The True Sight Podcast by Oracle's Elixir

By Tim SevenhuysenLeisure Video Games

The True Sight Podcast by Oracle's Elixir episodes

December 17, 2020Ep. 13 – Erik "DoA" Lonnquist on esports casting and making the industry a better place
Veteran esports caster Erik "DoA" Lonnquist shares insights on his career, from StarCraft 2 to League of Legends to Overwatch and more and talks about his responsibility to make the esports industry a better place, as well as advice for aspiring casters.
Watch DoA's stream: twitch.tv/ggDoA
Follow DoA at twitter.com/ggDoA and instagram.com/doagames
Follow Tim at twitter.com/TimSevenhuysen
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Show Notes
0:00 Intro

1:20 DoA’s background and the wide variety of current games he's casting

7:37 The game DoA wants to cast in the future

8:50 Differences between casting for a secondary audience vs. the primary broadcast

12:13 Experiences anchoring the English casting community in South Korea

19:15 The most "out there" food DoA has eaten on his international travels

21:22 Constructing narratives about players and teams

29:15 Reflecting on the influence of casters on how the community perceives players

33:41 Taking a stand on freelance caster pay rates

41:59 Advice for aspiring casters

44:16 DoA’s current projects and future plans

47:36 OP_TSM_FAN: What are the biggest things you want to see change in the esports space to make it better?

51:26 d2Squar3d: Does DoA ever miss the "Rain Bros" outfits?

52:12: Kbot: How can someone maintain self-confidence in casting or other types of work?

54:56: scaf: What are the most important factors in having an esport last long-term?

57:55 Outro
1 hr
December 11, 2020Ep. 12 – Jensen Goh, Head Coach of Immortals Academy, on player development, veterancy, and goals for IMTA in 2021
Much-traveled LoL coach Jensen Goh, the new Head Coach of Immortals Academy, joins the show to give his insights on player development, performance ceilings, veteranship, and the criteria he used to assemble the IMTA roster for 2021.
Jensen's YouTube channel
Follow Jensen at twitter.com/JensenGohLoL
Follow Tim at twitter.com/TimSevenhuysen
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Show Notes
1:00 Jensen Goh’s diverse background

7:00 Biggest successes in coaching career

11:45 Difference in coaching approach for current team

17:15 Immortals Academy roster changes

20:55 Why should we be excited about Immortals Academy?

29:35 Thoughts on veteran/older players in Academy

35:20 The role of mentorship from veteran players in building a roster

41:40 What concepts are most important to teach Academy players?

46:55 Teaching players from a standard "textbook" vs. adapting to their unique needs

50:10 What would "success" look like for Jensen in 2021?

54:00 SpaceAlpaca: Is the plan to rotate rookies between IMT and IMTA? Does that even work in a game where synergy is so important?

57:05 Genes1s: In Academy, is it acceptable to "play to improve", or should you also be doing everything you can to win?

58:35 OP_TSM_FAN: Are there any drills [or unique coaching practices] you’ve come across that help get concepts across or help players improve?

1:02:40 Outro
1 hr 4 min
December 03, 2020Ep. 11 – flyy, GM of Rogue, on 2020, roster changes, and negative narratives
Rogue finished 1st in the 2020 Summer regular season and went to Worlds but still struggle to get much recognition in public narratives. The team's General Manager, Tomislav "flyy" Mihailov, joins the show to talk about his experience in 2020, building the team's 2021 roster, negative community sentiment around Top laner Finn, and much more.
Follow flyy at twitter.com/flyy90
Follow Tim at twitter.com/TimSevenhuysen
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Show Notes
0:00 Introduction

2:23 flyy’s background in esports

4:38 Reflections on Rogue’s 2020

12:45 Rogue’s performance and experience at Worlds

16:28 The value of attending Worlds (event experience, Chinese solo queue, scrims against Asian teams)

27:09 Did Rogue’s performance at Worlds influence their offseason choices?

29:00 Odoamne and Trymbi - Rogue’s roster changes for 2021

39:15 Negative coverage and narratives around Finn

42:35 How does Rogue help players handle negative community sentiment?

45:35 Insights into Rogue’s Academy team, AGO Rogue

52:20 Listener Questions - I_am_not_the_nsa: “What goes into the decision to bring up an Academy player like Trymbi vs. looking at other existing LEC talent?”

58:34 Thoughts on Fnatic’s 2021 roster

59:42 Parting thoughts and predictions for 2021

1:02:20 Outro
1 hr 4 min
November 26, 2020Ep. 10 – GG management on their 2021 rebuild
The Golden Guardians are undergoing a complete overhaul and rebuild with a focus on new talent. General Manager Danan Flander and Assistant GM Jonathon McDaniel joined the show to explain what a rebuild means
Discussion with Jon about NA Academy/amateur format changes
Follow Danan at twitter.com/Danan
Follow Jon at twitter.com/kamikazplatypus
Follow Tim at twitter.com/TimSevenhuysen
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Show Notes
0:00 Intro

0:50 What is a "rebuild" and why are the Golden Guardians rebuilding?

6:40 Were GG pursuing Licorice, and were they planning to upgrade at Support?

9:05 Why did GG fully reset instead of retaining at least 1 or 2 of their existing players?

11:00 How is a rebuilding different in LCS compared to traditional sports?

13:50 What does a rebuild achieve?

15:30 What's the relative value of retaining players vs. selling them for a profit?

18:00 How long will the GG rebuild take?

20:20 Niles and Iconic

26:20 Newbie

30:05 Ablazeolive

33:55 Stixxay

40:25 Academy roster (Tally, RoseThorn, Yunbee, Prismal, Chime)

44:15 How important is it for an Academy team to win?

46:50 Did the Academy/amateur format changes affect the way GG built their Academy team?

48:35 Discussing GG's coaching staff, specifically Academy Head Coach Kubz

56:15 What would "success" look like for GG in 2021?

59:05 Closing words

1:01:45 Telling Ablazeolive on his birthday that he was going to be the LCS starter

1:02:50 Outro
1 hr 4 min
November 20, 2020Ep. 9 – Pastrytime on Scouting Grounds, Mobalytics Power Rankings, and the LCS offseason
Julian "Pastrytime" Carr calls in to share his impressions of the 2020 Honda Scouting Grounds, review the power rankings he and Tim put together for the Mobalytics analytical coverage of the event, and give some opinions on Cloud9, Team Liquid, and the rest of the LCS offseason.
Mobalytics Scouting Grounds portal: https://app.mobalytics.gg/lol/scouting-grounds/power-rankings
Follow Pastrytime at twitter.com/Pastrytime
Pastrytime's Instagram: instagram.com/therealpastrytime
Follow Tim at twitter.com/TimSevenhuysen
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Show Notes
0:00 Intro

1:30 Impressions of 2020 Scouting Grounds and growth of the event over time

8:55 Differences in Tim's and Pastry's Scouting Grounds power rankings

16:50 Drafts discussion for Scouting Grounds

26:58 nxi interview

35:15 Niles interview

44:00 Yunbee interview

51:25 RoseThorn interview

57:55 Spawwwwn interview

1:03:10 Back to Pastrytime: LCS offseason discussion

1:05:15 Most exciting offseason moves

1:08:00 Who looks better for 2021, TL or C9? Which other teams might threaten them?

1:17:20 NA's overall improvement this offseason

1:24:36 Outro
1 hr 26 min
November 12, 2020Ep. 8 - Christopher "Prussian" Troeh on NA amateur/Academy format, Scouting Grounds standouts, and a mock Scouting Grounds player draft
Christopher "Prussian" Troeh guests on the show to give his insight on NA amateur, speculate on the amateur/Academy format changes for 2021, highlight Scouting Grounds players who have been impressing so far, and run a mock Scouting Grounds draft for all 10 LCS teams.
Follow Prussian at twitter.com/PrussianLoL
Follow Tim at twitter.com/TimSevenhuysen
Prussian's YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCo5P-PvfRCDlxklmkJilvGQ
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Show Notes
0:00 Intro

2:56 NA Academy/amateur competitive format wish list and expected changes

10:36 What would be the best competitive format for the amateur scene?

14:09 Value of amateur roster flexibility vs. format stability and “league” structure

17:11 Which Scouting Grounds players are standing out most?

27:41 Listener questions: Which players were “snubbed” from Scouting Grounds?

29:41 Listener questions: How useful is the Scouting Grounds draft, really?

32:25 Listener questions: Is collegiate a legitimate talent pipeline to the LCS?

36:56 Scouting Grounds mock draft!

59:00 Outro
1 hr
November 06, 2020Ep. 7 - Michael "Veteran" Archer, on why Alphari is dead to him, LCS teams' unwillingness to play through top lane, and how to freeze a lane the right way
Michael "Veteran" Archer, a longstanding expert of the European LoL scene, joins the show to give his takes on Alphari and other European players coming to North America, the differences in the NA and EU talent development ecosystems, and more, plus he provides some free analytical coaching!
Follow Veteran at twitter.com/VeteranEU
Follow Tim at twitter.com/TimSevenhuysen
Get coaching from Veteran on GamerSensei
Veteran's Discord
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Show Notes
0:00 Intro

1:25 Veteran’s offseason

2:50 Ways Veteran coaches players one-on-one

4:50 Differences between individual coaching and team-based coaching

7:15 Alphari’s move to TL: “I think [Alphari joining TL] is a great tragedy for him and for Europe as a whole”

9:45 Could Alphari eventually come back to Europe?

11:20 NA contract buyouts reducing players’ options

13:16 Reasons Alphari or other EU players might decide to join LCS

15:50 Will Alphari actually shift play style enough, or be better enough than Impact, to help TL succeed internationally?

23:30 Blaming NA teams for not learning how to play through top lane

27:45 Rumours of other LEC players potentially coming to LCS? Perkz, Xerxe

39:00 NA vs. EU talent development ecosystems

50:25 Veteran teaches us some new analytical concepts

55:40 Outro
58 min
October 29, 2020Ep. 6 - Kelsey Moser, Coach of 100T Academy, on Worlds Finals and NA talent development and coaching
Kelsey Moser, Coach of 100 Thieves Academy, joins Tim to preview the World Championship Finals and give her uniquely insightful perspective on North American talent development, the amateur scene, and pathways to pro, including the upcoming Honda Scouting Grounds event.
Follow Kelsey at twitter.com/karonmoser
Follow Tim at twitter.com/TimSevenhuysen
Follow 100T players
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Join the community on Discord
Show Notes
0:00 Introduction

1:44 Expectations for worlds finals

2:40 Strategic bandaiding by teams like Team Liquid and Suning

7:25 Best team fighting teams at Worlds

8:55 Jungle matchup for finals

14:05 Kelsey’s predictions for finals

15:55 Discussing Suning series

19:10 North American talent development

20:30 Scouting Grounds

27:15 LCS organizations’ prioritization of talent development

31:50 Importance of coaching in talent development

35:50 Resources for developing as a coach

39:30 Has coaching in North America improved?

42:15 Does NA lack talent?

46:40 Inhouse solo queue and the tournament realm

49:45 Listener-submitted questions

JustAPoeBoy: In your opinion, what defines a successful Academy team?

SpaceAlpaca: In your opinion, do former LCS players belong in Academy?

ChaseSchweitzer: How much does your personal vision for building a team align with PapaSmithy’s? For example, he seems focused on developing a talent pipeline that can compete with Cloud9…

58:35 Outro
1 hr 2 min
October 22, 2020Ep. 5 - Nick Phan, General Manager of FlyQuest, on building a roster, navigating free agency, and developing NA talent
Nick Phan, FlyQuest's General Manager, talks through building the 2020 roster, the V1per/Solo change, efforts to re-sign Santorin for 2021, developing player and coaching talent in NA through Academy and Amateur, and much more.
Follow Nick at twitter.com/Swaguhsaurus
Follow Tim at twitter.com/TimSevenhuysen
FlyQuest Discord
FlyQuest Store
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Show Notes
0:00 Introduction

2:01 Nick’s start in esports

3:41 Nick’s role at FlyQuest, past work experience, and key skill sets

8:22 Building the roster for 2020

10:42 The importance of attitude, approach, and fit

12:35 Adding PoE and Ignar

15:21 Goals going into spring, and V1per/Solo change

23:24 Expectations for summer 2020

26:54 COVID-19 and differences in playing from home

28:20 FlyQuest at Worlds

33:15 Mental aspects of worlds

35:45 Playing to your strengths and opponent weaknesses, not just the meta

38:16 FlyQuest’s 2020 MVP

42:10 2020/21 offseason: what changes are coming?

42:58 Will FlyQuest re-sign Santorin?

44:05 How much does free agency come down to being the highest bidder?

45:15 Would losing Santorin have knock-on effects for other roster changes at FLY?

46:40 Importing talent and Oceanic opportunities in the age of COVID-19

48:50 Developing talent in NA, and the amateur scene

55:40 What are FlyQuest’s goals for Academy?

1:00:00 Developing quality staff and infrastructure to feed into player development

1:02:40 Listener questions

Chase Schweitzer: What are the 5 primary skills/factors you look into a player when building a roster? Baseball examples, exit velocity for hitters, spin rate for pitchers, etc.

Joshua Gutman: Why does it seem that team's playstyles are so dependent on their roster? Is this because the players aren't good enough to play multiple playstyles, it's too hard to learn other playstyles, or do not enough coaches exist that could properly coach players to learn new playstyles?

1:11:20 Outro
1 hr 14 min
October 17, 2020 Ep. 4 - Joseph "Sygh" Pomroy, Lead Analyst for FlyQuest, on Worlds, Level 1s, Santorin's jungling style, and more
Joseph "Sygh" Pomroy, the Lead Analyst for FlyQuest's LCS team, joins the show to talk about the team's experiences at the 2020 World Championships, what it's like working on level 1s with IgNar, how Santorin approaches jungling, and what makes PowerOfEvil so unique as a Mid laner.
Follow Sygh at twitter.com/Sygh_lol
Follow Tim at twitter.com/TimSevenhuysen
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Join the community on Discord
Show Notes
0:00 Introduction
2:10 Sygh’s background in esports
4:15 Designing a Twisted Treeline speedrun for CLG
6:50 Transition to FlyQuest
8:53 Experiences working with FlyQuest
11:18 Players’ receptivity to feedback
12:16 Sygh’s responsibilities as Lead Analyst - how does he help FlyQuest win?
17:00 FlyQuest’s experience at Worlds
18:57 Adapting to the Worlds meta
28:00 Example insights on facing Top Esports and DRX
30:25 Thoughts on Fnatic vs. Top Esports
33:45 FlyQuest’s creative level 1 strategies
39:16 Importance of people skills in working with players
40:16 Prepping against unfamiliar opponents
44:45 Jungle expression and individuality
54:10 “Player gaps”; how to handle big individual skill differences between teams
55:22 Finding the most value out of scrims. Did FLY scrim against Damwon?
1:01:03 Questions from Patreon
Angus Lockhart: What’s the balance between VOD review and stats analysis for analysts? From what I can imagine, it's presumably mostly VOD review, but is there a place for stats on the team side or are they currently most just for viewers to enjoy?
1:09:20 Outro
1 hr 12 min

About The True Sight Podcast by Oracle's Elixir

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In-depth analytical coverage of professional League of Legends and the rest of the esports world, from Tim "Magic" Sevenhuysen, founder of OraclesElixir.com.

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The True Sight Podcast by Oracle's Elixir

The True Sight Podcast by Oracle's Elixir episodes

About The True Sight Podcast by Oracle's Elixir