# From Critical Insight to Continuous Improvement

  

## Introduction

In the fast-paced, competitive world of esports, winning teams and standout players are built through **self-awareness, reflection, and analysis**. To perform consistently, you must regularly **review, evaluate, and refine** your play — both individually and as a team.

This guide will help you:

* Critically analyse player and team performance
* Use footage and stats to identify strengths and weaknesses
* Give and receive constructive feedback
* Understand how to revise goals
* Turn mistakes into growth through best practice

  

## Why Analysis Matters

Performance analysis is the difference between **guesswork** and **growth**. Whether you’re playing Valorant, Rocket League, League of Legends or Fortnite, structured feedback helps you:

* Improve mechanical and tactical skill
* Strengthen team communication
* Learn from defeats
* Build consistent, winning habits

> “You don’t rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems.” — James Clear
> In esports, that system = **analysis, reflection, and revision**.

  

## Critical Analysis of Individual Players

### What is Critical Analysis?

Critical analysis goes deeper than just saying someone played “bad” or “well.” It involves:

* **Objective observation** — what actually happened
* **Contextual reasoning** — why it happened
* **Constructive conclusions** — how to improve

### Key Areas to Analyse for a Player

| Area | Examples |
| -------------------- | --------------------------------------------------- |
| **Mechanical Skill** | Aim accuracy, movement, skill use, reflexes |
| **Decision Making** | Rotations, fight timing, objective focus |
| **Game Knowledge** | Ability cooldowns, map awareness, win conditions |
| **Mental Game** | Tilt management, communication under pressure |
| **Adaptability** | Responding to opponents' tactics, playing new roles |

### Tools and Techniques

| Tool | Function |
| ------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------- |
| **OBS / ShadowPlay** | Record gameplay for review |
| **Mobalytics / U.GG** | Track stats and in-game trends |
| **BallChasing** (Rocket League) | Positioning, boost usage, mistakes |
| **In-game Replay Systems** | Custom VOD reviews, heatmaps, decision trees |

> Activity: Ask the player to complete a self-assessment before and after a coach’s review. Compare the results.

  

## Critical Analysis of Teams

Great teams aren’t just made of great players — they **work as a unit**, adapt together, and review together.

### What to Analyse in a Team

| Element | What to Look For |
| ------------------------ | ---------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Communication** | Was it clear, timely, and effective? |
| **Strategy Execution** | Were the plans followed and adjusted appropriately? |
| **Synergy** | Did players support one another’s roles effectively? |
| **Decision-Making** | Were key calls right or rushed? |
| **Rotations & Movement** | Were players positioned for success or failure? |
| **Team Morale** | Did players show frustration or resilience under pressure? |

### How to Analyse Team Games

* Watch the **same match** from multiple players’ perspectives
* **Pause during key moments** (e.g. major loss, teamfight win) and ask:

* What was the plan?
* Who executed well?
* What went wrong/right?

> Example: In *League of Legends*, a failed 4-man dive might seem like a jungler error — but team analysis reveals the top laner miscommunicated wave state.

  

## Skill Building Through Footage Review

Watching recorded games builds pattern recognition, identifies habits, and helps players **self-correct** faster.

### A. Recording Games

Use tools like:

* **OBS Studio** (free, customisable)
* **NVIDIA ShadowPlay** (minimal performance drop)
* **Medal.tv** (auto clips and highlight creation)
* **Built-in game replays** (LoL, Overwatch, Rocket League, etc.)

### B. Reviewing Footage Effectively

| Step | Method |
| --------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------- |
| 1. **Pick a focus area** | E.g. “early game rotations” or “duel win rate” |
| 2. **Watch without pausing** | For overall flow and impact |
| 3. **Watch again, pausing key moments** | Look for decision-making, miscommunication |
| 4. **Take notes** | Timestamp examples for discussion or review |
| 5. **Create action points** | “Next match, use smokes to block vision before pushing” |

 

## Feedback Sessions

### Why Feedback Matters

Feedback gives players the **insight** they can’t always see themselves and is the bridge between performance and improvement.

### A. Best Practices for Feedback

| Method | Description |
| -------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------- |
| **WWW/EBI** | “What Went Well / Even Better If…” |
| **BOOST** | Balanced, Observed, Objective, Specific, Timely |
| **Start/Stop/Continue** | What should they start doing, stop doing, continue doing |
| **Player-Led Reflections** | Encourage self-assessment first |

### B. Giving Constructive Criticism

Do:

* Be **specific and evidence-based**
* Focus on **behaviours**, not personalities
* Involve the player in solutions
* Keep it **timely**

Don’t:

* Generalise ("You’re just not good at this map")
* Use blame language
* Overload the player with too many changes

> Tip: Use clips during sessions to **show** the moment you’re referring to.

  

## Revising Success Criteria (Individual & Team)

Success isn’t fixed — it evolves with performance, goals, and game updates.

### A. When to Revise

* After a **major patch or meta shift**
* After **team roster changes**
* After a series of **wins or losses**
* When old targets have been achieved or outgrown

### B. Examples of Revised Goals

| Original Target | New Revised Target |
| ------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------- |
| Entry fragger wins 50% of duels | Now aim for 60% win rate with flash usage improvement |
| Team rotates in 8 seconds | Reduce to 5 seconds and maintain full utility |
| Support ward score >30/game | Also include pink ward clearance as a new metric |

### C. SMART Criteria

Always revise goals using **SMART**:

* Specific
* Measurable
* Achievable
* Relevant
* Time-Bound

  

## Analysing the Impact of Games

Game results often feel emotional — wins feel “good,” losses feel “bad.” But analysing impact means removing emotion and seeing **what the match taught you**.

### A. Win or Lose, What Changed?

| Impact Area | Example |
| ------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| **Confidence** | Close win may boost morale — how does that affect play next round? |
| **Decision-making** | High-pressure loss exposes shot-calling weakness |
| **New Strategies** | Playing vs better team teaches counter-rotations or vision abuse |
| **Role Changes** | Moving a player to a new position — did it help the team? |

### B. Emotional vs Strategic Takeaways

| Emotional Reaction | Strategic Insight |
| ------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------- |
| “That sucked, we threw.” | “We had no vision before Baron — fix map control.” |
| “They just out-aimed us.” | “We overpeeked without utility and fed them early.” |

> Activity: After every match, ask: “What did we learn that will help us next time?”

  

## Learning From Mistakes

### A. Mindset Shift

* **Mistakes are feedback**, not failure
* High-level pros **make fewer repeat mistakes**, not none at all

### B. Common Mistakes to Learn From

| Genre | Example |
| ----------------- | --------------------------------------------------- |
| **FPS** | Repeating peeks, using utility without coordination |
| **MOBA** | Fighting when down on vision or summoners |
| **Rocket League** | Double commits, rotating too late |
| **Battle Royale** | Over-aggression in early game, poor landing zones |

### C. Turning Mistakes Into Growth

1. **Isolate the moment** in footage
2. **Understand what happened** (mechanical, mental, strategic error?)
3. **Ask why** it occurred — panic? misread? no comms?
4. **Define a fix** — drill, awareness, habit
5. **Track repetition** — is the fix working?

  

## Best Practices for Continuous Improvement

| Practice | Description |
| --------------------------- | -------------------------------------------- |
| **Structured VOD reviews** | Weekly sessions with time stamps and notes |
| **Goal tracking** | Use spreadsheets or Notion to track progress |
| **Team retrospectives** | After every tournament or scrim block |
| **Journaling / reflection** | Players log takeaways from each session |
| **Accountability partners** | Pair players to keep each other on track |

> Real-World Insight: *T1 LoL* review VODs **twice**: once with players and once between coaches and analysts to assess trends and maintain neutrality.

 

##  Activities You Could Try

### 1. **Match Analysis Task**

* Record one full game
* Analyse five time-stamped moments
* Identify what went well, what could improve

### 2. **Feedback Roleplay**

* One person plays coach, one the player
* Use the BOOST model to give performance feedback
* Switch roles and reflect

### 3. **Performance Revision Journal**

* Over 4 weeks, track individual goals
* At end of each week:

* Reassess what’s working
* Adjust one part of the plan
* Set new micro-goals for the next week

### 4. **Highlight Reel Project**

* Build a reel of best and worst plays
* Annotate clips with decisions, strengths, weaknesses
* Present a plan to improve 2 weaknesses by next tournament

  

## Tools and Resources

| Tool | Purpose | Link |
| --------------------- | -------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------- |
| OBS Studio | Record gameplay | [https://obsproject.com](https://obsproject.com) |
| Medal.tv | Clip highlights and moments | [https://medal.tv](https://medal.tv) |
| Mobalytics | LoL/Valorant stats and review | [https://mobalytics.gg](https://mobalytics.gg) |
| BallChasing | Rocket League replay analysis | [https://ballchasing.com](https://ballchasing.com) |
| Shadow\.GG | Tactical map heatmaps | [https://shadow.gg](https://shadow.gg) |
| Google Drive / Notion | Store feedback logs, reflections | [https://notion.so](https://notion.so) |
| ProGuides | Coaching and guides | [https://proguides.com](https://proguides.com) |

  

## Final Checklist: Have You…

* Reviewed both **individual** and **team** performance from recent games?
* Used **objective evidence** to support your analysis?
* Delivered or received **constructive, focused feedback**?
* **Revised your goals** or success criteria based on new data?
* Learned from at least one **mistake** and planned how to avoid repeating it?

---

## Final Thoughts

In esports, the most consistent performers aren’t just fast, accurate, or skilled — they’re **reflective**. They study themselves like opponents. They review every clutch, every misplay, and every strategy — not to relive mistakes, but to **grow from them**.

When you build analysis into your routine, you stop guessing — and start improving.