Challenger players are the 0.01% of the League of Legends player base. They have invested countless hours into the game and in turn developed extraordinary in-game skills and decision making. Even the worst Challenger player makes significantly fewer mistakes than players ranked below him.
There are many things that separate a player ranked Platinum or higher from a Bronze/Silver/Gold player. Today we’re going to talk about 3 key in-game differences that low ELO players can fix to help bridge the gap.
Difference #1 – Last Hitting
Load up into a custom game against no opponent and try to see how many minions you can last hit by the 10 minute mark. If it’s less than 100, you have plenty of room to improve. Missing valuable CS is an unforced error that you can prevent by putting in practice. This is something you can work on regularly. TSM ADC Doublelift still goes into custom games to practice his last hitting.
Difference #2 – Trading
Challenger players know not to allow their opponent to give free damage. You want to put yourself in a position to deal damage, without receiving any back, as much as possible throughout the game. On the other hand, any time your opponent attacks you, you’re going to want to punish them for it as best as you can. Trading is the most essential skill to becoming a better laner.
Difference #3 – Tower Diving
Low level tower dives can get messy. Tower diving is a high pressure attack that has the potential to go horribly wrong if done properly. You should probably avoid tower diving all together unless you are playing with a friend, or you’re confident the person you’re diving with knows that they’re doing.
Make sure you know where the enemy jungler is so things don’t get turned around. Generally the champion with the best crowd control should take aggro first so the person getting dived can be finished off quick. Only dive if it’s a guaranteed kill! Any hesitation at all could mean that diving is a bad idea.