League of Legends, or the MOBA genre in general, and team games require all players to compete based on teamwork. Specifically, each gamer can possess extremely high skills and may be superstars… but the key to winning lies in unity and playing for the team. This is no longer a strange concept, especially for games that require frequent clashes, as they demand that each team member coordinate seamlessly to achieve the ultimate victory.
However, for sOAZ – the 2018 World Championship runner-up, he believes that this very aspect makes LoL less exciting compared to DOTA 2 – the “arch-rival” of LoL. According to sOAZ, he said: “When I was still playing LoL, I thought DOTA 2 was more exciting. LoL relies too much on the team. I’m not saying DOTA 2 doesn’t depend on the team, but DOTA 2 players are more creative, they can make more mistakes but also create more interesting moments compared to LoL.”
This is not the first time players, teams, or the gameplay in LoL have been seen as lacking creativity and only following pre-determined formulas, with players, no matter how talented, having to comply with the collective decisions. Occasionally, some names like ShowMaker, Keria, or SofM introduce more creative changes in item builds or summoner spell choices… However, not many players dare to do this regularly, especially when results are paramount for teams. Each failed experiment can lead to significant consequences later on.
As for sOAZ, no longer competing in Europe, he is now playing for WAVE Esports – a League of Legends team competing in the professional league in Austria. During his peak career, sOAZ often showcased incredibly creative and surprising plays for both opponents and audiences. The most notable is the moment sOAZ turned MaRin and Bengi into “two clowns” with a mind-bending Flash, escaping a gank and leaving the core duo of SKT T1 stunned.
Overall, in highly competitive environments like LCK or LPL, it is understandable for teams and players to limit risky experiments. However, each game has its unique appeal, and to date, League of Legends remains highly attractive to players and is considered the “national” game of the world.