What has gone wrong?
Is Champions Queue a Failure?
Champions Queue was introduced earlier this year for pro players and aspiring pro players to have a better practice environment. Not only that, but those who got the first ranks would even get a decent payout.
Has Champions Queue been as effective as Riot had envision though? Golden Guardians support Kim “Olleh” Jo-Sung has recently made some harrowing statements about the invite-only League of Legends Lobby.
What is Wrong With Champions Queue?
In a recent Twitch stream, Olleh made his stance clear on Champions Queue. He explained that “only a few people are playing Champions Queue”. He went on to explain that there were only around 30 people playing by the end of the first Champions Queue Split.
Literally only 20, 30 people playing. The same people only.
With only a few people actually playing Champions Queue, it is hard for those who want to improve to get better as well. What has upset Olleh is also that it seems like professional players are not taking the game serious enough.
He explains that in Korea, grinding solo queue is a form of practice and with Champions Queue being optimized to take out trolls and griefers from the equation, there is nothing stopping players from improving NA League of Legends quality.
Where did Olleh Finish After the First Split of Champions Queue?
The first Champions Queue split ended with Olleh ranking second, just behind Evil Genius’ Jojopyun who earned the first spot and $12,000. Olleh received $8,000. The Golden Guardians support also stated in his rant that while the money is nice, it isn’t what should get people to play on the server.
Why do you need money [or] rewards to be passionate or to practice? [...] [Players] should just play for practice, to get better.
Will this change anyone's opinion on the current state of Champions Queue? The second split of Champions Queue has kicked off, with C9 Academy’s jungler Malice currently ranked first. There are many young players who would love an environment to practice in like this, so professional players should also take advantage of it.