If you can end a game, then end it!

I recently played a ranked game in which my teammates and l performed well. We were significantly ahead and victory was looking positive. At one point we aced the enemy team and went to push for the win. The game could have ended right there. But instead, a teammate of mine decided to start running around in the enemy base and hit minions instead of attacking the nexus. The enemy team re-spawned and killed them. The nexus had about 20 HP left. One hit. The teammate was in auto attack range of the nexus for a solid 10 seconds BEFORE the enemies had spawned, but didn't attack it. The enemy team eventually won that game. A similar thing happened again in a game earlier today.

Now, I have been playing League for 5 years, and I can honestly say that this is the single most tilting thing in the game. It's more tilting than trolls. It's more tilting than feeders. It's more tilting than toxic teammates. It's more tilting than getting flamed or wrongly blamed. 40 minutes of my day wasted. 40 point LP swing. That feeling you get of knowing you played well enough to win a ranked game... gone in an instant. That's the feeling that makes us keep playing. Having that feeling taken away by something out of your control is horrible. Losing a game that isn't due to gameplay mistakes is unfair and upsetting, especially when you know you did what you had to to win. Having trolls/afks is different. You don't expect to win those. You just surrender, report, and move on. Yes its tilting and frustrating, but it doesn't compare to having the feeling of victory ripped from you.

Now I know what you're thinking: "It's just one game man, stop being so dramatic." So what? Every game is just one game. Every time you win, that's just one game. Every time you lose, that's just one game. Each and every game matters, otherwise playing would be pointless. The feeling of victory is desirable regardless of how it is achieved. It affects people in real life. Some people choose to spend their free time playing League. That is why the whole "It's just a game" excuse is bullshit. Some people genuinely care about the game. Also keep in mind that just because it's "just one match" for you, it may be one of your teammates only game that day, or that week, or whatever.

Okay I'm done ranting now. Anyway, here is the point of this post:

When your in a game (especially ranked) and you have the chance and end it, please do. It doesn't matter how far ahead you are, hit the Nexus. Don't regroup just to get that Elder Drake. Don't recall just to finish out your Build. Don't fall back and take Baron just because you can. End the game. I don't care if your team is 20 kills up. End the game. Don't start dancing in front of the fountain flashing mastery. Don't start walking in circles around the nexus. End the game. I've played 1000s of games and seen plenty of throws that seemed inconceivable. I've also had plenty of comeback wins that were only possible due to enemy teams being stupid with their leads. If you can end the game, then end it! Also don't be afraid to step up and be the shot caller. All it takes is to chat something like, "Hey guys if we win this team fight rush nexus and win." That's it.

By the way, I'm not saying you can't have fun. If the enemies all have 30 second death timers and you have 3 waves of supers on the nexus, feel free to pop an emote and all chat GG. You should enjoy your win. My point is don't be stupid about it.

Anyway that's all I got. If you made it this far, thank you, and hopefully you guys can share in my frustration. Toodles!