This is ONE Esports’ first article in an exclusive interview series with ShowMaker. Read about how he deals with losses and celebrates victory in our second article.
Updated on March 14, 11:26 a.m. (GMT+8): Improved relevancy.
League of Legends patches are released by Riot Games to maintain the game’s balance, fix bugs, and introduce new content.
Esports pros like Heo “ShowMaker” Su, whose career depends on it, need to be on top of these biweekly changes.
Each patch brings a slew of changes, ranging from tweaks to individual champion abilities, adjustments to items, alterations to game mechanics, and even overhauls to entire gameplay systems.
In this exclusive interview with ONE Esports, Dplus KIA’s mid lane staple ShowMaker talks about how he deals with the myriad of changes and the learning method he discovered that works best for him.
Dplus KIA’s ShowMaker on how he approaches LoL patches and how he continually strives to improve
When a new patch drops every two weeks in League of Legends, ShowMaker would first read through the patch notes, then play through the updated champions in solo queue, he told ONE Esports.
He’ll then try to figure out the game developer’s intentions behind the changes.
“I’m glad to see big patches that fundamentally change the game, because I think that they are responsible for League of Legends’ longevity,” ShowMaker commented.
Pro players not only have to adapt to every patch in a short period time, but also apply themselves individually and as a team at the highest level of competition, a constant learning curve on many fronts.
ShowMaker has been in the business since 2018, and has discovered the kind of learning style that suits him best.
“I think the most efficient method is to discuss things a lot with your teammates,” he said. “Communication with other lanes is really important when you’re trying to properly map out how this or that matchup might play out. So while I think other methods like spectating are also useful, I think the best way to train is through sufficient discussion.”
Besides having extensive discussions with his teammates, he also consults Dplus KIA’s coaching staff–whom he describes as “very capable”–on many other aspects of the game such as draft strategy and “in-game situations”.
Follow ONE Esports on Facebook and Twitter for more LoL news, guides, and highlights.
READ MORE: Exclusive: LPL host Candice shares the mindset women need to succeed in esports
