C9 Hai, Steve Arhancet, Brokenshard and more talk on the patch change before playoffs

This article was originally published on GameSpot's sister site onGamers.com, which was dedicated to esports coverage.

Patch changes play a major part in professional play. A strategy or team composition you had this week may not work the next week once the patch hits. It may also allow a team to bounce back, and move on from a patch they were struggling with.

Some players were critical of the major changes in patch 4.5 being released two weeks before LCS playoffs, and one week prior to major challenger events. I spoke with players and managers in the LCS to get their view.

Cloud 9’s Hai feels optimistic about the change, stating:

“I think the change is good for viewers! It lets teams have 2 weeks to figure out what is the good and bad. I'm excited to see what everyone will have learned!”

LCS caster, Joshua 'Jatt' Leesman, feels that players should adapt:

“I'm tired of pros complaining about the 4.5 patch changing too much It's 2 weeks until playoffs, adapting has always been a part of pro play”

Brokenshard of Complexity.Black, who plays in the NA Challenger Spring Playoffs semifinals this Saturday doesn't mind the change:

“If people would spend less time bitching about the changes and more actually figuring out what's good people would realize theres not much to be angry about.”

Copenhagen Wolves’ top lane, YoungBuck says players should stop overreacting:

''Players should stop overreacting, the real ''victims'' are challenger teams who had to play life changing promotion tournaments on patch 3.0 and 4.0 2 weeks after their release.”

SK Gaming’s CandyPanda shares the same sentiment:

“For the LCS playoffs I feel like its okay to roll out a patch 11 days before, but its not ok for the Amateur players to play on it right away.”

On the other hand, teams Curse’s manager, Steve Arhancet, thinks the change is “extremely frustrating.”

“Part of the game is being adaptable to the patch. This is something we're used to. Two weeks before relegation matches for this split, the huge Season 4 patch came out and then we had to play on that in the relegation matches. It's definitely extremely frustrating when there's so much on the line and most of the custom work that a team has put into the strategy/meta/rotations/champion practice and picks and bans gets shifted completely.”

Wickd, Alliance top laner, took his frustrations to twitter:

“The patch is amazing and I love it, but that doesn't change the fact that it's kinda stupid to release a big patch before playoffs.”

Riot Games did not respond to request for comment.

Image Credit: Riot Games