What I think is missing from the LCS

The player comms.

I don't know why each team doesn't have its own stream where players can be part of the team's shotcalling in real time. That's where 90% of the entertainment is and it's why LCS streams are eclipsed in popularity by solo streamers.

I'm not trying to put casters out of business here, I think Riot can continue to run a caster stream but the player comm streams need to be broadcast as well if the sport wants to continue to grow. There's only so much a caster can meaningfully add to a match for anyone but a person completely new to the franchise tuning in. It just doesn't add anything for spectators already familiar with the game.

If Riot hasn't implemented this as some excuse to "protect the players/organizations" then I think that's a lapse in judgement. I've seen these matches, no one's performing rocket science on the rift. But even if this is to protect these "trade secrets" then all that will happen (and has happened) is the scene will cater more and more to orgs that can perform the necessary data mining that each patch foists upon the player base. This is exactly where the scene is at the moment, the cloistered climate has selected for the best data miners at the expense of greater mechanical mastery. And that further hammers in the problem with the scene, there's nothing to immediately impress upon the viewer that makes them go "wow, this guy's good."

As a viewer, I want to know immediately that these players are the best of the best. I don't get that at all though because mechanics have become so secondary to the success of a match.

So what would opening up comms to the viewer during an LCS match do? In the short term it would show the mental apm that's been selected for over the years through Riot's balancing decisions. This would make it 10x more watchable immediately. In the long term it would force teams to rely less on data mining for gaining competitive edges and more on mechanical prowess since data mining could only be used as a one-off in an important series and would become public domain after that.

Thanks for reading :) [vlad-salute]