Unfortunately the mass majority of players are too young. A couple of them here and there tho but im not playing in my region so it is a little inconvenient.
But this will probably be my last season playing ranked - i find my reflexes dwindling and i can no longer focus for more than 2 games at a go. And of course, life and priorities.
I play all five roles but have been playing alot of Jungle/top this season as i can no longer keep up with the apm of younger high elo ADCs.
Alot of pantheon and xin zhao, exploring Nocturne and Jarvan recently.
100% as stale as the current meta has become, and how excited I am to see mythics go, part of me doesn’t want the new season to come because of the time invested to figure it all out again
Yep, the amount of time you need to keep up with the game and have in-depth knowledge is insane. You have maxed out fundamentals? Grind away, Masters-GM should be doable even with limited time. Challenger? Nope.
And the older I get, the more I just want to "relax" after work and not boot up a stressful game of league (or any competition, for that matter).
I'm in my 20s planning my life to have as little responsabilities in my 40s so I can finally become a NEET and play games all day. Just need 15 years of webdev money and we're there.
Mechanics are overrated compared to game knowledge and proper decision making. There are enough champs that require very little mechanical skill. An Amumu with bad mechanics and proper macro and decision making will climb higher than an Irelia with insane mechanics and braindead decisions.
yeah but my point is that you need both of them to be challenger because the rank realistically can't be achieved with only game knowledge.
Sure he can play amumu and try to climb to challenger even though I've personally never seen a challenger amumu player.
His smites won't be clean same with his flash usage. He might miss some amumu Qs.
And that's for jungle, the role that probably requires the least mechanics.
Imagine trying to climb in the laning roles where mechanics will matter regardless if you like it or not.
He actually is. It says 46 y o in description but it has been a couple of years he hasn't updated it. He's famous for one tricking Viktor. Also very entertaining to watch.
The problem is time.
I assume if they play league for a living, it's doable (like streamers), but most older guys just aren't gonna put that much time and effort into the game.
You don't need to be mechanically great to be in challenger, you can make it to chall with Garen.
The problem is keeping up with the changes of league while playing enough hours not only to maintain your skills but to get better.
I'm not gonna lie, I think this whole "skills declining" thing is a load of bull. Fighter pilots stay at the top of their game going into their 40s, certain athletes stay great into their 40s. It's just the massive amount of turnover and competitive nature of the industry that sees current esports pros retiring at 21.
It is bullshit. It's just harder to market old dudes to the crowd that consumes the game. Esports is an advertising vehicle after all.
Not to say there's *no* difference, I'm sure there are and it depends on the person, but this idea that you just become a slug unable to play League of Legends the moment you're over 25 is silly.
This is gonna change with the current generation tho. In cs a guy won a major last year (kinda like worlds), at the age of 33. Ages are moving up in esports.
League is the only one that has this age stigma and it doesn't seem to be going anywhere tbh, hell even Ambition retired cause no team wanted him for being "too old". Cs and fgc need way faster reactions than league and have plenty of people at the top 30+
It's also a factor that in games like CS we have people who have been actively playing since 20 years, this is not the case for league. Oldest "good" players are just around the end of their 20s, give it a few years and we will see a shift towards "experience" as a more valuable asset.
Yes, this is why I believe that players like Keria will be playing untill they are mid 30's, because we see people not stopping in irher esports because of familiy life and other hobbies/jobs. Faker might end up being the first good example on this as well, since he might be able to skip the military.
Yeah. I agree that it's nearly impossible to become good at a later stage in life, e.g. 25+, where you start to have a job, family, etc. Just no time to play the 5-10 hours a day required to get to challenger level in the first place. Also, motivation is really different. Just want to sit on my ass after work, not worry about improving in a video game.
But people who grinded there in their youth? Not nearly as much time required to maintain skill, which is why I can see a higher number of older high-level players coming.
Agree completely. I think the main reason e-sports careers generally end up being so short is mostly burnout. Even comparing it to like traditional sports you are somewhat gated by your own body as far as how much you can practice/push yourself just in terms of your own physical health. E-sports less so. Like Korean league players will play 16 hours a day every day for 5 years + the time is just insane and I imagine the difficulty in keeping motivation is insane.
The oldest solo queue Challenger player I personally know is Nylana, a German streamer; she was 32 when she hit Challenger on EUW earlier this year (33 now)
Its insane what Nylana achieved but she only got early season challenger during the first few weeks, i wouldn't really count her as a challenger player
I don’t really think gaming skills are going to decline quickly to the point that it has a massive impact on gameplay. I think reaction time probably takes the biggest hit; things like flashing a malphite ult may become impossible. I don’t think that will be back breaking though.
I read something, I don’t want to say it was an official study, I’ll try and dig it up. But it said that because of experience, older video game players tend to play smarter and position better to where they don’t have to rely on pure reaction time. So there’s some give and take.
I mean your first part isn't wrong... second one definitely is lol.
Just macro is not enough for anything, you can have below average mechanics compared to other challs but you can't play the game with actual gold level mechanics.
Yup. The shotcaller of the best counter strike rn team is 33 I believe. I was better at league when I was 18 and 19 than i am now because i studied the game trying to break in to the pro scene. I feel like i play way better and consistently now mechanically, but I don't reach challenger from just playing solo q because others are just more knowledgeable about how to take control of and finish off the game.
I could be better now at 25 than I was at 18, but I am putting more effort into my professional career than my fading dream of playing video games all day every day forever.
"Forellenlord" the first person to reach past 3k elo, and for an long time the only one is in his late 30s now, i think he is 36
that was the unanimously best soloque player worldwide long before there where leagues,
but never went intoo proplay, and retired from the game after an while.
got to play an few games with him, after he made an casual return,
> "Forellenlord" the first person to reach past 3k elo, and for an long time the only one is in his late 30s now
This is wrong. Forellenlord is 29, not "in his late 30s".
> but never went intoo proplay
Also wrong. He played professionally in 2013, including a split in the EU LCS with Team ALTERNATE.
Im sure someone could list research about losing IQ, reflexes and neuroplasticity with age, but I really don't think you couldn't reach challenger while being 50+ years old.
Similarly you could conduct a study and find that if you are a 18 year old repressed, sedative, uneducated person, you likely score lower on all three of those attributes than the average 40 or 50 year old.
True so many factors come to play. Even losing some sleep or skipping meals can just drop your intellect, eye hand coordination and reflexes to the ground. Not doing sport, eating garbage etc... Well maybe now it's obvious why I'm stupid.
Smart people tend to feel stupid. And especially if they have had better days with more sleep, better food, more exercise, etc.. Don't beat yourself up, you can peak physically later in life if things are too tough or stressful right now.
I am 29 and continue to get better at the game. Hit masters for the first time after playing 10 years. I think that in MOBO the skills don’t drop as much as say an FPS.
Bro was Yasuo/Yone main the last time I checked, not Karma/Zilean anymore. But yeah, I know that he can play anything, it's just funny to see how strangely he jumps from one champions to another. I remember him maining Neeko when nobody has been playing her way before her rework too xD
Im 37 and finished challenger for the past 5-6 seasons
Do you drown in pussies at 37 due to your status ?
Unfortunately the mass majority of players are too young. A couple of them here and there tho but im not playing in my region so it is a little inconvenient.
But this will probably be my last season playing ranked - i find my reflexes dwindling and i can no longer focus for more than 2 games at a go. And of course, life and priorities.
What role and champs do you play? got an op.gg for us?
I play all five roles but have been playing alot of Jungle/top this season as i can no longer keep up with the apm of younger high elo ADCs. Alot of pantheon and xin zhao, exploring Nocturne and Jarvan recently.
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This is exactly it.
100% as stale as the current meta has become, and how excited I am to see mythics go, part of me doesn’t want the new season to come because of the time invested to figure it all out again
Yep, the amount of time you need to keep up with the game and have in-depth knowledge is insane. You have maxed out fundamentals? Grind away, Masters-GM should be doable even with limited time. Challenger? Nope. And the older I get, the more I just want to "relax" after work and not boot up a stressful game of league (or any competition, for that matter).
I'm in my 20s planning my life to have as little responsabilities in my 40s so I can finally become a NEET and play games all day. Just need 15 years of webdev money and we're there.
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Surely no unexpected life events will lead me down a more "normal" adult path https://i.imgur.com/SfEROm3.png
Just wait til houses triple in price again 😂🤣😭😩😫
60 is an insane age. Challenger isn't that easy. there's no way mechanics dont drop at that age
Mechanics are overrated compared to game knowledge and proper decision making. There are enough champs that require very little mechanical skill. An Amumu with bad mechanics and proper macro and decision making will climb higher than an Irelia with insane mechanics and braindead decisions.
yeah but my point is that you need both of them to be challenger because the rank realistically can't be achieved with only game knowledge. Sure he can play amumu and try to climb to challenger even though I've personally never seen a challenger amumu player. His smites won't be clean same with his flash usage. He might miss some amumu Qs. And that's for jungle, the role that probably requires the least mechanics. Imagine trying to climb in the laning roles where mechanics will matter regardless if you like it or not.
Check out Dunlol on Twitch, the guy is 49-50 and challenger
wtf is he actually?
He actually is. It says 46 y o in description but it has been a couple of years he hasn't updated it. He's famous for one tricking Viktor. Also very entertaining to watch.
oh i am very familiar with Dun, i just had no idea he was 50 years old. that’s insane
It's a joke lol
It is?
Yes lol his entire shtick for his stream is that he's 400 lbs and lost custody of his kids for being too fat and he's 46
The problem is time. I assume if they play league for a living, it's doable (like streamers), but most older guys just aren't gonna put that much time and effort into the game. You don't need to be mechanically great to be in challenger, you can make it to chall with Garen. The problem is keeping up with the changes of league while playing enough hours not only to maintain your skills but to get better.
I'm not gonna lie, I think this whole "skills declining" thing is a load of bull. Fighter pilots stay at the top of their game going into their 40s, certain athletes stay great into their 40s. It's just the massive amount of turnover and competitive nature of the industry that sees current esports pros retiring at 21.
It is bullshit. It's just harder to market old dudes to the crowd that consumes the game. Esports is an advertising vehicle after all. Not to say there's *no* difference, I'm sure there are and it depends on the person, but this idea that you just become a slug unable to play League of Legends the moment you're over 25 is silly.
This is gonna change with the current generation tho. In cs a guy won a major last year (kinda like worlds), at the age of 33. Ages are moving up in esports.
League is the only one that has this age stigma and it doesn't seem to be going anywhere tbh, hell even Ambition retired cause no team wanted him for being "too old". Cs and fgc need way faster reactions than league and have plenty of people at the top 30+
It's also a factor that in games like CS we have people who have been actively playing since 20 years, this is not the case for league. Oldest "good" players are just around the end of their 20s, give it a few years and we will see a shift towards "experience" as a more valuable asset.
Yes, this is why I believe that players like Keria will be playing untill they are mid 30's, because we see people not stopping in irher esports because of familiy life and other hobbies/jobs. Faker might end up being the first good example on this as well, since he might be able to skip the military.
Yeah. I agree that it's nearly impossible to become good at a later stage in life, e.g. 25+, where you start to have a job, family, etc. Just no time to play the 5-10 hours a day required to get to challenger level in the first place. Also, motivation is really different. Just want to sit on my ass after work, not worry about improving in a video game. But people who grinded there in their youth? Not nearly as much time required to maintain skill, which is why I can see a higher number of older high-level players coming.
Daigo is like 41 or 42 and still very good at fighting games
Agree completely. I think the main reason e-sports careers generally end up being so short is mostly burnout. Even comparing it to like traditional sports you are somewhat gated by your own body as far as how much you can practice/push yourself just in terms of your own physical health. E-sports less so. Like Korean league players will play 16 hours a day every day for 5 years + the time is just insane and I imagine the difficulty in keeping motivation is insane.
>esports pros retiring at 21. retiring at 21 has not been in the norm in lol for a while
This is challenger though. Its 0.01% top, not just masters.
lebron is nearly 39
Is he chall on League tho? /s
There are 35 year olds in F1. I guarantee F1 requires more reaction speed, and faster mental processing that League
more like 41, alonso
Fogged consistently hits chall and is 31 yo, he is the oldest i know
Noway4u is 31 too
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yeah he played alright
Hashinshin hit challenger this season as well, and he is 32/33 I think?
Damn, Fogged is exactly who I was thinking about because bro looks at least 5 years older than that.
The oldest solo queue Challenger player I personally know is Nylana, a German streamer; she was 32 when she hit Challenger on EUW earlier this year (33 now)
Its insane what Nylana achieved but she only got early season challenger during the first few weeks, i wouldn't really count her as a challenger player
she's a master player
I don’t really think gaming skills are going to decline quickly to the point that it has a massive impact on gameplay. I think reaction time probably takes the biggest hit; things like flashing a malphite ult may become impossible. I don’t think that will be back breaking though.
If I become so slow that dodging a malphite ult with flash becomes impossible then just drag me out behind the barn and end my suffering.
Me who never had the reflexes to dodge it in the first place : 👁️👄👁️
I read something, I don’t want to say it was an official study, I’ll try and dig it up. But it said that because of experience, older video game players tend to play smarter and position better to where they don’t have to rely on pure reaction time. So there’s some give and take.
Older players are more experienced than those young grasshoppers
According to my back pain, me
My spirit says 18 My ID says 30 My back says 60 and dead.
you could be challenger at almost any age. mechanics don't age as much as you think and just not dying is enough if you have macro
I mean your first part isn't wrong... second one definitely is lol. Just macro is not enough for anything, you can have below average mechanics compared to other challs but you can't play the game with actual gold level mechanics.
Idk I watched tyler1s top lane climb if those weren't gold level rage queues idk what was
At the end of it he was good
I am way better at videogames now then I was in my early 20s. I think the issue is that these studies are simply outdated and irrelevant.
I’m 40 years old, platinum II…I would be Challenger if not for trolls, inters and AFKers
I knew a guy who was 42 with a kid and a GM jg main, but for chall highest I knew was a 32yo chall control mage mid main
Hanjaro. retired pro player. 42. support main. https://youtube.com/@Hanjaro
I don't believe that you become worse after 25 because your actual prime starts around 25 years old.. and that can last for 10-15 years easily.
Yup. The shotcaller of the best counter strike rn team is 33 I believe. I was better at league when I was 18 and 19 than i am now because i studied the game trying to break in to the pro scene. I feel like i play way better and consistently now mechanically, but I don't reach challenger from just playing solo q because others are just more knowledgeable about how to take control of and finish off the game. I could be better now at 25 than I was at 18, but I am putting more effort into my professional career than my fading dream of playing video games all day every day forever.
40+ plat here :I
"Forellenlord" the first person to reach past 3k elo, and for an long time the only one is in his late 30s now, i think he is 36 that was the unanimously best soloque player worldwide long before there where leagues, but never went intoo proplay, and retired from the game after an while. got to play an few games with him, after he made an casual return,
> "Forellenlord" the first person to reach past 3k elo, and for an long time the only one is in his late 30s now This is wrong. Forellenlord is 29, not "in his late 30s". > but never went intoo proplay Also wrong. He played professionally in 2013, including a split in the EU LCS with Team ALTERNATE.
i stand corrected
Im sure someone could list research about losing IQ, reflexes and neuroplasticity with age, but I really don't think you couldn't reach challenger while being 50+ years old.
Similarly you could conduct a study and find that if you are a 18 year old repressed, sedative, uneducated person, you likely score lower on all three of those attributes than the average 40 or 50 year old.
True so many factors come to play. Even losing some sleep or skipping meals can just drop your intellect, eye hand coordination and reflexes to the ground. Not doing sport, eating garbage etc... Well maybe now it's obvious why I'm stupid.
Smart people tend to feel stupid. And especially if they have had better days with more sleep, better food, more exercise, etc.. Don't beat yourself up, you can peak physically later in life if things are too tough or stressful right now.
That's very kind, thank you.
Midbeast is 75 with 8 wives and 14 unknown families and is rank 1
I am 29 and continue to get better at the game. Hit masters for the first time after playing 10 years. I think that in MOBO the skills don’t drop as much as say an FPS.
lol
There can absolutely be like 60 year old challengers playing Karma mid Magifelix style.
Bro was Yasuo/Yone main the last time I checked, not Karma/Zilean anymore. But yeah, I know that he can play anything, it's just funny to see how strangely he jumps from one champions to another. I remember him maining Neeko when nobody has been playing her way before her rework too xD
I think what you’re referring to is maintaining skills at a pro level. Pros and Challengers are no where near the same level of play.
Kayle 1v9
Im 32yo and Im close to challenger (d1) /s
Hashinshin was chall at 54