An article on how to stop throwing and to close out winnable games

General tips

Everyone has experienced them before. Being on the brink of winning a game, but it just seems impossible to get those last turrets to close out the game. It is frustrating and unfair to your team and yourself to lose with a twenty kill lead. Throws happen in every ELO whether it is Bronze or Diamond, the only difference is how often they happen.

There are a few key processes in being able to close out a seemingly won game. These are being 1) Communication, 2) Leadership and 3) Playing Objectively. All three of these things contribute to making the final push to victory.

Communication is an extremely vital part to winning any game in League of Legends, no matter how well you are doing. This is a team game and no matter how fed you are, you will always need your four other teammates in order to secure a win. Yes, it is possible to win team fights down one person, but most of the time, every single person will be needed. Knowing your team's goal is critical to map control and movement. If your team wants to Baron, you should not be in bot lane farming. Your teammates have the same ELO as you which means generally so is their skill and knowledge level. Give your team some credit and listen to them, not every decision you make will always be the smartest and it is okay since even the best players do it sometimes. To best summarize how to communicate effectively with your team, let them know what your current goal is, whether it is getting red buff, dragon, or looking to get a tower and most importantly, try to get into the same mindset as them and work with and not against your allies. Good communication will result in coordinated movements and playing like a team will make you win.

Being a leader is also one of the most significant ways to end a game. Every team needs a leader in order to keep everyone on task and together. In order to be a successful leader, you need to be able to communicate with your team while being listened to. Getting people to listen is difficult sometimes, but there is a few easy ways to persuade your team into doing what you ask of them. First, do not yell at anyone for any reason, if someone made a mistake, they know what they did wrong and they do not need to be ridiculed the whole game for making a mistake that you have probably made before, everyone has their off games. People are more inclined to listen to someone who is reasonable and who has not been insulting them. If someone on your team is yelling at another person on the same team, do not start fighting against them for being rude to an ally, just support your teammate and ignore the flamer. It is already a challenge to win 5v5, there is no need for fighting amongst your team. Another important thing is that generally, people do not say anything unless they are frustrated and are releasing their anger, become the leader, use the chat, and communicate, if people are not pitching in their own ideas then you need to take the incentive and lead them. If people are not communicating and doing their own thing, the other team will take advantage of the situation and group and start taking objectives and ultimately win. You cannot be the leader every time though, sometimes other people on your team is better suited to fill that role and it is okay. Making sure that there is leadership on your team is critical not only in working together, but it is critical is not fighting against yourselves.

Playing objectively is also a key element in closing out the game. Pushing out lanes and continuously farming will not win the game. Taking towers, inhibitors, and getting baron will help win the game, because ultimately, the game is not over until the nexus is destroyed, and that only happens if their inhibitor and nexus towers are destroyed. As a leader, after a team fight that your team came out on top of, do not go back to base to buy and heal up a bit, go and take towers or baron. The only time you should be recalling after a team fight is if your team lost the fight or had an even exchange. Depending on how the number advantage your team has, it can mean one or two towers or even an inhibitor, but in order to make that happen, you have to tell your team and ping them to get the tower. The more towers that you have destroyed, the more map and vision control you have and means catching people out of position is easier since there are less safe spots for the enemy to retreat to. However, playing objectively does not mean play recklessly. Going to get a tier 3 mid tower while all five of the enemies are alive is extremely difficult and risky to do. Also getting baron without proper warding and the enemy jungler being alive is also risky. Baron is known as the “throw pit” and it has this name for a reason. Play smart and be aware of the enemy team's movements. Understanding this will lead to less throws and a better gaming experience.

Communicate and lead your team, don't allow throws to happen, the chat is there for a reason, so use it to your advantage. A level headed leader who is slightly negative in score will always be better than a hot headed and toxic player who has a positive score. So go out there and guide your team to victory.

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