A huge component in esports such as League of Legends, Overwatch, and CS:GO is teamwork. We have seen teams with great team synergy lead to championship for their orgs like SK Telecom T1, Vancouver Titans (formerly with Runaway in Contenders KR), and Astralis. Other factors such as trust, respect, and time management led to success for winning organizations.

Trust and Respect

“I think there’s one main factor to any team and organization is trust. There needs to be trust between everyone like players, coaches, and management,” said Matt Dillon, CEO of Ghost Gaming.

Trust between all parties involved in a team is a significant factor in winning games, but to gain trust is to be transparent with every action and/or thought.

“I think transparency is very important so that players trust each other, but also the coaching staff. It keeps the players very happy,” said Justin Lee, General Manager of Echo Fox’s League of Legends team.

Taking Care of Mental Health

"A healthy body is a healthy mind, " said Erik "DoA" Lonnquist, caster of the Overwatch League.

A huge competitive advantage that a player can have is mental health. Factors like having a routine when it comes to physical activity and time management can have a positive effect on mental health. 

“At Ghost, we feed the guys 2 meals 7 days a week. We have personal trainers for everybody. That’s the top-down approach. I workout with the guys like 3 days a week and they’re open to challenging me,” said Matt Dillon.

“Right now, our player who’s practicing the most is playing more twice as much as the player practicing the least every week. This guy is keeping up a routine. He wakes up at 5 in the morning everyday and sleeping at 10PM at night,” said Sandra Chen, Social Media Coordinator at Clutch Gaming.

Player Search

For esports based on teamwork, teams need to find players who are knowledgeable and skilled at their respective games. However, a significant part to composing a team is how those players mesh well with each other plus management and support staff. 

Justin Lee stated, "We look for good people — who don't lie, cheat, and steal. There are people who have bad tendencies. Honestly, I think just having good people in the office — that goes from management and staff, it trickles down to everyone."

One thing that teams need is a leader — who are able to pull a team together during their lows and able to rally their teams into victory in high-pressure situations.

"The surefire test has always been to see whose voice resonates than everyone else. It's fast, civil, and it works," said Brett Lautenbach, President of NRG Esports & The San Francisco Shock.

Matt Dillon added, "Like we said before, it all boils down to communication and respect. We have a natural-born leader who has grown into it, Miccoy, one of our PUBG pros. He was the quietest little mouse in the corner of a room. Two and a half years later, he is now the voice of the team."