It is one of the most exciting times in the e-sports League of Legends: the transfer phase. Between the World Cup and the turn of the year, players are bought and sold, coaches change their posts and fans speculate wildly on social media.
But until a player has a new team, a lot happens behind the scenes. According to the rules, the transfer window officially began on November 16 this year.
However, player changes are often decided in advance. "During the season, many teams have fixed dates when they extend or do not extend a player," MAD Lions' Head of Player Development Patrick "Pad" Suckow-Breum said in an interview with the German Press Agency. Whether a team commits a new player is usually determined at the end of the year.
Data is the key to success
The organizations then look for players who fit the established style of play and the team. Data and statistics are often in the first place here. It is important to match the statistics with the actual playing style, Pad said. "We are looking at more than 20 games to see if someone is the player we are looking for." It's the same with Team Vitality," said their co-founder Fabien "Neo" Devide.
The contact differs depending on the player status. "When you are under contract, all discussions have to be about your own team," said Toplaner Finn "Finn" Wiestål of Excel in an interview with dpa. "As a free player, you are responsible for the process yourself." In the meantime, many of the professional players are also working with agencies that handle communication and contract negotiations.
MAD Lions without Tryouts
If a player has aroused the interest of organizations, he is often invited to so-called tryouts (trial trainings).
"It's usually the case that a team is interested in several players in different roles and lets them compete either against each other or against other teams that are also doing tryouts right now," Finn said. The duration of these trial trainings can range from a few days to several weeks.
MAD Lions takes a different approach: the LEC defending champion does not use tryouts in the selection process. "You will have a completely different player in front of you," Pad explains the decision. In the trial trainings, it is easy to hide mistakes. "That usually gives you a wrong idea of what the player is really like.»
Decision-making with the entire team
The further application process is also different. While MAD is having extensive discussions, Excels head coach Joey "YoungBuck" Steltenpool is focusing on playing practice. "The best thing is to see how a player plays and behaves in conversations during the game." A meeting with the team leaders is still standard, according to Finn. "I always see it as an open conversation, because I also ask questions.»
In the final phase, the management makes budget specifications, but the final decision for a player is usually made by the head coach. However, the existing players are often involved. "You get an extra sense of synergy during the game," YoungBuck said. According to Pad, these are insights that the coaching staff simply does not have.
A turbulent time for teams and players
In the last step, the players and teams of Riot still have to be checked for their eligibility to play. Among other things, it is also about controlling whether players have behaved toxicly on their account, according to Pad. That's why the words "pending Riot approval" are among many team announcements. As soon as the test has been completed, the players will be included in the publicly accessible contract database (Global Contract Database).
However, not everything always runs smoothly in the whole process. It's not just the organizations that are struggling with deadlines and decisions in the off-season. "It's a very turbulent time for many players, because there is a lot of uncertainty. You have no real idea what's going to happen," is how Finn describes the situation.
