SANTA MONICA, Calif. -- It was less than a year ago that the Dallas Cowboys' star rookie duo of running back Ezekiel Elliott and quarterback Dak Prescott were at the NFL Combine attempting to woo potential suitors through myriad tasks testing their mental and physical attributes. Today, the two are starters in the NFL on the current best team in the league, at 8-1, and first-rounder Elliot could challenge for league MVP.
On Tuesday at the LCS Arena near the beaches of Los Angeles, 20 League of Legends amateurs began their own journey to write the script of their future careers. Under the support of four NA LCS teams in Immortals, Counter Logic Gaming, Echo Fox and Team Liquid, four teams were born to represent the elemental Drakes inside Summoner's Rift: Mountain (IMT), Cloud (CLG), Infernal (FOX) and the aptly dubbed Ocean (TL).
These ramshackle squads were represented by members of the team guiding the rookies through the combine. CLG's Ocean, for example, had both captain Zaqueri "Aphromoo" Black and head coach Tony "Zikzlol" Gray to shepherd the prospects. From there, the brainy quartet sat down in a private room to commence the drafting portion of the event, dividing the rookies into four even teams. The first overall pick, to Ocean, was jungler Omar "OmarGod" Amin, who entered the rookie field as one of the favorites to impress in the weeklong test of skills.
Following the top selection, AD carry Deftly was selected by Team Infernal, mid laner Tuesday was picked up by Mountain, and another jungler, Wiggily, was scooped up by Liquid's Team Ocean to round out the first-round picks.
After the draft, the players dispersed into their newly chosen tribes and put on fresh uniforms to begin their quest to be the last team standing at the end of the week. The teams will play through Friday night, and a standout player might find himself earning a contract from one of the observing NA LCS clubs. While the players got to know each other, the first day was essentially up to the teams themselves -- no official matches are scheduled until Wednesday night.
A team could have theoretically taken their respective rookies to an amusement park for the day; however, as expected, teams went straight into working, with scrimmages scheduled into the night. Also, each team was partnered with a media crew, and ESPN Esports was selected to cover Team Mountain for the duration of the tournament.
While several teams stayed at the LCS Arena studios to play in the scrimmage rooms, Team Mountain trekked to the Immortals team house to get the full experience of playing as professionals. A few players reflected on the feeling of sitting in the chairs of some of the elites in the league, such as former MVP and 2016 all-star Kim "Reignover" Ui-jin.
"We only get to train them for so many hours for so many days. We wanted to make sure all of our picks were above average or better," Team Mountain coach and new Immortals strategic head coach David "Hermes" Tu said after a pair of scrimmages to begin the day. "We weren't shooting too high, like star players, and we weren't shooting too low. We didn't want any problem [players] we couldn't resolve by the end of the week, so I think we started out our draft strong."
On what he looks to get out of the experience, he said his team's victories would be his own.
"[I'll enjoy] hopefully what they will enjoy, which is to make sure they know it's not about winning, although winning is nice," Hermes said. "It might be their sole experience and being exposed to what professional play is like and whether if they want to do it or not. I hope it gives them a good perspective of what is ahead of them."
Although a winner will be crowned at the end of the combine, Hermes preached learning and achieving goals as a unit over taking the top prize. With only four days to play together before the event is over, this could be the one chance these players have to separate themselves from the faceless slew of amateurs in the North American ladder.
A team house, dedicated scrims, playing side-by-side with your teammates and a legitimate coaching staff behind you make for an opportunity of a lifetime for Team Mountain.
Tuesday, the top pick of the team, is confident he can impress in the mid lane, but it'll take a five-man effort to stand above the rest. The official games begin Wednesday, and the hopes of a few prospects will begin to be snuffed out.