STACK Jun #128

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066 JUNE 2015 JB Hi-Fi
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A project that began as an ambitious multiplayer online battle arena from Riot Games back in 2009,
League of Legends now has the world’s largest online gaming community, and arguably one of eSports’
most competitive scenes.Though the Australian front is still finding its feet, those passionate enough are
making a name for themselves. STACK’s Alesha Kolbe caught up with DireWolves’ Curtis Morgan to talk
about his transformation from casual gamer to Oceanic Challenger.
A s it turns out, it’s
best to start
young if you’re
hoping to get into
competitive gaming. It
also helps if you’re leaps
and bounds ahead of the
people you’re playing
against. “I’ve been
playing since I was a little
kid”, muses Curtis
Morgan. “I used to sit on
my Dad’s lap and play
Counter Strike... When I
started playing CS I was so far ahead of
everyone else at my age, I was 12/13 playing
against 20 year olds, it was crazy”. He also
acknowledges how privileged he was in his
situation: “I was lucky because not many other
parents are so accepting of gaming”.
Though it’s good to have a steady
background in games, it also comes in handy to
have a bit of natural talent. Games like League
of Legends and other MOBAs require fast
reflexes and an ability to make decisions on
the fly. “You have to have some sort of natural
ability; that’s the first step”, says the mid-laner.
“You’ve gotta have a bit of natural talent, a
lot of dedication, and a willingness to accept
mistakes and be critical of yourself”.
In playing a popular game like League of
Legends, you always have to be aware of
the game itself, its community, and how it
constantly changes. Morgan began playing on
Season One, and since then the population
of gamers has “increased exponentially”. He
says it’s largely due to the World Series and
competition. “Any game with rankings and
ladders attracts a lot of people; heaps play
games for the competitive
system, and the League
ranking system is really well
developed.”
The fact that it’s “free-to-
play” (tell that to my wallet)
worked in Riot’s favour, too.
“Riot were really smart making
it free to play; it attracted heaps
of people”, says Morgan. “More
people got hooked because
it was free to play, and once
people get hooked, it’s easy to
make money through in-game
purchases”. Just think – if every one of the
game’s 27 million players spent $5… That’s a
lot of Badger Teemos.
Many people are initially hesitant about
joining the online gaming community; eSports
specifically, as we in Australia (the Oceanic
server in Riot’s world) are often deemed to be
in an entirely different – and lesser – (pardon
the pun) league than those in Korea or North
America. “It’s hard for pro-players to hear it
all the time – that we aren’t as good as [North
America] or [West Europe]. It’s frustrating if the
community as a whole don’t support us”.
Morgan does, however, appreciate the
work being done by the game’s developers
to promote them, noting that being put on
the front page of the client, as well as the
now-implemented OCE League Championship
Series, is “good for the scene”.
But why choose League of Legends
over, say, DOTA or SMITE? According to the
Challenger, “League has so many champs
to choose from, and it reaches out to so
many people”, meaning it has something for
everyone. “People can be shields, assassins,
carry the game... that’s what League’s all
about”, and that’s what makes Riot’s creation
stand out so much. Turns out it’s more than just
the frogs on Summoner’s Rift after all.
So what advice does “Sharp” have for those
wanting to jump head-first into competitive
gaming? “Use Solo Queue, get a high Solo
Queue rating” Morgan says. “Me, personally,
that's how I got noticed, I got top 10 or
whatever. I was some random player that was
crappy at the game before that”.
So basically, keep trying, don’t flame, and cry
a hell of a lot less than Amumu. GLHF.
You’ve gotta have a bit of natural
talent, a lot of dedication, and a
willingness to accept mistakes and
be critical of yourself.
TheWolfpack
Legend LeagueOf
The
Curtis
Morgan