[2019] Just a personal opinion, but I think LCS/LEC colour casters can benefit a lot by learning from the LCK casters.

TL/DR; LCS/LEC colour casters could be so much better if they gave analysis that isn't obvious, is actually correct, and stop using the narrative as a crutch for downtime. Doing so takes skill and effort, but the results could be worth it.

I love watching LCS and LEC, and I like listen to the LCK vods while I eat or commute to work or something. But recently I started to wonder why I, an NA resident and western fan, seem to enjoy listening to KT vs. JinAir more than half the LCS/LEC games. And I think it comes down to the colour casting (sigh I know, it's the annual sh*tpost on casters, but they exist for a reason, and hopefully this one is constructive).

Now I know every region has its own style of casting, but I think in general, people would enjoy it more if the following three things were adjusted for:

Giving analysis that the fan wouldn't know on their own. It is helpful to point out a CS differential, once in a while, if the action elsewhere has been distracting from the fact. It not helpful when 90% of the analysis is "CSD", "Turret difference", "Gold lead", "Baron is up", "Sivir has three items". I understand why casters do it. It's easy, it takes no prep, and you can't be wrong. But it's like watching someone read off a powerpoint word for word, it gets really boring. If you have some time to do a bit more research, the cast could be much more informative.
Giving analysis that is actually correct. I do appreciate the effort (and a bit of bravery?) to give non-obvious analysis, but sometimes the information just isn't correct. For example, Sona Taric down some CS isn't a catastrophe, they scale well into team fights. There was a C9 game last split where Poppy was ahead against Jayce, the casters were freaking out like it was 2016 meta, but it turns out Poppy was favored into Jayce early and as soon as Jayce built BorK he dominated the side lane. And LEC had a rather insane amount of misunderstandings of team comps and map movement last spit, though I can't speak for summer since I haven't watched much yet. It takes skill and time to give accurate, predictive analysis, but the results could make the cast so much better.
The Narrative. The Old-New-Kings meme comes from this one, and I honestly appreciate that most casts limit "Misfits is a superteam" to once a game. But nowadays we get the 10x "Kobbe is the backbone of splyce, a rock solid player, back solid rockbone stoned player." To be fair, some players deserve this cast. Crown, for example, is literally Optic's sole win condition. But most of the times its a bit too much, and feels like a panic button for casters when they have nothing else to say.

Now the LCK broadcast isn't perfect, but when it comes to analysis they are miles ahead of the west. Some may call it a gap. Just tune in to any Papasmithy broadcast. Any. Doesn't matter if you don't know the teams or the players, doesn't matter if you have your eyes closed, doesn't matter if there is a 40 minute pause, you will probably find it enjoyable. LS is a bit more preference based, but he will tell you things you didn't know, and there have been multiple occasions where his predictions have been spot on. And a special shoutout to Atlus. Go watch the SKT vs. AFS series, Atlus as a play-by-play does better colour casting than most western colour casters.
It takes dedication and confidence to do the research and make useful, predictive analysis, but the results really show. Every LCK broadcast teaches me something about the game I didn't know before. And only the LCK broadcast can make me care about 9th vs. 10th place match in the 3rd best region (XD) as much as I did, a match that I entered knowing 20% of the players but came out 100% satisfied.

Finally, just a quick thank you for all the analysis western casters do very well. Most laning/jungle match-ups are explained very well; Alistar into Sivir, Olaf into Sejuani, etc. Flash and item cooldowns are noted, objective timers are highlighted, and the more black and white team comps like TF or Sona-Taric-Camile/Hecarim are very well explained. Keep it up :)

External link →

Hi there! LEC caster here and also a big fan of the LCK casters! While I am often open to criticism and feedback, I feel like you base your opinion on old information that hasn't been the case for quite some time! I'll try to answer each point individually and I'll use examples where I can.

1. Give fans analysis they wouldn't know on their own - This is, unfortunately, an extremely subjective subject matter. The vast majority of viewers are Silver players. What they do and do not know varies pretty wildly. This means we do our best to cater as much as possible while also adding extra depth where appropriate. I feel like you exaggerate how much things like "CSD" and "Gold lead" is used in a single cast. It's consistently discussed in every cast, but that's because it's a good tool to check the state of the game. Every caster on the planet uses this. Other analysis also includes matchup discussions, potential item paths, use of rune choices, win conditions, vision set up, objective plays, etc. Here is an example of Medic and I discussing Jizuke running kleptomancy on LeBlanc, a rune not commonly seen on her. Here is a different example where Medic and I discuss the options of Misfits comp and why it was smart of fnatic given their comp to avoid fighting Misfits

2. Giving analysis that is actually correct - 95% of analysis that casters give is correct. Every now and then, however, we get stuff wrong. Sometimes its because we miss something, other times its because we have a brain fart. I, for example, last split thought it was weird that Aatrox was building black cleaver first! <- This is just a mistake, and not indicative of the majority of what we say. I will however provide some examples of expectations going into the game and then those things actually happening.

Here, medic and I touch on expectations for the early game for both comps - The game goes slightly different to how we expect. Splyce and Xerxe do attempt to snowball through bot lane, but rather than play through top, Vitality try to match and answer on the bot side. This ends up working out mostly during the early game, but due to a few mistakes by the Vitality duo, they throw away their advantage. This means that Vitality revert to playing towards topside given Jayce get's a solo kill while Splyce continue to play towards bot. If Vitality's bot duo hadn't lost their advantage, it would've resulted in both bot winning and then top winning after Mowgli moved up there, once again re-enforcing that Vitality's bot lane has been an issue, which is a narrative we had at the top of the show. This leads me nicely onto my next point.

3. The Narrative - I feel like this is just huge misrepresentation of the storylines that both broadcasts tell. Here is an example of Medic and I building up Nemesis as a player after he effectively solo kills Febiven. Narrative is rarely a crutch and we are painfully aware ourselves of when a narrative has been overdone. The 3 you used as examples are storylines that haven't actually been used for around 4 months and indicates to me you don't really listen to the LEC. I can find you multiple new storylines of players, teams and orgs that we've introduced in both Regions that are not simply recycled content.

I have absolutely no issues with you preferring the LCK casters. I believe they all have their own unique flairs that is very different to anywhere else in the world and if you prefer that style over others, then that's great. However, do not use your preference as a means to attack other casters without sufficient evidence. Comments and posts like these breed negative ideas that aren't constructive and only result in hate. Every casters is very open to feedback, but evidence is important. Being able to support your claims helps add weight to your arguments and provides a clearer example of what you want improved.

I do hope you take some time to listen more closely to the other casters, as I'm sure you'll find yourself surprised by what you could learn.

Recent League of Legends Posts

FLY Inspired explains why lane swaps are good for "weaker" teams looking for an upset, talks about the possibility of facing T1 at MSI: "I won one game with EG against T1 [...] I can I say I have a 50% win rate against Faker. I wish it would only go up, not down!"

ARAM should show champion buff and nerfs during champion selection

Horizon Focus has been bugged on Vel'Koz since the season start

Patch 14.9 Bug Megathread