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Fan Response to NA LCS Format Update...

Moneymonster7·9/29/2017, 11:26:26 PM·15 votes·1,968 views
LoL Esports

This is a long post. I'm just warning you. And I go all over the place. I'll start by telling you I'm in favor of Bo3 format, not Bo1 format. But read through and give me your opinions, and answer the poll!

I've linked the article that Riot Games published today on the NA LCS Format Update, in case you hadn't read it just yet. However, I'll be doing a kind of TL;DR here going over their main points and the fans' counters to their points.

I'm going to start by saying that, while I did get tired of scrolling through comments on this article to see the responses from the true NA LCS fans... 38 out of the first 40 comments I read through said something to the tune of "This is not good". However, I'll give Riot the benefit of the doubt here, as it's possible only a certain population of fans are commenting, because what reason do happy fans have to comment? They're satisfied, so they're going to close the article and smile.

Let's summarize this. Basically, Riot Games decided that for the benefit of fans and viewership, Bo1s are better than Bo3 series. Alright, fair enough. Let's review this though.

As was pointed out by SketchyPete in the comments, Riot Games posted something nearly opposite to this back when they decided to switch to Bo3s. Riot Games had summarized, then, that Bo3s would be better for viewership and also "an assumption was that a more competitive series-based format would better prepare teams for international events at MSI and Worlds."

Let's be honest, Riot Games probably makes more money at MSI and Worlds than the Spring and Summer splits of NA LCS combined. And, from my point of view, it is MUCH more exciting for NA LCS fans to watch their teams do well at international events than it is to...well, watch them fail. I mean, come on, wasn't it exciting seeing Cloud 9 go 7-0 in the Play-In stage? I know it's the Play-In, but it's still part of Worlds. That was awesome. It made me so excited to watch them in the Group Stage!

In my personal opinion, one that I believe I share with many NA LCS fans out there, competitiveness is more important than easily viewable individual splits. I care less about how Immortals is doing against Team Liquid in Week 4 of the Spring split than I do about how TSM is doing against RNG in their Bo1s in the Group Stage of Worlds. And that's not because I'm a TSM fanboy (although I probably am..), it's because I want to see NA's international performances more than I want to see every single game of each split. And, while yes, this proves Riot's point that viewership may increase with the Bo1 format, I believe this format change will ultimately result in LESS viewers overall for both international events AND local (NA) competition.

I don't believe it was a good idea to introduce us to the competitiveness and entertaining aspects of a Bo3 format when there was seemingly such a high possibility of you changing this back to a Bo1 format. Allow me to put it in words that are much more relatable to the article linked. With a Bo3 format, there was the chance that if any given C9, IMT, TL fan was working until, say, 4pm PST, they could still catch a game or two of their series on Friday! With Bo1s? You missed the game and that's it. You can watch it later on YouTube, but do you really have as much desire to see it if it's not live? I know I don't.

In conclusion - Riot Games, by changing your format back to a Bo1 format in the NA LCS, you're killing the competitive fanbase just a little more. Fans of teams who are playing earlier won't be able to see their team play live, and watching live is so much more exciting and filled with hype than watching the recording later.

But, I don't just want to go off of my own personal opinion. Fans of NA LCS - What do you think? Answer my poll and let's see if we can get Riot's attention here.

9 Comments

Ghostwing9/30/2017, 1:39:36 AM6 votes

I have to say, if RIot wanted to widen the gap again, this is the way to go. Yes, maybe you get slightly more people to watch, but this will decrease as soon as they realize their teams are now losing more again. I dunno, they should know how beneficial bo3s are for getting better at adapting during matches, getting experience on players and generally improving. Half of their statement seems just trying to blandish a bad decision. With the scrim culture being as it is, this will not end well. The probable EU format doesn't give me any hope either... "Beat the trash tier teams to play in the bigger league less often". This is also neither optimal for viewer numbers nor team improvement. With some things i wonder if people at Riot are just blind to see what they are doing. O_o Also why be so absolutely stubborn on not acknowledging the korean format is probably the best compromise between all of that? Just try.

Snappenfapper9/30/2017, 2:56:41 AM6 votes

I tried to write an email and couldn't find one. I tried to write a ticket and It sent me here. This feels like the most relevant thread.

Hello,

I've only recently become a fan of LCS but I'm a longtime league player. I've been playing since season 1. My friend got me into watching competitive league with worlds 2016 and I was instantly hooked. That year was the first year I hit platinum and I had a deeper understanding of the game and I could really appreciate what the players were doing. I had my organization I was a fan of (C9) from their involvement in other games. I watched and read up on their players and I realized this would be "my" team in this game too.

Since worlds 2016, I have watched every single C9 game. I watched a ton of LCK when I worked third shift. I have been to 6 LCS matches live while on vacation in California. I have been learning about the history of the game and organizations and rivalries. It's been a really enjoyable experience over this past year.

I'm sad to learn next year NA LCS will be moving to best of 1s. Best of 1s will degrade the skills of the region and ruin the legitimacy of the NA LCS standings. I realize the movement is to reduce costs and increase viewership for less popular teams but I have a sneaking suspicion this won't be the case.

TL;DR

I will no longer watch or support LCS in any fashion when it moves to Bo1s. There's no competitive integrity and there's no point in getting loyal to my region when you won't let them get the experience to make them anything more than a wildcard region.

If any fighting game tournament boasted Bo1s (even for pools) it would be laughed into the next universe. Please do not ruin North American competition for the sake of viewers.

Thank you, Snapp

Kabraxis9/30/2017, 1:57:00 AM4 votes

I was never a fan of their two streams side by side, pitting fans of possibly more than one team against themselves to choose which to watch. It's just plain dumb. Flat out dumb. It's also horrible for fan bases of the less popular teams.

I do not understand why they haven't just adopted the same layout as Korea. Have games going almost all week and doing BO3's. If you want to bring up VOD's well that works for BO1's and BO3's so it is a non-factor from the get go.

BO3's ARE better for competitive play better to prepare the teams for playoffs and international play and overall just a better viewing experience when you just want to relax coming back from work or on a weekend.

Nothing they are doing will be better for viewing numbers. They TRIED the BO1's before and came to the conclusion BO3's were better. Not only that from my own perspective these "super weekends" were totally BS. Trying to play up something that well is just more BO1's shoved into less time...

I barely ever even play the game anymore, the only thing that kept me interested in League was LCS/Worlds. Right now I am already annoyed by this knock out stage for the play-in's...that already doesn't make sense as all the teams that won their groups should have automatically advanced to the main tournament, the knock-out stage was a farce. The winners won pretty handily.

Changing this again will just lose me for good. I have teams I enjoy watching and if I'm going to possibly miss their game live I'm not the type to watch the VOD's when opening up almost anything will tell me who won, whereas in a BO3 even if I get up late or miss game 1 or so I can still catch the next one .

TL:DR, BO3's and competitive play was the only thing keeping me semi attached to League and this is just going to lose me completely. Oh and Korea's method is the better way, Riot should wake up and try doing it like that.

Last Gunfighter10/2/2017, 3:21:23 PM2 votes

The change won't stay. This is better for Riot, but much worse for the teams financially. The casual fans don't buy team merch. The casual fans don't follow individual team members outside of the LCS stage. This isnt just a "fuck you" to dedicated fans, it's also aimed at the teams. I hope this is ends up being a disaster so the esports industry can see what not to do and keep on growing in a positive direction

Esaul9/30/2017, 7:42:15 AM2 votes

I never found myself connected when it comes to sports. I don't follow any of it. It just doesn't hold interest. When I discovered the LCS, immediately I felt a connection with it and my favorite team, C9. And quite honestly, I don't even remember how I fell in love with C9 to begin with. I think honestly I picked a random team, and I told myself, hey I will follow these guys. Ever since, I haven't stopped my devotion. I think maybe it was more their style I enjoyed as well, Hai's shotcalling and LemonNation's notebook. Anyway, not the point.

LCS fans will watch their favorite team, whether it's live or VODs. They will make every effort to follow, cheer, support them. Hell, when I worked at McDonalds, when C9 played, I told my managers I needed to keep my phone out with YouTube up to follow the game. It was that, or they'd find me highly uncooperative. I live, breathe, and think about LCS all the time. I haven't had as much time to watch the games lately, due to life, but I also plan my days off accordingly to big games that I can't miss. If I know a C9 vs TSM game's upcoming, I will request the day off well in advance so it can't be possibly denied. I will gladly devote three hours to follow a series. But now you're taking that away, favoring a Bo1 format instead. Why should I sacrifice a day from work to watch just a 45 minute game? That's not nearly worth missing a day than three hours.

Bo1 format also creates one sided narratives. What's more exciting? A 1-1 C9/TSM game or a singular game where TSM crushes C9, and they won't play again until later in the split? It also kills the ability to grow as a team. We want to take NA seriously? We want them to compete against Korea and China? Well, Bo1 won't provide that. Teams were finally starting to use substitutes. This was a great thing, because Korea does this all the time. And not because someone plays bad either. Different playstyles can bring different strategies. Why would a NA LCS team sub someone out in a Bo1 format? The risk isn't worth the reward. However, we saw with varying degree of success with C9 for example, when they subbed Impact and Ray.

And let's talk about the on-air talent. By getting rid of the Bo3 format, and also killing the second stream, you also prohibit the on-air talent from working as well. Why would you keep swapping out shoutcasters between single games? They'd have the stamina to shoutcast a few games, or maybe half the day. NA LCS has a great amount of on-air talent with great personalities. The 2017 Season introduced us to CaptainFlowers. I think he has a great personality and I absolutely adored him during the play-in stage. We wouldn't have him or a few of our on-air talent hypothetically if we never switched to a Bo3 format to begin with.

Bo1 format also means less room for growth once again, because teams don't have to focus on strategy nearly as much compared to a Bo3 format. Why have multiple strats when you only have one game? Less play time means less practice time, which means they won't be ready for Worlds.

The reasoning behind the switch is an utter joke too. The thing about surveys and polls, you can say pretty much anything you want, but that doesn't mean the wool's pulled over our eyes. Without citing sources, Riot can't firmly support their claims. And how were these surveys targeted anyway? I know I never received one. I've seen various other people say similar things. There's such disconnect when it comes to Riot and their decisions. This came from absolutely nowhere. Riot decided that Bo3 wasn't working, so they switched on their own. Why not consult the fans in an open forum? Where's the conversation from Riot? Instead the decision was made without full disclosure. And that's offensive and ridiculous. NA can't be treated seriously. Do we honestly think TSM or Immortals would be nearly as strong without the use of a Bo3 format? Think about how amazing of a run Dignitas had as well. The Bo3 STRENGTHED the NA LCS teams. It made them more competitive. NAMES stand out more because of it. Take that away, you strip these teams of a competitive edge. And to think I was super excited about buying jerseys from every NA LCS team to show my full commitment to the League. Heh. Think again.

Also, I happen to remember an article discussing the amount of teams entering the League for the 2018 season. Was this made before or after Riot decided to switch back the format? Introducing more teams in a Bo1 format could benefit if we want to talk about potential pros in this scenario. Thirty-two teams make up the NFL. Thirty make up the NBA. Thirty make up MLB. These examples aren't the best, but even when you divide the teams into their respective conferences, you still get more teams from that than you do with LCS. Expanding the League creates more games as well during a split. We now go from a minimum of 36 games from a Bo3 format down to 18 in a Bo1. That's less League time, and as a fan I'm disappointed. I want to support the LCS and the players. But I cannot support Riot with their decision and lack of communication.

Hellmet10/1/2017, 11:21:09 PM1 votes

This is just another example of Riot not understanding sports and not understanding what it will take to build fan participation. Going away from the best of 3 format has to be one of the more stupid things they have done. I highly doubt I'll watch a single game next year.

ChompyWulf10/2/2017, 12:32:13 PM1 votes

Best of 3 has drawbacks. It requires more broadcast time and resources and worse teams are less likely to record an upset over top teams. Best of 1 is far worse. Less time for fans to see a favorite team or players. Less time for teams to challenge each other in meaningful ways. Drafts and bans will be insanely vital to get that single win, and less variety of champs will be seen. The meta will be more stunted and evolve less.

The article never addresses more than viewing numbers and frankly f#@! casual followers that a simplified season panders to. For dedicated fans the Bo3 makes far more sense.

I still think Riot should keep the Bo3 series, but adopt a point system for rankings. Teams get a bit of credit for a single win in a losing set, if a team or player cheeses the same champs they get a minor point deduction, winning teams get a small point bonus for very fast wins, losing teams get a small bonus if they can drag the game out and threaten a comeback, and point penalties if people violate LCS rules. It likely wouldn't impact final standings much, but may eliminate cases where like this summer the last couple weeks many of the matches didn't matter much at all aside from who got first or fifth seed.

Joey37610/1/2017, 1:34:47 AM1 votes

I feel RIOT does not care about whether we win or lose just views and I am not going to watch a worse League I can just watch China ,EU, or Korea who actually take it seriously. Seeing a best of one is pointless since there is no adaption to be made on the fly which will hurt NA in the long haul just my two cents. I am not going to watch NA next year I will still check out EU though.