for your favorites. That was where I officially became a C9 fan. But you probably don't want to wait for This year's Worlds. I'd say watch a few VODs of previous matches first to get a general feel for it(and to pick a team to root for if you want), Learn who the casters and analysts are. But if your deadset on getting into the matches this weekend, then I'd recommend either TSM vs TIP or TL vs C9. TSM is currently the #1 in NA and that's got to boost their confidence going into this match. TIP though is really strong right now and will put up a good fight. TL is finally looking strong with Piglet, the ADC who won Worlds a few years back, on their side. C9 had a rough start to the season but after taking down both TSM and CLG to secure 2nd place, their looking really strong. Hell, C9 were the defending champs for a long time until TSM beat them 3-2 in last years summer playoffs. It's your choice ultimately so do whatever you want. Welcome to the world of LoL eSports.

blacktornado211 votes

Neither, watch tsm vs gravity

Eleshakai1 votes

I would recommend starting with NA or EU. Korea and China frequently have better play... but their English casters are really lacking in energy or humour and the players have a bit less personality... and if you're just starting out it's probably better to watch the regions with the best casters.

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