Performance and heart rate in elite league of legends players

Abstract

The analysis of the most decisive factors in performance is fundamental in order to train on these aspects to maximize the chances of success in competition. However, in the field of esports, research that has analyzed performance is scarce and includes various modalities, making it difficult to draw conclusions for a specific esports. Due to the growing interest in League of Legends in recent years, this research focuses on this esports and has the following objectives: a) to analyze the differences in the variables of performance and heat rate (HR) as a function of winning or losing; b) to establish the differences in the HR of the players depending on the role of the player, the involvement of the player in the play, and the team that benefited from each action during the game; and c) to determine the physiological changes that players undergo depending on the type of action performed. Ninety games and 4638 plays of an elite League of Legends team composed of five male players were analyzed. The results showed that tower destruction and kills were the most decisive performance factors in the final result. Furthermore, although no differences in HR were found when comparing games won and lost, differences were observed depending on the player’s participation and the action performed, with actions that directly involved the player and favored the team showing the greatest differences in HR, more specifically the obtaining of neutral objectives (Baron Nashor and Elder Dragon), the destruction of structures closest to the nexus base and the team fights.