Top 10 Tips For Playing Against Higher Division Players

Have you ever entered into a game, looked up your enemies, and discovered that you're laning against the #1 Brand player in America? What the heck, you just hit level 30!

Don't worry. This game's still salvageable. If Faker can die to a Gold 4 Brand, anything is possible...Check out our top 10 tips for playing against higher division players below:

Playing Above Your Level

Have you ever entered into a game, looked up your enemies, and discovered that you're laning against the #1 Brand player in America? What the heck, you just hit level 30!

Don't worry. This game's still salvageable. If Faker can die to a Gold 4 Brand, anything is possible...

Check out our top 10 tips for playing against higher division players below:

TIP #1: Keep Calm

Don't worry if you're laning against someone higher division than you. As you see above, even a Gold player can potentially outplay the great Faker himself. Just play the best you can, and if that's not good enough then oh well.

TIP #2: Focus on Farming

Although it's always great for bragging rights if you beat someone higher division in lane, most of the time it's better to just focus on farming to late game so that you'll be relevant later in the game no matter what happens in lane. However, if your jungler tries to gank, make sure you're not completely out of position.

TIP #3: Freeze your lane and ping MIAs

In the same line of thought as tip #2, try to freeze your lane close to your turret in order to maximize your lane safety. However, be sure to constantly ping your "missing in action" (MIA) when your enemy leaves lane. Most of the time, they will roam if the lane is frozen very hard, but at least your allies will be aware of a potential gank.

TIP #4: Stay Alive In Lane

This might be an even better #1 tip that the others. Make sure you stay alive. Sometimes you get outplayed and die or get ganked/camped. However, make your priority not dying and you'll get a lot more done in the game. There's no reason to die 1v1 at levels 1 to 3 unless you choose to fight it out.

TIP #5: Don't Overcommit

If you get a few good jungle ganks and start to win your lane, make sure you don't overcommit and end up giving the lane right back to your opponent. Fight with creep advantages, and try to avoid sticking around at low health and especially, don't turret dive unless you have a ton of armor.

TIP #6: Don't Rage

There's nothing higher division players hate more than getting asked if they were boosted. Most of them worked hard for their division, and get extremely offended when someone lower division asks why they're playing poorly. Remember, even the #1 challenger player has bad games sometimes. 

TIP #7: Tell your team you'll try not to feed

If you happen to get matched up against someone who is drastically higher division than you and you looked them up, tell your teammates beforehand that you'll try not to feed (and try not to feed). This way, they'll just be mad at Riot's matchmaking instead of you.

TIP #8: Play who you're comfortable with

In some divisions, certain players like to consider their own particular champions overpowered (ex: Zed, Yasuo, Syndra, Hecarim, etc.) However, if you don't play these champions, certainly don't pick them just for the sake of them being "overpowered". Play who you're comfortable with, and you'll perform better than trying out high skillcap champions for the first time.

TIP #9: Always help in team fights

This may conflict with Tip #4 at times, but it's always better to help team mates even if the idea seems stupid to you. Some plays like an early Baron may not work at lower divisions when players have less creep farm, but are possible at higher divisions much earlier as a result of the higher amount of gold farmed. The call might be wrong, but it'll have a higher chance of success if you help.

TIP #10: Make some friend requests

At the end of the day, watching high division streams only gets you so far. Often, the things they do might be too minor or too complex for you to notice or pull off. Instead, friend-request some players that are higher division than you, but not ultra-high level. Spectate some of their games or ask them questions about their mains once in a while (keep the questions real specific). This will help you improve as a player. If you're feeling up to it, challenge them to a 1v1 some time!

Conclusion

For competitive players, going up against higher division players to test your skill is one of the best things you can do to bring your skill to the next level. Make sure you make the most of the experience!

Got more tips? Are there any that you found especially helpful? Comment below!