This year, Riot Games brought us many fun and fresh changes to the LCS and LEC finals. Namely, the double elimination brackets. Teams that placed top four were given two lives and losing early didn’t mean they were done. However, a change that many of viewers saw in full effect during the last weekend was the allowing of emotes. While this change seems innocuous, it is exciting, much needed and long awaited.

The Hype

Allowing pros to use emotes gives them a chance to easily stunt on their opponents in game. A quick flash of a bee, a pengu or a former team after a big play is enough to send a message to the opponent. A great example was in the LCS finals, when Zven was spamming G2 and Misfits emotes at Ignar. Everyone who knows Ignar’s history knows what that means. Not only does it send a message to the enemy, but also to the viewers.

Emotes are a great way to make the game feel more interactive with the crowd. Just by their very nature, emotes convey emotion. And while in the past viewers could guess that spamming dance or laugh over a dead champion after a solo kill meant the player was feeling hype, emotes allow for a more precise conveyance of what a player is feeling. This sort of celebration (or calls for help in some cases) are great for energizing viewers and drawing them into the game.

Fresh Feeling

This kind of communication is exactly what pro League of Legends needs. Being an esport means that viewers can’t really see the players. Sure, there are player cams, but often these players aren’t very emotive. As a result, the emotes are a great way to emulate traditional sports celebrations. A virtual Cam Newton superman, or Allen Iverson step over or Jose Baustista bat flip. These celebrations are iconic or infamous depending on who you ask, but that’s good for the league. BM gets fans excited and engaged. And Bwipo flashing a Gold TFT penguin then solo killing Carzzy is exactly the flavor text League needs.

The Future

Ideally, this is a permanent change and the future will hold some glorious moments of emotes being used. Here’s the top three that this author is hoping to see:

Any top laner using a Lux nice try after outplaying a three man dive. Broxah using the TL emote into the Blitzcrank question emote after First Blood-ing Doublelift in the summer. Pobelter using the “Let me out” after losing a game with CLG.

These are just a taste at what could come from pros being able to use emotes during games. Emotes are good for League of Legends.

Cover Photo Via Riot Games

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