League of Legends Esports: A Statistical Look if the LCS is Getting Worse

Conclusion

At the outset, I’ll acknowledge that drawing sweeping conclusions from three data points is over-simplifying the question to a ludicrous regard. There are plenty of other data, stats, and arguments including those relying on simple observation and comparison, that would support the argument that the level of play in the LCS is the worst it’s ever been.

You can argue that Cloud9 is buoying the rest of the league with their incredible play by beating up on the rest of the weak teams, even though 1) that doesn’t account for the other 90% of games in which Cloud9 did not play and 2) you could make that same argument about G2 in Europe for all of 2019. You can argue that the lack of coordination from teams that should be talented is allowing lesser-skilled teams to win games they shouldn’t and that bad teams get to beat up on other terrible teams.

These points are valid, but it is worth noting that the LEC is full of very bad teams at the bottom of the standings (Vitality, Schalke, SK) and underachievers (Excel, Rogue) that have also dragged down their region’s stats as well.

The fact of the matter is, there is a good argument to be made that the LCS was at its worst last year and is actually better (so far) in Spring 2020. Not only are the games shorter, but gold per minute is improved relative to the other regions.

To be clear, I’m not saying the LCS is now suddenly a true threat or that Cloud9 would be first place if they were in the LEC. I am, however, pushing back on the notion that Cloud9’s success should be discounted and the LCS is a much worse region.

Cloud9 is dominating North America to an extent that Team Liquid didn’t in their two years on top. Given the fact that the rest of the league was declining around TL and is now, seemingly, on the upswing, that just gives more credit to the incredible job Cloud9 has done this season.

NA teams, no matter what anyone else tells you, it looks like you’re on the right track. You’re not where you want to be or need to be to compete internationally, but for now, it looks like the darkest days of LCS play might be behind us.