Why Faker catching Ruler is the apex of League esports
And how visual clarity, the "wow" factor and context are key to creating memorable moments
Note: this Substack is a project born out of love for LoL esports. I plan to write more of these in the future. Any feedback is welcome.
A lot of the most popular sports out there have one thing in common: when extraordinary moments occur, they are simple to parse even for the untrained eye.
Every time a home run is hit. Every time a quarterback throws a football with geometrical precision for another human being running at top speed to catch without breaking stride. A hole-in-one. David Beckham’s half-line goal against Wimbledon. Jordan’s “Air” dunk.
You might be watching any such sport for the first time, yet you won’t have much difficulty understanding the significance of those moments. One of the reasons to explain that is because of visual clarity. What I mean by that, is the degree to which something might be simpler or harder to process; from light and colour into sight, from sight into thought and from thought into emotion.
But visual clarity alone is not sufficient to explain why some sports are more popular than others. There are two other factors that I think when brought all together, make watching an athletic moment something incredibly powerful (that then contributes to popularity).
One of those factors, we’ll call “wow factor”. Seeing someone kick a ball from the middle of a field, watching it travel the distance to the goal, and flying over a retreating goalkeeper leads to pure disbelief. Wow. Watching a human being jump from the free throw line with arms and legs outstretched and deliver a ball to a basket most of us wouldn’t be able to reach leads to pure disbelief. Wow.
Then there’s context. Context is the flourish that elevates sports moments from incredible to memorable. David Beckham was 21 and one of the most hyped-up players of his generation when he cheekily decided to have a go at it against Wimbledon. Jordan was already Jordan; the only thing left was flying.
That helps explain why watching someone run a Marathon, a feat most people wouldn’t even dare to attempt, is not particularly memorable despite having almost 100% visual clarity. Context can help elevate it, but there’s a wow factor missing. And while I’m sure die-hard fans of any sport will find the wow factor in whatever they are passionate about, ultimately, it’ll be hard for that sport to achieve a certain level of popularity if it’s not conducive to moments in which all the above factors can be found.
I think about the above all the time in the context of League of Legends.
Baron being taken feels like a home run. Oriana’s shockwave feels like a goal. On the other hand, watching minions being farmed feels like watching a Marathon (no diss to minions or runners).
It is in this context that, as the title suggests, I think Faker catching Ruler is the most memorable moment in the history of League esports. Below I explore why, and how the above factors contributed to it and what are some areas for improvement in as far as LoL’s esports viewing experience is concerned.
Visual clarity
When I first started watching League in 2015 I’d never played the game before. I know I started watching it during Worlds that year but I have no recollection of any of the games. I had a minimal understanding of what a MOBA even was.
Yet, I remember feeling like what I looking at was simple enough to follow. Two teams, five aside, trying to destroy the base of the other in an almost symmetrical map. Even without understanding the concepts of fog of war, gold economy or itemization, I could still understand the basics. And that was enough to keep me interested. Well, that, and the casting (which I’ll get to in a second).
Fast forward to Worlds 2016, my understanding of the game is better, and I find myself watching ROX Tigers vs SKT. That match alone deserves its own article; but for the point of visual clarity, let’s talk about PraY’s “arrow”.
Ashe’s ult, a gigantic arrow, flying across the map, is the apex of visual clarity. For starters, it’s an arrow. Everyone knows what an arrow looks like and how it moves. Second, it travels in a straight line, flying above contrasting terrain in a manner that is easy to follow. When it hits an enemy, it stops and the enemy is stunned in place. You know everything you need to know about Ashe’s ult after seeing it once.
There are other abilities in the game that offer similar levels of incredible visual clarity. Jhin, Azir, Neeko and plenty of others have abilities that, when they happen, you just don’t miss them. Oriana’s Shockwave isn’t always easy to see, but the displacement special effect, particularly on multiple enemies, is always striking.
Because they are so easy to parse, these are abilities that greatly elevate the esports experience. I, for one, do not know every ability in the game, am unable to follow most of what is happening during a team fight and always look forward to replays to fully break down a setpiece. But even I can see when Caitlyn snipes an enemy. Even I can see when Azir dives into a backline and shuffles a dude or two.
Visual clarity reduces the effort on the viewer’s side and helps them reach that state of emotional response that is at the heart of why people watch (e)sports.
Conversely, it’s difficult to follow whether Mordekaiser has used is ult or not. Certain skins make champions similar to others. Particle and visual effects can further the screen. And cooldowns burst damage and movement speed can accelerate a scene to a point where it’s over before you have time to establish it.
This might be nostalgia playing tricks on me, but I get a feeling that back in 2016 the game was slower and simpler to parse. And while watching 50-minute games in a Bo5 is a bit too much, the pace at which champions interacted on the screen felt better back then.
I have great respect for everyone at Riot who undoubtedly are well aware of the above and work extremely hard to address it. I do think that future champion and game adjustments are in need of a visual clarity “boost” if you may, and that that would help both existing a newer fans appreciate the esports experience of the game (thankfully, as a viewer and columnist, I can just throw this out there without having to do any of the hard work addressing it).
Wow factor
As we said at the start, it takes more than visual clarity to turn an extraordinary moment into something memorable. Going back to the ROX vs SKT series, PraY’s arrow happens to display all three factors.
After you’ve played enough League, Ashe’s ult will start feeling like one of the easiest skill shots to land (and if you play ARAM a lot, it might even stop feeling skilful altogether). But the “wow” factor in this article isn’t from the player’s perspective, it’s from the viewers’ (and, for that matter, the viewer that enjoys League without fully following everything that happens, you know, like me).
From that perspective, Ashe’s ult is very capable of impressing. How did the player predict where the opponent would be? How did that arrow fly across the entire map? It just feels incredible to watch. And when it hits, the fact that it stuns the target in place for several seconds just helps convey that feeling of a hit. You can almost feel the thud of the arrow colliding with the champion. No matter that it travels in a straight line direction - it’s mesmerizing all the way.
The wow factor goes hand in hand with visual clarity but I’d argue is even harder to achieve. It goes beyond visual representation; as a viewer, you have to appreciate the skill that it took to execute it. In the same way that in basketball, you might already know what jumping is, but you have to appreciate the difficulty of reaching the basket and dunking to fully parse Jordan’s trademark.
Something else about “wow” moments; they can’t happen all the time. One thing about greatness is that it’s easier to see when it’s scarce. If you just watched spectacular moment after spectacular moment, it might just start feeling normal all the time.
Yet, in League, there are not a lot of abilities that are conducive to the wow factor. Which is why I think the Neeko redesign is one of the best patches Riot has done in recent years.
Neeko’s ult is not just visually striking; when it catches multiple enemies, it’s incredibly impressive. The fact that it can be set up through mischief and deception makes it even more exciting to follow.
By contrast, going into stasis might be an expression of skill and be visually simple to follow, but it doesn’t particularly carry a lot of wow potential.
“Wow” moments are crucial to the esports experience. Without them, the game is more chess than football and while chess has been around for a long time, no one gets excited talking about Zyra’s passive.
Context
I mentioned at the top that the casting of League was one of the factors that kept me interested. I believe the reason for that is that casting is what enables the final factor, context, to be present in a memorable moment.
I think about it in two ways: there’s the historical significance of what you’re watching and there’s the contextualization of the action in the moment.
For this last part, we could talk about the casting during PraY’s arrow and there would be plenty to dissect there.
But PraY’s arrow is not what we are going for. T1’s series against JDG offers a better example. Unsurprisingly, I’m talking about Faker’s Azir ult that catches Ruler in Game 2.
The casting crew - including everyone off-screen - needs to be commended here. As it happened, the casters drew your eye to Faker catching Ruler. In the aftermath of the game, the desk had a clip ready, pointing out that back in 2017, Ruler flash-stuns Faker in Game 3 of the finals to seal the match.
I think the above example is casting at its best. It provides meaning to what you’re seeing, and helps you understand it, without falling prey to the trap of creating narrative or drama for the sake of it. Casting doesn’t need to offer constant comedy or insert an adjective before every noun in every two sentences. Players don’t need to be compared to characters from the Lord of the Rings. Riot’s casting is at its best when it serves the audience - and it does so when it helps translate what can be a difficult game to follow.
This brings us to the final part of this article (and its title).
The most memorable moment in League’s esports history
Faker scooping Ruler against JDG is, in my opinion, the pinnacle of League esports moments. And it’s also the perfect representation of a moment that has all three factors present, making it all that more memorable.
Azir’s movement is visually clear to follow. You see the flank, the slide towards Varus and you know what’s about to happen. You can see Ruler’s attempt to flash and Faker’s immediate reaction. You can see Azir’s ult animation sending Varus into the air. You can parse everything that just happened, instantly.
And it’s impressive. Faker predicted Ruler’s flash and flashed with him. Wow. He caught the key enemy he needed to catch. Wow. Varus’ health bar disappearing. Wow.
Finally, you are taking all of the above in with the help of great casting. The context is continuously provided and it’s always there, heightening what’s at stake.
T1’s backs against the wall. Playing blue side. Facing one of the most talented teams League has ever seen. On their home turf, in front of their own crowd. And, as if all that wasn’t enough, Faker catching Ruler, 6 years later.
Flash, stun, game over.
I, for one, don’t think I’ll ever forget it. It’s the kind of moment you hope for when watching sports, digital or otherwise. I think it also speaks volumes to why League is such an established esport - the ingredients are there to create memorable moments. For us viewers and fans of the game, these moments make for an emotional attachment to the game that is hard to explain.
Let’s see what this weekend’s final has to offer. Given it’s T1 against TheShy & Co, one can certainly hope for more goals from the halfway line.
This Substack is not affiliated with or sponsored by Riot Games, Inc. or League of Legends Esports.