Ep. 48 – LCSPA Exec. Director Phillip Aram on transparency, trash talk, Champions Queue, and more

Evil Geniuses won a championship with a couple of North American teenagers. What kind of ripple effects will that have on the league, and how should other orgs respond? Twitter: https://twitter.com/TimSevenhuysen Twitch: https://twitch.tv/TimSevenhuysen Discord: https://discord.gg/KY6XHaF Patreon: https://patreon.com/OraclesElixir

Some of you really like living in a dream world. ;) Twitter: https://twitter.com/TimSevenhuysen Twitch: https://twitch.tv/TimSevenhuysen Discord: https://discord.gg/KY6XHaF Patreon: https://patreon.com/OraclesElixir

Tim picks his current and all-time American and Canadian national teams. Twitter: https://twitter.com/TimSevenhuysen Twitch: https://twitch.tv/TimSevenhuysen Discord: https://discord.gg/KY6XHaF Patreon: https://patreon.com/OraclesElixir

Tim predicts the entire LCS 2022 Spring Playoff bracket. Twitter: https://twitter.com/TimSevenhuysen Twitch: https://twitch.tv/TimSevenhuysen Discord: https://discord.gg/KY6XHaF Patreon: https://patreon.com/OraclesElixir

Tim's current-strength power rankings: https://youtu.be/gB04_ljv5Dc Tim's preseason power rankings: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PM990wD4F4A Twitter: https://twitter.com/TimSevenhuysen Twitch: https://twitch.tv/TimSevenhuysen Discord: https://discord.gg/KY6XHaF Patreon: https://patreon.com/OraclesElixir

The Executive Director of the LCS Players' Association, Phillip Aram, joins the show to talk Champions Queue, the ways LCS players share contract details with one another, how he coaches pros on trash talk, and a lot more. Follow Phillip at twitter.com/Phillip_Aram Follow the LCSPA at twitter.com/NALCSPA Follow Tim at twitter.com/TimSevenhuysen Subscribe on Anchor Support the show on Patreon Join the community on Discord Show Notes 0:00 Intro 2:24 Phil's background in esports 5:45 How Phil became the LCSPA Exec. Director 9:40 The LCSPA board 15:05 The LCSPA's player leadership 21:05 How the LCSPA's success has achieved greater player buy-in 24:00 How LCS players share salary info with one other 27:45 How the LCSPA helps players navigate the tension between players and teams 33:10 How does the LCSPA advise players around appropriate/inappropriate agent behaviour? 37:30 Champions Queue 49:30 On trash talk 54:20 What's next for the LCSPA? A secret project!? 56:30 Outro

NA Academy colour caster Joshua "Joushi" Howard lifts the curtain on the new Academy casting team and structure, and breaks down all of the most interesting, high-performing Academy teams and players. Follow Joushi at twitter.com/Joushi_TV Follow Tim at twitter.com/TimSevenhuysen Subscribe on Anchor Support the show on Patreon Join the community on Discord Show Notes 0:00 Intro 1:10 The new Academy casting setup 12:40 Reception to the new broadcast 19:00 Which Academy teams look best? CLG, 100 30:29 Cloud9 Academy 37:25 Immortals Academy 41:08 How players catch the eyes of fans (and GMs) 47:22 Team Liquid Academy 53:58 Promotion-ready players 57:50 Outro

The new TSM FTX VP of Esports joins Tim to break down his plans for TSM's future, the org's relationship with its fans, and his goals for 2022 and beyond. Follow Dominic at twitter.com/KallasDominic Follow Tim at twitter.com/TimSevenhuysen Subscribe on Anchor Support the show on Patreon Join the community on Discord Show Notes 0:00 Intro 1:10 About Dominic and what brought him to TSM 11:23 Dominic's role, responsibilities, and projects 18:36 Differences between TSM and Gen.G 21:00 Dominic's goals for TSM 28:25 TSM's approach to its LoL roster 39:15 Does TSM have more resources than other orgs? 46:55 Are anti-fans a curse or a blessing? 50:44 Outro

Kelsey Moser returns to the show to talk LCS MVP candidates, Lock-In predictions, and sarcastic shutdowns of your bold takes. Follow Kelsey at twitter.com/karonmoser and twitch.tv/karonmoser Follow Tim at twitter.com/TimSevenhuysen Subscribe on Anchor Support the show on Patreon Join the community on Discord Show Notes 0:00 Intro 1:57 Biggest offseason stories 15:35 Season 12 meta 25:15 Lock-In preview 44:12 Predicting LCS Spring MVP 51:12 Takedown 1:15:23 Outro

Gabriel "Invert" Zoltan-Johan, head coach of Dignitas Academy, returns to the show to talk about the World Championships group draw, do a retrospective on Proving Grounds, and look ahead to 2022. Follow Invert at twitter.com/Invert_LoL Follow Tim at twitter.com/TimSevenhuysen Side Selection on YouTube Subscribe on Anchor Support the show on Patreon Join the community on Discord Show Notes 0:00 Intro 1:40 Worlds group draw 21:50 DIGA's Proving Grounds run 33:54 DIG Will - where did he come from and how much has he improved? 49:08 DIG Spawn 54:35 Soligo, Lourlo, and JayJ 1:05:45 Outro