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I love how everyone is saying to NA/EU "Get better to beat SKT"

QueenAqua86·5/21/2017, 11:02:01 PM·2 votes·361 views

When that's not physically possible in the West right now.

Why? Internet infrastructure, plain country size and YEARS of practice on anyone in the West.

Internet infrastructure and country size - South Korea has the biggest, tightest, fastest Internet setup in the world. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_in_South_Korea) For them, 9ms ping is considered HIGH. The reason they can get those speeds is because their population fits into a spit of land 1/4th the size of California. (http://www.travelersdigest.com/7040-how-big-is-south-korea-in-comparison-to-the-united-states-germany-japan-uk/)

You have less cable to lay, less servers to manage and less lag between computers.

We cannot practice nor play at the speeds Korea can simply because we're too big (just talking NA). In order to lay a framework for nationwide internet that would even remotely reach their speeds would cost <insert number of money here the Internet companies/government will never ever pay for.>

So TSM, Cloud 9, G2, they could have five players identical to Faker's skill level. They STILL wouldn't be able to beat SKT because they can't PLAY like SKT can. You think Goldenglue went over to Korea to take pictures and try the food?

Likely yes, but that was far from the driving force.

Years of practice going back to 1999 (https://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/20/technology/league-of-legends-south-korea-epicenter-esports.html?_r=0) - Starcraft. SC II. DOTA. Counter strike global offensive. Internet cafes. Extreme embrace of gaming as a cultural touchstone.

SKT has existed in some form since 2003. League pro play/esports as we know it now wasn't created until 2013. They had a DECADE plus to get good, to get sharp, to ingrain their players with the sense of discipline and skill needed to just stomp out everyone at the rate they do so now.

So if we're even looking to be able to match them, we got another 10 years to even approach that point. But Esports isn't promoted, cultured or ingrained anywhere in the West like it is here (thank you football, basketball and every other sport that makes ESPN look down their nose at LoL pro play: http://ftw.usatoday.com/2015/04/colin-cowherd-eviscerates-espn-for-televising-esports).

Is there a way to solve this? Doubtful. Salary caps, mixing player pools or forming an NA/EU/etc dream team won't work. We tried that last year. TSM 2016 anyone? (https://www.redbull.com/us-en/bjergsen-speaks-after-an-emotional-loss-at-worlds)

TL;DR - It is impossible for anyone in the West at this point in time to 'git gud' enough to win major tournaments or Worlds. Telling them to 'get better lol' isn't going to do a damn thing.

2 Comments

Nahui5/21/2017, 11:18:58 PM4 votes

Just remember that the disparity in play is mostly due to skill, not internet speeds in respective regions. Your points make sense and are logical, but be sure to know that we can't blame internet speed on the difference in gameplay. There's a lot more to it than that.

They practice more, harder. Games are part of their culture, not a career. They take it more seriously.

If internet lag were a huge part in it, you'd see great decision making unraveled by superior mechanics. While yes Korean mechanics are great, their decision making and shot calling is what really puts them above the others, specifically SKT. A huge flaw of NA, particularly last year, is simply being caught out. Whether through overextension or not properly reading absence of certain players on the map and getting dove under their own tower, NA lacks in this department severely. That's why in NA, our teams seem so competitive and powerful in the LCS because the decision making is on similar levels, but when we go international, we get absolutely shit stomped. Watch Korean teams, their incidence level of being caught out is typically lower, only really spiking in a KR v KR team.

It's mainly a difference in culture. They care more, they always have. In the West, we prize physical sports more and even with professional players, cultural ideology is ingrained in our personality in that they don't see the game the same way the Koreans do.

It's certainly not impossible to beat the East. But it requires extra work and dedication, and we don't value video games like they do so our players won't work to the extent, and even more if the internet factor is -actually- a problem, that SKT, or Koreans in general, do.