When discussing the most memorable moments of the 2021 World Championship play-in stage, alongside the performances of the teams and the excellence of DetonatioN FocusMe, the incident involving Maoan from Beyond Gaming may be the most unforgettable. It can be said that Maoan’s situation sent shockwaves through the League of Legends community worldwide. No one could understand why this young player would be willing to jeopardize his entire career path like that. Recently, SwordArt – the former runner-up of the 2020 World Championship also shared his personal insights on this event, and his stream truly set the LPL community “on fire”.
“LPL teams only need to win, nothing else matters”
According to SwordArt, the problem with BYG lies in the fact that the coaching staff completely ignores the issues surrounding the players, as long as they win matches. Not only BYG, but SwordArt believes that even among Major teams in LPL, not every team has strict management. Many individuals with managerial responsibilities exist only on paper. The coaching staff and leadership levels in LPL are very lenient with players or indifferent to any issues other than winning. SwordArt believes this will lead to unhealthy development for LPL or any team in a similar situation. While winning is important, guidance and direction for the players are just as crucial.
Ning – the former star of Invictus Gaming also mentioned that LPL coaching staffs are often more lenient and easy-going with players, even if they can “cause chaos”. Meanwhile, both SwordArt and Ning assert that the LCK environment is entirely contrasting. While Ning recalls witnessing Coach Kim harshly scold Nuguri, SwordArt believes that being strict can sometimes lead to resentment from players, but it will definitely elevate LPL, especially in terms of performance.
Once publicly scolded Bin
SwordArt also mentioned that in the past, as the oldest member of the team, the former Support of Suning had often contributed his thoughts on team management to the coaching staff and leadership, but in response, those in power at SN told him it was not SwordArt’s responsibility. Perhaps, this example from the former Support explains the chaotic situation following the 2020 World Championship and the rapid decline of “The Lions of LPL” after just one season. They lacked funding, but the other issue was internal instability.
SwordArt further elaborated that when Bin first joined the main team from the Academy team, with his extensive experience, he immediately recognized that this would be an extremely talented player in the future. However, things began to deteriorate when during a practice match, Bin was taken down during the laning phase despite his teammates communicating. However, SwordArt noted that no one scolded or provided feedback to Bin after the mistake, and the young player did not show any remorse, even blaming his teammates for not supporting him and continued to play solo. SwordArt was the one who publicly scolded Bin right in front of everyone.
A tough player like SwordArt is the one thing that SN lacked last season, and unfortunately, this was a critical shortcoming. Losing SwordArt was like a headless snake for SN, and their glory faded too quickly after just shining brightly in 2020.
Specifically naming IG as “rotten”
At the end of the stream, SwordArt also shared about a team in the LPL that is gradually becoming “rotten”. According to SwordArt, there are many teams in LPL that have the mentality of only caring about winning, disregarding what the players do. For this reason, some teams have poor performances, but overall, they are still considered a strong team. And the owners only care about that.
Since SwordArt confirmed that this team did not participate in the World Championship, LPL fans quickly speculated and the focus turned to IG. Everyone knows that IG’s management team is weak, and the owner, Wang Zitong, no longer pays much attention to the team after several failed business ventures, even though the IG corporation is considered his private asset. As for the players, both Rookie and TheShy have lost their form for various reasons, yet they still take to the field, likely because IG’s leadership is either unable or unwilling to make the necessary changes.
From the BYG incident and SwordArt’s comments, it can be concluded that managing teams is a top priority. Strict management and coaching staff are necessary for teams to succeed. Looking at the former Griffin members with drama surrounding Coach cvMax’s strictness towards his students. Currently, except for Sword, all the others like Tarzan, Viper, Chovy, as well as Lehends, Kanavi have been proving their caliber in both domestic and global stages. Meanwhile, SN and IG, after losing proper attention and those willing to speak up for the team’s development, have also abandoned the hard-earned glory they once had.