Maxim “Maxim” Markow is a Twitch streamer and YouTuber, who has gained fame primarily with League of Legends. However, for the past few years, he has regularly played the auto battler Teamfight Tactics. There, he found a curious bug on the test server that cost him a victory.
What was the bug? In his TFT round, Maxim relied on many brawlers in the frontline. They gain additional maximum health depending on how many are on the field. Up to round 5-2, he had only 6 or 7 brawlers active, which is why the champions’ health points were increased by 70%.
However, when he placed the eighth brawler, he briefly wondered about the health points of his champions. They suddenly went down: “Somehow the bonus is not being calculated correctly,” he said.
Then he looked at the brawlers more closely and noticed a small detail: “Someone put a point in between!” Instead of the planned 111% additional health points, his champions received only 11.1%. Thus, the bonus made his game board even actively worse than before.
What happened next? Maxim lost the match and with it the bonus of 16 consecutive victories. That really hurt. The streamer then noted: “It’s the worst company… if you like math.”
However, the bug is not completely critical, as Maxim was playing on the test server for the new set. Set 8 is scheduled to be released in early December and brings new champions and mechanics. Until the release, the developers still have time to iron out such bugs.
You can watch the clip of the bug here:
Not the first calculation error in LoL or TFT
Why is Maxim so bothered by “math” at Riot Games? LoL and TFT are both competitive games where it is important that everything is calculated correctly and displayed to the player accurately. A few percent in critical chance or lifesteal can often decide between victory or defeat.
But where there is a lot of math, errors can occur, such as incorrect information on items or champion descriptions.
Those looking for errors will find, for example, a fix in patch 12.13, where an incorrect calculation was displayed in Ivern’s ultimate. Already in 2012, more than 10 years ago, there was an incorrect calculation in the interaction between the items Warmogs and Atma’s (via reddit). Even back then, there was already mockery about the “math skills.”
Criticism of Maxim: However, there is also some criticism of Maxim in the Twitch chat and on Twitter. He is said to be exaggerating, as the test servers are exactly for finding such bugs. Additionally, he has been insulting Riot Games too much lately.
Later in the livestream, he said: “It’s by far the worst company there is, by far” or “It’s self-protection to quit after such a mistake.” Some found that unfair, especially considering the successes of LoL, Valorant, and TFT.
In the end, the streamer actually won the match anyway, albeit only with 6 instead of 8 brawlers.
Maxim has been closely associated with Riot Games’ games for years. From 2013 to 2021, he was a shoutcaster for LoL, initially for the ESL, later also for the LEC and the Worlds. But that is now a thing of the past:
One of the most famous German LoL casters is quitting: “I don’t feel the game anymore”
