Indexing league of legends performance: A systematic review and focus group study

Abstract

This study investigates competitive League of Legends performance indicators through systematic review and focus group analysis. A review of 15 studies identified 87 performance variables across eight domains: game metrics, skill, cognition, strategy, awareness, knowledge, vigilance, and physical/physiological factors. Focus groups with panellists consisting of competitive players (n = 15) from university, national, and international levels led to the construction of crucial insights: performance measurement should be role-specific; traditional statistics provide incomplete assessment without context; team synergy often supersedes individual skill; both consistency and peak performance represent distinct aspects of effectiveness; and evaluation criteria vary across competitive contexts. The findings suggest League of Legends performance is best conceptualised as an integrated dynamic system rather than isolated variables, challenging researchers to develop more sophisticated methodological approaches. The disconnection between statistical measures and player-perceived performance indicators highlights the need for multidimensional assessment frameworks that integrate objective metrics with subjective expertise. Future research should explore role-specific performance parameters, longitudinal tracking across competitive seasons, and advanced statistical techniques to test hierarchical relationships between cognitive capacities, skill execution, and performance outcomes.