The In Game Leader is one of the most misunderstood roles in Siege. The general consensus from players and analysts is that the role is more of a responsibility that can be spread across one or all five of the players without a drop in performance. The days of a single person calling the shots 24/7 are over, they say. Xset is often cited as an example of this since Spiritz is the ‘IGL’ but all five players are vocal. But if this method is so effective, why are all big titles won by teams that have a dedicated IGL?
The two best teams in the history of the game headed by the two best IGLs, Fabian and Canadian. Clearly their influence could have been replaced by a better fragger and a bit more communication from the other players no? Shas and crew would have made the G2 dynasty with or without Fabian. Of course of course. BDS won the Sweden Major with Elemzje at the helm but could have done it with a pure fragger in his place. Winning international events and having a good IGL are the same circle of a Venn diagram.
Team Liquid was in the finals with Lagonis leading. W7M’s performance was spearheaded by Julio supercharging the team. Astralis got revitalized by Forrest taking charge and DarkZero won the Charlotte Major after giving Canadian the keys. The IGL is not a responsibility that can be split. It is a single player’s role that is necessary to win championships and place well consistently.
When it comes to adding or removing an IGL this is important to keep in mind. Many players are under the assumption that IGLs are optional. I would point them to NiKo’s career in FaZe Clan once he kicked Karrigan in CSGO. One of the best players in the history of the game with a talented roster, yet unable to have any impact. This is because the IGL has that much value.
If you think of a comp team as a human body, the IGL is the head. The head decides what the body is going to do, how it’s going to do it, and why it’s doing it this way. The entry fraggers are the arms, striking with speed and power, forcing any obstacles out of the way. The support and flex are the legs, keeping the foundation solid, but able to deliver a good kick or knee to the gut should the need arise.
When a team replaces the average player, say an entry fragger, it’s like getting a new arm. It’ll take some getting used to, it may punch slightly differently, hit a bit harder and be a bit slower, but ultimately that kind of change doesn’t take too much time to adjust to. Certain roles are expected to plug and play for this reason. A fragger has a straightforward enough job tactically speaking. Replacing the head is a much more difficult endeavor.
When you replace the head you aren’t just changing how the body headbutts you change the entire thought process, the experiences and knowledge, and the way the body works. Integrating an IGL is like taking the head from one person and connecting it to a completely different body, even if it works it’ll take time before the body moves like normal.
Teams that try to remove the IGL for extra firepower often have trouble for this very reason. Why would removing a head for an extra arm work? Sure you can hit more but you’re still headless. It isn’t a sustainable long term strategy.
So when I hear that an IGL wasn’t picked up because they wanted to make changes to how a team played, I’m not surprised. Why would they want to do something they know won’t work for the new iteration of the team? Especially if more roster changes are being made.
“Hey we have a new leg, a new arm, and are thinking of a new head. Do you think we need to adjust anything or do we keep doing things the way we have, which forced these changes in the first place?”
Of course the IGL has to work with the team and if there are personality clashes that’s something that often can’t be worked around. But not picking up an IGL because they explain the changes that would need to be made for the roster’s new iteration to work from their perspective is foolish if your only reasoning is “I don’t like that we have to make changes.”
IGLs are not plug and play. You can’t put Canadian in Astralis and expect them to play the exact same way or immediately get better. In fact, when he joined DarkZero, the team took time to find their footing. They had to adjust to a calling style, move roles around to better fit the new playstyle, and give the IGL time to bed in a new system. It took Canadian around 7 months to make it work with DZ, and that’s the GOAT IGL.
I realize the body analogy is a bit worn after all this, but it really is the best way to explain how IGLs aren’t a simple piece to replace. Adding one in requires making changes and simply removing one without a plan is asking for disaster. It’s a tale as old as time across esports, you change the IGL out for someone with a little bit more firepower, it works for a month or three, and all of a sudden the team doesn’t work anymore. EG or FaZe Clan 2019-2020 are good examples in CSGO, we should take heed of those with a few decades worth of experience on us.