For 11 years, there have been world championships in League of Legends and only twice have teams from America made it into the top 4. The developers at Riot Games, who are based in America, have been trying for years to strengthen the competitive scene there. Most recently, the Champions Queue was introduced. But even that is currently facing ridicule.
What is the state of the American LoL scene?
- The American teams are often laughed at internationally. A German coach once said that players who switch to America give up winning.
- Only in the first season in 2011 and in 2018 did American teams manage to reach the semifinals of the LoL Worlds, with no team ever allowed to play in a final. In Europe, there has at least been one title and twice a second-place finish.
- It is noticeable that teams like to spend a lot of money to recruit players from abroad. For example, the midlaner PerkZ moved to the USA for a transfer fee of 5 million dollars. In 2021, 15 players from American teams participated in the Worlds, but only 3 actually came from America.
- Riot Games has therefore begun to strengthen the American LoL scene. For this, the Champions Queue was introduced, a dedicated queue for professionals, substitutes, young talents, and the best players of SoloQ. However, this very Champions Queue is currently under criticism.
Professionals use it too rarely, complain about voice chat
What is the problem with the Champions Queue? It was supposed to ensure that the quality of games and thus the challenge for professionals increases. This way, they should be able to improve, even when no official practice matches are scheduled.
However, many professionals do not utilize this offer at all. Former professional player Yilang “Doublelift” Peng complains that professionals tend to just hang out with their friends after training. Some professionals might go weeks without playing a single match there, even though this queue was a long-standing wish of the teams.
Which professionals are currently active in the queue is shown every week by Travis Gafford in a tweet:
Furthermore, this special queue does not use a matchmaking rating, which especially American players who do not belong to any pro team criticize (via Twitlonger). It is supposed to be possible to rank up even with a win rate of 37%, and players often face the same opponents, regardless of whether they dominate them or not.
What happens now? Riot is taking the Champions Queue offline for now. Changes are to be made, including the introduction of a matchmaking rating. Additionally, the pool of participating players will be increased (via Riot Games).
One change that is particularly ridiculed in the community is the adjustment to the voice chat. According to Riot, the pressure in the Champions Queue is so high that players are reluctant to access the voice chat. Instead of having it automatically activated at the start, it is now set to be disabled by default.
“I’m curious what excuses will be given for NA this time”
How are the changes being received? In the reddit community for LoL, there is a lot of mockery and ridicule for the Champions Queue. Especially the section about the voice chat is frequently mocked:
- sznfrk writes (via reddit): “Isn’t the goal to simulate competitive games where a random jungler doesn’t suddenly steal the cannon minion? Where coordination and coordinated moves play a role? 99% of competitive games require a voice chat. […] Play the damn game as if it were a competition.”
- PostDifferentThings is also puzzled by the statement (via reddit): “Just to clarify: You created a special space where only professional players and highly qualified members of the community can play competitive games to improve their skills. You provided them a server with low pings, something these players have been demanding for years. And now these players say they don’t feel compelled to join voice chats?”
In the same thread, discussions can also be found regarding what the future excuses will be for why the professionals in America are playing worse than in other regions. One user compiled a list of past excuses that have been addressed with the Champions Queue, including high ping, one-trick ponies in SoloQ, bad matchmaking, and a lack of a competitive environment (via reddit).
What else is causing criticism? Another point of criticism from the community is the selected time frame for the downtime of the Champions Queue. It will be taken offline from now until May 31. This is approximately the period during which no regular league operation takes place.
This would actually be the ideal period for professionals to train in this leaderboard or for new talents to generate attention.
Especially in 2022, when the World Championship takes place in North America, many fans hope that their teams will not embarrass themselves. However, many now doubt whether the Champions Queue alone is enough to prepare the region.
A team that is currently exciting players in Germany is Eintracht Spandau. You can find out everything about the team here:
Everything you need to know about the LoL team Eintracht Spandau
