My lecture to Prakticum eSports students 8.12.2016

1. IT’S ALL ABOUT
TEAMWORK
Prakticum
8.12.2016
Mikko Meriläinen
University of Helsinki
@MVMerilainen
mikko.merilainen@helsinki.fi

2. THINGS WE’LL LOOK INTO
● Teamwork
● Communication
● Leadership
● Respect
● Feelings
● Toxicity
● Winning and losing

3. WHY DO WE NEED A TEAM?
● To play better
● To have more fun
● To support each
other

4. WHAT MAKES A TEAM?
● Not all groups are teams
(think matchmaking)
● Respect
● Teamwork and tactics
● Communication
● Ability to deal with problems

5. THEY KNOW ME FOR MY ONE-TAPS
● We focus on the most visible stars (AWP, dps, HS%)
● We often forget about the others (IGL, support)
● No-one wins a game alone
● Find your roles - everyone is needed
● Better together: players complement each other
● A star is someone who makes the game easier and
better for their team

6. COMMUNICATION
● #1 priority - you need to
communicate
● A skill just like everything else
● Communication practice:
sounds silly, is useful
● Constructive criticism
● Keeping it together in
stressful situations
● “Stop the moaning and
groaning!”
● Keep up the mood

7. LEADERSHIP
● A good leader is very useful
● Helps with communication
● Democracy isn’t always good
● Both in-game and out-of-game
● Briefing and debriefing

8. RESPECT
● Everyone on your team is valuable
● Everyone on your team is a person
● Everyone has good and bad days
● Everyone should do their best

9. DEALING WITH FEELINGS
● Competition can get tense
● Skills that can be trained
● Tilting, raging, sulking, moaning,
clowning…
● You will sometimes feel bad
– accept it
● Get to know yourself and others
● Don’t make fun of others
● Put yourself in another’s shoes

10. PHRASES TO MAKE LIFE BETTER
● “Sorry I got angry”
● “I think that was my fault”
● “You’ll do better next time”
● “I need help doing this”
● “We still love you”
● “Really good calling /
support / communication /
team work”

11. DON’T BE TOXIC
● No-one likes an idiot
● Being nasty to others won’t help you or your team
● Learn to recognize when you’re getting angry
● Find other ways to let it out
● Racist, sexist, homophobic etc. comments are never
ok

12. WINNING AS A TEAM
● Make sure everyone gets praise
● Be polite to your opponents
● Analyse your game
● What did you do right?
● What was your best thing in the
game?
● What can you improve upon?
● How could your opponent have
won?

13. LOSING AS A TEAM
● Make sure everyone gets praise
● Be polite to your opponents
● Don’t start blaming each other
● Analyse your game
● What did you do right?
● What was your best thing in the
game?
● What can you improve upon?
● Why did your opponent win?

14. BE A BETTER PLAYER
● Know yourself
● “When am I at my best/worst?”
● “What am I good at?”
● “What do I need to practice more?”
● Help others
● Be self-critical and honest with yourself
● Remember to give yourself credit
● Are you putting the team or yourself
first?

15. BE A BETTER TEAM
● Help each other
● Share your knowledge
● Be supportive
● Practice
● Talk
● Talk about practice
● Practice talking

16. HOMEWORK
● Step 1: Discuss the things in this lecture with your team
● Step 2: Pay extra attention to communication and
teamwork in your next practice session
● Step 3: Write a blog post on your team and yourself as a
team player: what are your strengths and weaknesses,
what is a good role for you, what are your team’s best
aspects…

17. Thank you!
Mikko Meriläinen
University of Helsinki
@MVMerilainen
mikko.merilainen@helsinki.fi