Why Copying the Pros Doesn't Work

Twitch.tv is a popular social media platform that is used to stream various video games. Using Twitch, professional League of Legends players are able to stream their gameplay and give commentary on what they are doing. This is a great way for people to learn about the game and how things work. However, attempting to directly copy a professional League of Legends player's gameplay is a relatively bad idea and will not help you be successful in game.

 

What not do to:

Every League of Legends player has their own specific play-style; therefore, your playstyle is probably different than any professional player's. Professional League of Legends players have a very individualized play style that would be very difficult to recreate. Furthermore, every game of League is completely different from the last and even within games every situation is different. There is no way to know what is going to happen in a game until it happens. The best way to be prepared for each game is to be confident in your own specific play style and understand what you are doing and why.

Professional players almost always play against other players in their skill level. This seems like it would be obvious, but consider this: the way that they play and the high amount of skill that they have makes what they are doing almost a completely different game from lower elo. Just because professional players can play various champions does not mean everybody can do the same with equal skill. For example, high elo players competed in tournaments such as the Best Riven NA and Best Lee Sin NA. These competitions showed even professional players have different play-style with the same champion. It takes practice, skill, and knowledge of the champion to be able to pull off a lot of the things that they do.

Sometimes attempting to copy what you see in a stream can actually hurt you. Not all streamers play seriously and it can sometimes be difficult to discern between when the player is being serious and when they are just “trolling”. There are also times when streamers will be trying out a new build and are unsure if it will work. Experimental builds may work in one specific situation but not in any other.

 

What you should do:

On the other hand, some League of Legends streamers will give tips on how to play specific champions and what to buy with them. A good example of a streamer that will give hints for all different types of gameplay is Joedat “Voyboy” Esfahani from Team Curse. Voyboy gives tips throughout his games. These helpful hints, such as what items to buy, what runes/masteries to take, would be very good to listen to and apply to your own gameplay. Watching professional players and picking up on some of their habits is not always a bad thing if you are able to successfully recreate what they are doing. Understanding what you are doing and why you are doing it seperates good players from copycats.

An easy way to pick up some good habits would be to look into old games that professional League of Legends players have played and see what worked well for them and what didn’t. It is also helpful to look at websites such a lolking and mobafire. There are guides on here that were written by professional players for any champion. These guides will improve your gameplay and general knowledge of the game.

Moral of the story, watching professional players stream league can help your gameplay and overall knowledge of the game. However, it is in everybody’s best interest to not copy their play-style. Instead of just copying a professional player, watch what they are doing and try to understand why they are doing it and incoroprate that knowledge into your own gameplay.

Happy summoning!