Emotes in League of Legends are a great feature as they allow players to express emotions without excessive chatting. However, they can also impact the psychology of gamers, which is why most tournaments have avoided using emotes up until now. It may not be that Riot prohibits them, but pro players need to save time for gameplay and also maintain a “fair play” spirit without taunting opponents in this way.
However, just a few days ago during the upper bracket finals between Fnatic and MAD Lions, the members of the orange-clad team continuously used emotes, which made the one-sided and boring match much more enjoyable. A notable example was when Bwipo used the Penguin Hi emote before diving into Aphelios, or when Rekkles, who missed out on a Penta, activated a sad emote.
This has sparked a small trend of watching professional matches to see how the game would unfold if players spammed emotes continuously or used them every time they made a great play. Recently, Riot Games recreated a series of classic League of Legends highlights by adding emotes, and it would be hilarious to see Faker use an emote after that legendary Zed vs. Zed matchup against Ryu, wouldn’t it?
And of course, in a highlight play, there will be a shining star and a victim, and coincidentally, G2 Esports’ CEO Ocelote appears twice as a victim. Meanwhile, Faker, with his legendary Zed solo play, naturally takes the top spot, and T1 even commented under lolesports’ tweet supporting the idea of having a Faker Penguin emote for extra coolness.
G2 Esports: Why do you guys do this to us?
Ocelote – CEO of G2 Esports: Why am I here twice? You could choose one, but no, you made us the background twice, this is the second time! (Ocelote refers to how Riot previously used G2 Esports as the background twice in the 2019 Worlds video).
T1 comments: Faker’s Penguin emote, we wholeheartedly support it.
With such classic highlights, gamers are likely very familiar with them already. However, just by adding a few emotes, the story changes dramatically, and it provides a more enjoyable way to experience what are arguably the best moments in League of Legends.