The Rise of Gamerunners: A Player-Driven Coaching Service
The 2015 season of League of Legends brought about several changes—a new jungle, new items, and a renaissance for the game as players and the pro scene explored the new map and champions. Riot Games constantly updates and introduces new elements to the game, keeping it in a state of constant flux.
With this ever-changing landscape, players can gain a significant advantage by staying ahead of the curve and quickly picking up the best new strategies. This is where Gamerunners, a new coaching service, comes in.
Changing the Game with Player-Driven Coaching
Coaching has always been relatively common in League of Legends, with pros and top-ranked amateurs supplementing their income from streaming and professional matches. However, Gamerunners aims to change the coaching landscape by creating a player-driven coaching service that anyone can sign up for.
The idea of Gamerunners originated from Bernard Huang’s time at the Texas Academy of Math & Sciences. Alongside his friend Hang Su, they ventured into the StarCraft: Brood War pro scene and ventured into professional poker. After winning close to $300,000, they explored careers in the tech industry but kept an eye on esports. When they noticed the rise of the new generation of esports titles, they saw an opportunity to give back to the community.
Coaching Made Easy
Many professional players claim to offer coaching services, but it’s often difficult for average players to receive direct instruction. Professional players have busy schedules with games, practices, and streaming, while non-professionals struggle to balance their careers or studies. Gamerunners aims to make coaching as easy as possible for both coaches and students.
Gamerunners began by monitoring the r/summonerschool subreddit, engaging with users to gauge interest in a website that could streamline the learning process. They set up a website where coaches could create profiles and developed a messaging and scheduling system to make personal coaching sessions effortless.
Expanding the Possibilities
Gamerunners faced some challenges during its rapid growth, such as coaches feeling limited by the profile options and the reliance on in-game ladder ranking. Huang addressed these concerns by making profiles more customizable and implementing a review system where students could share their coaching experiences.
While Gamerunners currently has around 90 coaches and less than 200 students, Huang has a bigger vision. The website is set to launch officially on Feb. 2, positioning itself as the go-to place for coaching services and hoping to attract a wider audience. With over 50 million players in the game, the demand for coaching services is expected to increase.
Gaming is becoming more socially acceptable, with companies like Facebook and Google having their own esports teams, and universities recognizing gaming in their athletic departments. Gamerunners plans to branch out into other esports titles and explore potential future services like group coaching and live classes.
Gamerunners is a passion project for Huang and Su. Their focus is on the community and their love for esports. As the gaming industry continues to grow, Gamerunners aims to be at the forefront of providing accessible and effective coaching services.
Image via Riot Games
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