The Iceberg Profile Does Not Influence the Performance of Elite League of Legends Players, but Changes With the Events of the Game

Abstract

Little is known about the interactions between the iceberg profile, which is characterized by high vigor scores, as opposed to low scores in tension, depression, anger, fatigue, and confusion, and performance in League of Legends (LOL). For these reasons, the objectives of the present research were to analyze whether the performance was influenced by the presence of the iceberg profile before the start of the game and to determine the changes produced in the iceberg profile of esports players as a function of the final outcome of the game, the players' performance during the game, and pregame anxiety and self-confidence. The participants were players in a professional LOL esports team during a SuperLiga Orange spring split. The profile of mood states and competitive state anxiety inventory-2 questionnaires were used. Performance was assessed using in-game variables, such as game result, favorable and unfavorable plays, and kills/deaths/assists ratio. The results showed that no changes were found in the performance of the players according to the pregame iceberg profile. Changes were found in the pre- and postgame iceberg profile, according to the final outcome of the game, and the favorable and unfavorable plays. Furthermore, the psychological variables cognitive and somatic anxiety, and self-confidence, had a relationship with the presence or absence of the iceberg profile. To conclude, the iceberg profile does not seem to influence the performance of esports players, although it is modified by events that occur during the game.