I also feel like, compared to EU and KR, where the concept of a "pro gamer" or the notion of eSports is more accepted there compared to NA, is part of the issue with lack of try hards in NA solo Q. Korea obviously has a system in place for semi-pros to possibly make it onto the pro scene and while EU's scene isn't as developed, there is a bit of history showing such a thing can be done.

Meanwhile in NA, talk to most parents about the concept of eSports and they'll basically go, "lol that's not a thing, now get back to college or find a real job."

Edit:

The Korea Challenger story that was posted is worth the read, even if it takes a bit of time to process the translation.

the TL;DR version is this:

Apdo guarantees Faker got rank 1 in the second to last d1/Challenger MMR game of season 3, promised the opponent (Eugene) in his challenger promo to help him get to challenger before the time limit passed. Apdo is against Eugene and Apdo's team engages in politics to help Eugene get his win and promotion. The entire time Apdo's saying "I will atone..." in all chat because for a while there was a chance/issue Apdo's team would tryhard and beat Eugene's team, locking him out of challenger. Eugene gets his win, a Riot Korea employee confirms this, saying that as long as the ranked game was begun before midnight on the 12th in Korea time, it would count for who made it into Challenger.

koreasilver

9109 Posts

November 12 2013 04:46 GMT

#2824

Eh, people say this all the time but a lot of the older Korean generations don't really take progaming very seriously as a legitimate job. People in NA really have to remember that when they talk about Korea they're talking about a country that is absolutely obsessed with education where a lot of social politics and class is based off of what university you went to to study what, and what kind of job you have. The traditional lawyer or doctor as the height of society thing still persists, and there is still an undercurrent in the public mentality that seeks to limit gaming in children, regardless of whether or not those pressures actually have much real social effect or not. Remember that for every progamer that has a long lasting career in the industry as a coach or commentator or whathaveyou, there are dozens of forgotten a-list gamers and a legion of unknown b-team gamers and other amateurs. Most progamers leave the industry to go to university and find a "real job" after a fairly short stint.

Zess

Adun Toridas!9144 Posts

November 12 2013 04:50 GMT

#2825

http://na.leagueoflegends.com/en/news/esports/esports-event/2014-world-championship-heads-south-korea

GG next year gonna spend like $2k in plane tickets alone

Nos-

Canada12016 Posts

November 12 2013 05:02 GMT

#2826

On November 12 2013 13:50 xes wrote:
http://na.leagueoflegends.com/en/news/esports/esports-event/2014-world-championship-heads-south-korea

GG next year gonna spend like $2k in plane tickets alone

Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck I promised myself I'd at least consider going to s4 finals but damn that'll be quite the trip

KissBlade

United States5718 Posts

November 12 2013 05:05 GMT

#2827

Oh god, Korea doesn't need the homefield advantage ...

(though they have awesome tourneys)

Lmui

Canada6215 Posts

November 12 2013 05:06 GMT

#2828

Holy fuck the drama is amazing

krndandaman

Mozambique16569 Posts

November 12 2013 05:50 GMT

#2829

--- Nuked ---

Gahlo

United States35162 Posts

November 12 2013 05:54 GMT

#2830

On November 12 2013 14:05 KissBlade wrote:
Oh god, Korea doesn't need the homefield advantage ...

(though they have awesome tourneys)

And YOU get and OGN intro, and YOU get an OGN intro, and YOU get an-*fades off*

I agree, also, that this will destroy and chance I had of going. Getting to Cali is a bitch enough for me as it is.

Slusher

United States19143 Posts

November 12 2013 06:03 GMT

#2831

The only thing about the Apdo game I don't get is the game looks fairly even in the screenshot where Apdo starts throwing.

Sponkz

Denmark4564 Posts

November 12 2013 06:23 GMT

#2832

Best drama ever. So needed the popcorn for this read.

Amui

Canada10567 Posts

November 12 2013 06:39 GMT

#2833

I laughed harder than I should've to be honest.

Apdo playing god,

AsmodeusXI

United States15536 Posts

November 12 2013 06:57 GMT

#2834

The new TL LoL motto should be "I will atone I will atone I will atone."

obesechicken13

United States10467 Posts

November 12 2013 06:58 GMT

#2835

This reminds me of when Boxer reached the top of the Korean Ladder for BW in his autobiography. He was competing with this one guy on a daily basis and they'd both keep rising in points so Boxer would always be #2 on the ladder until one day he finally won.

Everyone at the top knows each other and that's awesome. Looking forward to more entertainment from apdo.

GhandiEAGLE

United States20754 Posts

November 12 2013 07:05 GMT

#2836

It's amazing how much better you do in ranked when you don't give a shit. If I don't care about the outcome of the game, I get quite the winrate. I should stop tryharding altogether :O

TheRabidDeer

United States3806 Posts

November 12 2013 07:19 GMT

#2837

What are the odds that Riven gets nerfed soon?

UnKooL

Korea (South)1667 Posts

November 12 2013 07:23 GMT

#2838

On November 12 2013 16:05 GhandiEAGLE wrote:
It's amazing how much better you do in ranked when you don't give a shit. If I don't care about the outcome of the game, I get quite the winrate. I should stop tryharding altogether :O

As fabbbyyy said "just play ranked like u dont give a fuck and you will prosper" - response to a reddit thread of someone scared of playing ranked/has ladder anxiety: http://en.reddit.com/r/leagueoflegends/comments/1hrjgv/scared_of_ranked/

WaveofShadow

Canada31495 Posts

November 12 2013 07:51 GMT

#2839

Mannnnnnn Wasabi and I just crushed some Sona's dreams for gold.
I feel really awful---we even asked the rest of the team if we could throw for her they said no.