Every team sport athletes go into war, they train themselves day and night to stand up and represent, as their country’s best of the best. In competitive gaming, it is no different.

Besides rigorous training and skill sharpening, the mind will always be the best weapon a person can possess. And one of the greatest minds in battle tactics, Sun Tzu, manifests this to a point that he became an icon in the art of war and even until today, his knowledge and advice for battle is still being used and where can we see this applied often? None other than the clever and hardworking gamers of South Korea.

South Korea, where the world’s best League of Legends teams and solo players reside, showed nothing but pure talent when it comes to the art of war in team plays. Today we will learn from them and their techniques from their experiences in League of Legends and compare them to some of the lessons Sun Tzu left us with that you will want to take note from for your next battle in summoner’s rift.

1. Highly skilled carry.

“A clever fighter is one who not only wins, but excels in winning with ease.” - Sun Tzu.

Sometimes one man is an army. An MVP is always a crucial member of the team that often if not always carries the team to victory, hence the term carry.

South Korea houses the world’s best League of Legends solo player, Lee Sang-hyeok also known as Faker. Faker is well known in the gaming industry as one of the best solo players that can carry his team to victory with ease.

In him, we can see a great example of a player with immense skill and experience that we can find in an MVP. He made a living out of his talent in gaming and made himself one of the most feared players to fight against earning him the nickname “The Unkillable Demon King” 

With the memorable achievements he was awarded with like, the 2016 world champion MVP, 2017 best esport player (The Game Awards) and the Korean Esport Hall of Famer from 2018 to 2020, he is certainly a force to reckon with.

2. Crowd control.

“In the midst of chaos, there is also opportunity.” - Sun Tzu.

But of course, no man is an island. Team fight still means you will need the team to achieve victory.

In MOBA gaming, clashes are the climatic events where each player’s skills are really put to the test. Clashes are always messy, dreadful and chaotic, but those who take control of the chaos will often walk away bearing the most significant advantage towards their win and South Korean teams often takes advantage of the chaos.

In all of the world championships that they have won, the teams of South Korea always display some of the best crowd control gameplays in the history of League of Legends. Players in teams like SK Telecom T1 always provide great timing with their AOEs that often leads them to winning the clashes, and more examples can be seen from teams like Samsung White when they fought against Star Horn Royal Club during the 2014 world championship where you can often see the excellent teamwork that turns the tides around earning Samsung White the win.

3. Skill accuracy and aggressive kills.

“Quickness is the essence of the war.” - Sun Tzu.

Being the first to draw first blood or drawing the first strike quickly can make a statement in the early game and will greatly affect every other fight in the long run. That is why playing it safe is not always an option.

Aggressive killing or going agro is often seen as a stupid and greedy move in the gaming industry especially in MOBA games for normal players. But the teams in South Korea are not normal players.

These players spent their time training hard and honing their skills to their absolute peak. If you look at players like Dandy and Faker, their reputation on how they dodge and launch attacks with impressive haste are near perfect and with skill accuracy like that combined with aggressive pushing and you got yourself a special treat for the enemy, a quick defeat.

4. Carefully calculated tower dives.

“You have to believe in yourself.” - Sun Tzu.

Tower diving is the scariest risk any MOBA player can relate to. It is known to be a high risk high reward move but with enough experience, careful calculations and a team you can trust, anything is possible.

This tactical approach is of course seized by the teams of talented gamers of South Korea. With their competitive attitude and tenacity when it comes to being the best, it is proven that no risk is too high for the price of victory.

In the 2014 world championships, Samsung White fought against Star Horn Royal Club for the world champion title and in there, Samsung White showed off their immense talent in well coordinated tower dives giving them the advantage they needed in the early and mid game to secure the title of world champion in 2014.

5. Control over Dragon and Baron Buffs.

“Opportunities multiply as they are seized.” - Sun Tzu.

As League of Legends evolves through time, so as the gameplay and strategies, making players learn to adapt and play the game like it's fresh and new. With the changes in the game made it also introduces new features and buffs that will always come in handy for taking advantage over the enemy team.

With that in consideration, the importance of obtaining control of the jungle is higher than ever and professional players did their best to come up with the best ways to secure the biggest buff providers which are the dragon and Baron.

The Damwon Gaming of South Korea set the best example of taking control of the buffs from the dragon and Baron. In the 2020 world championship their enemy team’s power level practically matches their own, DWG needed to find a way to overcome their enemy and one of their plans to do so was to make sure that the buffs provided by the dragon from early in the game all throughout was theirs.

And after four matches DWG won 3-1 and took home the world championship title by making sure that they seized every opportunity they had to make sure that the dragon and Baron buffs are in their gasps.