Inside the Booth
Riot·3/21/2014, 12:43:46 AM·0 votes·1,062 views
The Sixth Man
Since Season 3, the concept of having an impartial sixth voice involved in team decisions has become more commonplace in professional League of Legends teams around the world. Today, every professional team has a sixth man to some degree, whether it be a full-time coach, or an analyst corresponding with the team online. Many coaches in League of Legends found their start as a player, such as NaJin e-mFire's Kim “MOKUZA” Dae-Woong or Team Curse's Brandon “Saintvicious” DiMarco. Korean esports has always been widely respected for its advanced infrastructure, and at the core of every professional Korean League of Legends team is the coaching team. Most Korean organizations employ multiple coaches, who look after different areas of performance, including gameplay, teamwork, mental health and even nutrition. OnGameNet’s Masters tournament lets coaches stand in before and after games, allowing teams to formulate strategies to a greater level. Similar to breaks in basketball, coaches play a vital role in preparing their teams in the midst of a heated match.
The performance of an organization in Masters is directly linked to their coach's decision in picking a team for the final game. While a strong organization such as SK Telecom or Samsung Galaxy may have no qualms in switching teams around due to a comfortable ladder ranking, trailing organizations such as KT Rolster and Incredible Miracle must take care in selecting their Masters team. As tensions rise inside the booth, such as before an important ace game, coaches are often seen taking a more active role.
Masters of Masters
Former MVP Ozone coach Im Hyun-seok has stated that coaches are heavily involved in formulating strategies for Champion Select, but has acknowledged that coaches “cannot make final, conclusive decisions, as [they] are not the ones playing”. In Masters, however, Champion Select is able to be directly influenced by the coaches present in the booths (though this has not prevented SK Telecom T1 S from accidentally banning Anivia instead of Annie). This feature is distinctly different from OnGameNet's Champions, where teams must enter the booth without external help and execute their strategies without direct guidance.
Aside from being in the booth during Champion Select, the coaches of Masters' teams fulfill another key function – selecting the team that will compete in the Masters game (the final game). As Masters is a league without circuit points for Worlds, spectators have the unique fortune of watching coaches experiment with champions, strategies and even rosters. Kim “kkOma” Jung-kyun of SK Telecom T1 in particular is not above experimenting in the final game, especially since he's able to exploit T1 K's current form to guarantee at least two wins whenever he needs to. So far, kkOma has used ace games to re-introduce Zac to Impact's champion pool, to give T1 S experience against the rampaging CJ Entus Blaze, and to place Casper in a mixed team to give him a challenge.
According to NaJin e-mFire's head coach Park “Reach” Jung-suk, coaches do not just “pick and ban” champions, but also have a role in “helping and caring for the players”. Spectators of the NaJin vs. Samsung ace game may have spotted Samsung's two coaches actively encouraging their players, both before and after the game. Teams are comforted by their coaches' presence in the booth, a fact made evident after the Season 3 World Championship, when Bengi, Piglet, Faker and Impact all made it a point to thank kkOma as well as their head coach, Choi Byung-hoon for their work when asked for final words and shout-outs in an interview with Inven.
With coaching being so integral to Korean esports, the presence of coaches inside the Masters booths is more important than at first glance. While teams are prepared in their tournament games, they are also left without a sixth voice, and may succumb to stage pressure. In Masters, the pressure of playing against an unknown team may be mitigated by the presence of a wise, caring coach. The current season of Masters is only a taste of what is possible when coaches are allowed to assist their teams in close proximity, and tournament organizers from around the world may be able to learn something from this unique feature of OnGameNet's Masters.
