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 Welcome to the 2024 professional League of Legends thread! With another milestone year behind us and another trophy in Faker's vault, the season's set to begin with significant upheavals in the LCK's teams, several brands returning to the LEC, and the LCS finding every last penny to pinch. Whether you're a brand new viewer or a crusty old veteran returning after Worlds, there's no better time to return to watching the sport. What is League of Legends? League of Legends is a team-based game with a simple objective: pilot one of 160+ champions and destroy the enemy team's Nexus. This simple concept belies a game of enormous strategic complexity and mechanical depth that brings tens of millions of players to the servers daily, and which has led to the development and growth of one of the world's premiere esports.  Matches take place on Summoner's Rift between the blue (bottom-left) and red (top-right) teams. The map is divided into three lanes - toplane, midlane, and botlane - which allied and enemy units (minions) spawn in and push down automatically. Killing minions will grant gold and experience, which can be spent on items and levels respectively to make champions more powerful. Each lane has several turrets that will attack enemy minions and champions, and which must be destroyed to make progress down the lane. At the end of each lane is an inhibitor, and destroying it will cause more powerful minions to temporarily spawn down that lane. Once an inhibitor is destroyed, the turrets that protect the Nexus are exposed; destroying these turrets will allow a team to destroy the enemy Nexus, winning the game. Inbetween these lanes are areas populated by neutral monsters, called the jungle. In addition to the regular jungle monsters, there are special epic monsters that spawn at specific locations on the map:
The Regions League is a worldwide sport, currently composed of four major regions and numerous minor regions. Regions primarily compete domestically, with two major tournaments - the Mid-Season Invitational (MSI) and Worlds - serving as the primary international competition between them.  [Start Date: January 17] Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKVlixycWmapnGQ_wht4cHQ The major region. Finally returned to form with the surprise dominance of T1 returning to the international stage, significantly raising their already formidable reputation. Generally known for having a methodical, controlled playstyle that's focused on objective control and precise timings to gain advantages. Notable for also being the major talent-producing region for the sport as a whole, with every region major or minor fielding multiple Korean imports. It should be noted that Twitch has ceased operations in South Korea due to ongoing financial issues. While I haven't seen any official confirmation, I'm assuming that the Youtube page is now going to be the one and only source for live viewing, so adjust your bookmarks accordingly.  [Start Date: January 22] Twitch - https://www.twitch.tv/lpl Generally considered the second best region, League's insane popularity in China has also made the LPL one of the busiest regions, with a staggering 17 different teams competing this season. A notoriously bloody league that loves scrapping, with LPL teams willing to duke it out at a moment's notice. Tends to trade off frontrunner status with the LCK depending on the meta.  [Start Date: January 13] Twitch - https://www.twitch.tv/lec The Europeans have bounced around in the rankings over the years, though they're generally able to field at least one or two teams that are international menaces a year, and have one of the best English broadcasts around. Generally known for their unpredictability, having pulled out weird picks and niche strategies multiple times at Worlds to catch other teams off guard, though their ability to make deep runs is highly dependent on the strength of individual teams. Mergers and acquisitions have resulted in the return of Rogue and the addition of Karmine Corp as official teams, Excel merging with Giants to form GIANTX (lmao), and Mad Lions and KOI joining forces as Mad Lions KOI (again, lmao).  [Start Date: January 20] Twitch - https://www.twitch.tv/lcs The LCS serves as the perpetual gatekeepers of international competition, being strong enough to consistently beat teams from minor regions, but not teams from majors. Typically favors a slower, risk-averse playstyle that plays reactively to enemy mistakes instead of proactively, which usually lands them in hot water against more aggressive teams. Has occasionally shown some surprising runs internationally, but usually flares out early. This marks an especially interesting season due to decreased investment from teams in their rosters, resulting in a lot of budget pickups, and the surprise announcement of Mark Zimmerman as LCS commissioner. Definitely a region to keep your eye on. Note that the LCS is back to weekends, so be sure to adjust your schedules accordingly. Important Links LoL Esports - The hub for all-things pro League and Riot's official website. Contains schedules for every major and minor region, as well as various important regional and international tournaments. Leaguepedia - Yeah, it's on loving Fandom, but there's no better resource for pro League information out there. Contains gamescores, champion statistics, player/team information, tournament results, etc. Games of Legends - A pro game stat tracking site. Used extensively by analysts for looking up team and champion statistics. EpicSkillshot - The OG Youtube VOD channel. Not allowed to upload LCK VODs, but you'll find VODs for every other major region and international tournament there, including a massive historical archive of past seasons for the curious. Previous Thread - To relive the good (?) times. Vermain fucked around with this message at 18:01 on Jan 5, 2024 |
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Jan 5, 2024 02:54
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| # ? May 3, 2024 11:26 |
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reserve post just in case
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Jan 5, 2024 02:55
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Will this be the year that the LCS stops being an embarrassment? Let's find out!
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Jan 5, 2024 02:56
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All aboard the Also since I posted it presumably as the OP was being written. quote:2024 changes. MSI winner is now guaranteed a spot at Worlds outside their region's usual spots. Losing finalist gets a 4th spot for their region. So the 2 regions that make the MSI finals will get 4 Worlds spots, with the LCS and LEC getting 3. MSI in China, Worlds in Europe with the final at the O2 in London, LEC Studio has gotten a refurb, they're finally starting the Lolesports Hall of Fame.
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Jan 5, 2024 03:10
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looking forward to watching the 3rd best league, "LCS", play this coming season
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Jan 5, 2024 03:18
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GIANTX's fortunes to suffer until they rebrand to GIANTO.
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Jan 5, 2024 03:32
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1stGear posted:Will this be the year that the LCS stops being an embarrassment? Let's find out! the answer will unfortunately be "no" since the budget rosters are still mostly coasting on old, cheap names that can be quickly assembled into a frankenstein's monster. i do think NRG has a decent shot internationally if they stay the course and improve on what they did last year, and C9 has a solid on paper roster that might be able to do something come MSI i'm more hoping for a revival of the LCS as a domestic league with markz in the driver's seat, since i think he genuinely understands what interests viewers and how to tailor the broadcast so that people have a reason to tune in, even if it's not necessarily to watch the best high quality league play in the world njsykora posted:Also since I posted it presumably as the OP was being written. yeah, apologies for that; i got laid low by a migraine yesterday and just got around to it hoping no one was thinking of posting anything still  i like the change overall, since it's a good way of giving 4th seeds to the regions that actually deserve them without just straight up stripping them unilaterally from NA/LEC. looking forwards to seeing the new LEC studio, especially if they increase the seating enough so that it doesn't feel like it's got the capacity of an average talk show
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Jan 5, 2024 06:30
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fyi your link to epicskillshot goes to a completely different channel - a 4y/o intro to league video
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Jan 5, 2024 11:27
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Vermain posted:the answer will unfortunately be "no" since the budget rosters are still mostly coasting on old, cheap names that can be quickly assembled into a frankenstein's monster. i do think NRG has a decent shot internationally if they stay the course and improve on what they did last year, and C9 has a solid on paper roster that might be able to do something come MSI We get this hopium every year. The truth is that LCK and LPL are so much better than LEC and LCS that the West will get obliterated like they did last year.
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Jan 5, 2024 15:37
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tithin posted:fyi your link to epicskillshot goes to a completely different channel - a 4y/o intro to league video whoops, thank you, must've been part of an older draft
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Jan 5, 2024 18:02
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Vermain posted:the answer will unfortunately be "no" since the budget rosters are still mostly coasting on old, cheap names that can be quickly assembled into a frankenstein's monster. i do think NRG has a decent shot internationally if they stay the course and improve on what they did last year, and C9 has a solid on paper roster that might be able to do something come MSI The thing is if you practice vs weak teams you develop bad habits which has been the case fo NA, usually there is maybe 2 good teams. I do think maybe the talent being concentrated in 2 teams might be the upside compared to before. As for the 2nd point, I don't know I feel like it's a bit too little and too late. The reason why NA had that special magic in the early years is because the scene and game was growing together. At this point I am not even sure if the game is growing in NA? It still seems like one of the most popular games around but mainly due Asia + Europe. Even during peak NA hours I see more Brazilian streamers at the top of the charts. I been waiting for the Brazilian scene to have their Luminosity moment like they had in CSGO and they dominated that scene for a year.
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Jan 5, 2024 18:04
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LCS Address from MarkZ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ktDdPlioGs 2 biggest changes is 1)All matches will be on the live current patch. Pros no longer have to practice and play on two different versions. 2)Less downtime between games. Once a game ends/during the ending, the next game's draft is going to be recorded backstage. Then once the teams are setup and all the tech checks are going on, the recording will air, with the commentators making their commentary just as if it's live. NACL is going to fearless drafts which I think was already announced?
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Jan 9, 2024 19:30
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Digital Jedi posted:LCS Address from MarkZ drat, those are some pretty significant changes. live patch is huge because of how much it's going to favor teams that can get ahead of the curve and figure out the meta early on in the week to practice, so it could lead to some unexpectedly strong teams if they've got perceptive analysts. the downtime bit makes it sound like they're effectively nixing the postgame analyst desk: that's a big gamble for them to take, considering that it's a given for every other region, but it's not necessarily a bad direction to take it i get the impression that markZ wants the LCS to be an entertainment product first and foremost, and making it as lean and mean as possible to bring in views (and probably draw more sponsorship dollars) is a good direction to take it in. i think he was easily the best guy they could've promoted to the job both due to his understanding of the direction the LCS needs to head in, and the fact that he's built up a tremendous level of trust over the years should help to restore a lot of faith in the product edit: looks like there's also going to be a tier 2 americas tournament for the NACL and the various south american tier 2 leagues, which is a good step towards an all americas tournament for the main stage Vermain fucked around with this message at 20:32 on Jan 9, 2024 |
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Jan 9, 2024 20:26
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So what's the scuttle(crab)butt on the lesser known (to me) members of this season's LCS rosters? In particular, I'm looking at Bugi on Shopify Rebellion, DiG Dove, IMT Mask, TL Umti, 100T Meech and 100T Sniper. I'm happy to see Jensen and Bwipo on FLY, but I'm not exactly excited about them adding Busio. Also, how are y'all ranking the rosters? Looks to me like C9 and NRG should be tops, with FLY and TL behind them. That's not exactly a hot take but I don't know enough about the other rosters to say much more. Also also, are there any key LEC roster shake-ups? isaboo fucked around with this message at 18:36 on Jan 12, 2024 |
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Jan 12, 2024 18:26
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isaboo posted:So what's the scuttle(crab)butt on the lesser known (to me) members of this season's rosters? in terms of new names:
Vermain fucked around with this message at 18:47 on Jan 12, 2024 |
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Jan 12, 2024 18:45
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as a reminder, LEC starts tomorrow (january 13th) at 11 AM EST. they finally got around to updating the lolesports schedule, so you can check your own timezone here for comparison
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Jan 12, 2024 23:50
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I want to see how TH performs, might get a little excited
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Jan 13, 2024 00:30
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Broadcast is live, games start 53 minutes from this post. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1bs9Xq-5sKM Medic, nooooo what did you do to that beautiful mane of yours?
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Jan 13, 2024 16:08
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This open-mic bit is some instant-LEC gold-of-old, goddamn
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Jan 13, 2024 16:28
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lcs? na
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Jan 13, 2024 16:36
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biggest improvement they could make is ending the 20+ minute chronobreak pauses. and bo3s but that's a pipedream
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Jan 13, 2024 16:39
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We have LOL Park at home.
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Jan 13, 2024 17:05
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njsykora posted:We have LOL Park at home. bet they don't even have a really quaint looking cafe hooked up to that thing neither
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Jan 13, 2024 17:07
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hell, if pyke's in meta, i'll take it really funny we still cannot shake vi after like two goddamn years despite her starting out solely as a zeri counter
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Jan 13, 2024 17:10
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Grubs confirmed.
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Jan 13, 2024 17:17
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njsykora posted:Grubs confirmed. one season after grubby started playing league... coincidence????
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Jan 13, 2024 17:18
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Ice, your ult dude. That didn't have to happen. On the other hand, trading that for a full 6 grubs is pretty worth with Adam where he is.
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Jan 13, 2024 17:21
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njsykora posted:Ice, your ult dude. That didn't have to happen. and then he throws it all away, rip
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Jan 13, 2024 17:22
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I'm the gameannouncement_onkilll_redDragon text bug
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Jan 13, 2024 17:32
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isaboo posted:I'm the gameannouncement_onkilll_redDragon text bug we all are in 2024 good response from G2, they've managed to keep this drat close
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Jan 13, 2024 17:36
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god how i've missed the incomprehensible G2 background chanting
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Jan 13, 2024 17:40
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I'm gonna have to look up all the new mechanics, since I missed the early broadcast, because what in god's name is going on on the rift?
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Jan 13, 2024 17:41
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Duzzy Funlop posted:I'm gonna have to look up all the new mechanics, since I missed the early broadcast, because what in god's name is going on on the rift? This is usually a question asked when LCS teams are playing
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Jan 13, 2024 17:45
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lets not pretend the LEC is any better than the LCS these days lmao
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Jan 13, 2024 17:47
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Duzzy Funlop posted:I'm gonna have to look up all the new mechanics, since I missed the early broadcast, because what in god's name is going on on the rift? there's three reasonably big map changes to keep track of, aside from the general layout changes:
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Jan 13, 2024 17:49
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Love the post game interview where Mikyx says G2 is so much better at macro than any other team in LEC that they can screw around early game and it doesn't matter.
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Jan 13, 2024 18:09
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saintonan posted:Love the post game interview where Mikyx says G2 is so much better at macro than any other team in LEC that they can screw around early game and it doesn't matter. they're goddamn right, too, which does not bode well for the LEC considering G2 got its cheeks clapped internationally
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Jan 13, 2024 18:18
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saintonan posted:Love the post game interview where Mikyx says G2 is so much better at macro than any other team in LEC that they can screw around early game and it doesn't matter. Another season of G2 dogwalking the LEC and then getting rinsed at internationals Honestly they should change the name back to EULCS
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Jan 13, 2024 18:32
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i still cannot get over how loving cool the baron spawn isFirebert posted:Another season of G2 dogwalking the LEC and then getting rinsed at internationals it would be very funny if the LCS accidentally moneyballs itself now that it's poverty row and still ends up beating the LEC again once MSI comes around
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Jan 13, 2024 18:45
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| # ? May 3, 2024 11:26 |
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Lol humanoid trying to TP when he knows gragas is right there
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Jan 13, 2024 19:56
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