Top 5 Reasons Why Team Games Matter In Esports
Teams, everybody has someone to root for. Whether you’re a fan of the Miami Heat or the Orlando Magic, you’re cheering on the people you want to see win. Esports aren’t any different in that regard. You’ve got your Cloud9, London Spitfire and even Team Liquid representing your favorite games and players in Esports. Today we’re here to show you the top 5 reasons why team games matter.
1. Teams Are Basically The Avengers Of Esports
It’s no surprise how much marketing and advertising goes into Esports leagues and having a team is oftentimes one of the best ways to show the world your presence. Esports are similar to superhero teams in that everyone has a favorite player from the team. “xQc” of Overwatch League fame might just be your version of “The Incredible Hulk” with his calm demeanor turning into explosive energy when going against his opponents. ZeRo, a top Super Smash Bros. Player, might just be your version of Captain America when you consider his troubled start and then later becoming a hero for his hard work and 53 tournament win streak. This also holds true of villains within Esports whose actions within the games can make them seem like the League of Evil from Justice League. Then you have moments where two legends such as Daigo Umehara and Justin Wong, two professional Street Fighter players, go toe to toe against each other to create an immense amount of hype and energy from the crowd. Teams give players who are strong individually a chance to work with other professionals similar to Iron Man starting the Avenger’s Initiative with the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
2. Communication Is Crucial
Part of being on a team involves being able to properly communicate with your fellow E-athletes. When we aren’t hearing the commentators narrating the flow of the game of choice at light speed, there are a plethora of things happening on team comms. From the player’s perspective, they need to pay attention to their current surroundings within the game, their teammate’s actions, and their opponents’ actions. For a typical match within the Overwatch League, players need to constantly discuss and execute during their plans during the match. A shot-caller would say, “Let’s go main and have Genji flank while we get the payload.” Another teammate would say something like, “I have graviton surge, let’s combo the enemy team for this next battle!” These acts of planning and shot-calling are the cornerstones of winning various team battles within the Overwatch League. Each team has several minutes to either push the payload or capture the objective point and without discussing what to do, the team would be stuck at the choke point for 5 minutes. These communication techniques are crucial because without them we would have matches that would be both stale to watch and to play.
3. Working Together Is Awesome
Communication is hollow without the dedication and commitment to follow up. Thinking together is necessary to succeed and incredibly satisfying when put into play. Some of the best moments from Esports happen with this follow-through mentality such as the infamous Wombo Combo video of Smash fame, where one team ping pongs their opponent in rapid succession. Other instances of this happen when fellow players are able to dunk the ball into the goal or basket within Rocket League. Even some more basic aspects of working together, such as healing teammates and helping them run from danger with characters like Lucio from Overwatch, are satisfying. Team games allow the opportunity to work with others in ways that most people wouldn’t expect. Sometimes you can even get creative with your teamwork. One such example of this is crew battles within Smash. In this instance, players are doing battles one on one against members of the enemy team and it’s up to the teammates to analyze and understand their opponent before it’s their turn. If the teammate succeeds, they knock out one of their opponents and keep their remaining lives from the prior match. If they fail, they hand off the controller to their teammate. Motivating each other before, during and after the match is vital to keeping up spirits and winning.
4. It’s The Next Step After Locals
Imagine this, you and a friend are competing against several others within a tournament at your local arcade. This event is being live-streamed to twitch and the tournament organizer pulls you to the side after dominating the competition with your partner. They tell you that there’s a person from Cloud9 here seeking young talent and you two are invited to the program. As idealistic as this sounds, it isn’t impossible. Locals are one of the best ways to work together with others to become a force to be reckoned with. Part of succeeding is learning how to improvise and adapt at a moment’s notice and you can do that at your local scene! Remember that even the best of the best had to get their start somewhere!
5. Leveling Up Together
Spending hours with your fellow teammates to work on performance is a beautiful thing. You share your lives together, the moments of defeat and the moments of glory after a long day. You learn to appreciate those moments of almost telepathic communication when centering the ball for your teammate in Rocket League. You cherish when your ally throws the ball down the center field for Madden NFL. You laugh when you and your partner Smash an opponent who dropped their guard at the same time. This is just the tip of the iceberg when you consider how many scenarios there are within gaming. Teams let you experience the whole gaming landscape with others both on a local and professional Esports level. So the next time you go out there about to compete in a tournament, just remember that you and your team are leveling up together.
