Before stepping away from League of Legends for mandatory military service a few years ago, the legendary Solo Queue player Dopa widely regarded as the best player to never go pro shared a deep dive into how he stayed at the top of Solo Queue for years. His philosophies, now nearly five years old, are still relevant and eye-opening for players in 2025 who want to understand why they struggle to climb and how to change that.
This article covers the first bit of Dopa’s core insights, focusing on game concepts, champion fundamentals, and how to evolve as a League player beyond just mechanics.
Every Player Has a “Worldview” of League
According to Dopa, every skilled player builds a unique worldview of League a personal framework for understanding and approaching the game. While many players ask him how to improve, he often tells them to just play and have fun. Why? Because improvement isn’t about one tip it’s about understanding the concepts that govern high-level play.
"If you want to be skilled at League, you have to know lots of concepts. That’s all there is to it."
What Are Concepts In Solo Queue?
Dopa defines concepts as the foundational, often invisible game knowledge that separates strong players from average ones. These aren’t champion guides or tier lists concepts are things you either know or don’t. And if you don’t, you’re handicapping yourself, no matter how good your mechanics are. He then goes on to highlight some concepts with his favorite and best champion, Twisted Fate.
Twisted Fate Concepts
Dopa uses Twisted Fate to explain three basic concepts that almost no players understand but which are key to his dominance with the champion. Although some of them do not apply to today, the learning and understanding of just how much you need to know is still applicable to today.
Concept 1: Level 5 Base Timing
- Use minion dematerializer to prep ranged minions.
- Hit level 5, use Q twice to clear them, and immediately recall.
- This opens a powerful level 6 spike: you return to lane with items and full HP while your opponent is still walking back. This creates a perfect first ultimate window, giving you a massive advantage.
Concept 2: Splitpush Vision Trick
- League minions lose vision the instant they die.
- If you throw a Q and fake walking one direction while the minions are still alive, then pivot the moment they die, the enemy loses track of your path. This subtle trick allows safer movement in visionless areas.
Concept 3: Ult Escape Mind Game
- Against champs that can cancel TF’s ult (e.g. Elise’s cocoon), you can bait spells by walking into a bush before ulting.
- The enemy throws their skillshot early thinking you're in the bush, letting you escape once the threat is burned.
- This lets you splitpush deeper and safer, and then turn fights into 4v5s after ulting out.
Runed Gameplay, Not Just Runes
- Dopa explains that runes matter less than how you adapt your play to them:
- Electrocute + Ignite: Play safe until level 5. Save health, set up for burst ult.
- Spellbook + TP: Trade aggressively early. You have safety in TP.
"Most players don’t even know when they’re supposed to back. They just back because they’re low. That’s not planning—that’s panic."
Concepts in Lane Matchups
Concepts aren’t limited to specific champions. For instance, when playing as Orianna vs Lucian in lane:
- Use Q on melee minions at level 1.
- Always trade back, even if Lucian procs PTA.
- Force Lucian to overcommit abilities, then TP back after recalling.
These ideas seem small but when stacked, they create overwhelming advantages.
How to Learn Concepts
Dopa insists the true path to improvement isn’t copying builds it’s analyzing why you lost. Don’t just watch replays for mechanics study them for causes, not results. Why did the enemy get the upper hand? What decision broke open the game?
"If you don’t update your concepts, you’re just another Diamond player."
Dopa built his gameplay by stealing concepts from players better than him, and then thinking deeper about why those strategies worked. He didn’t invent the unsealed Spellbook TF build he stole it from a Chinese player and refined it. Don't reinvent the wheel, simply make it rubber instead of stone.
Why This Still Matters Today
These ideas are five years old but that’s exactly the point. Concepts rarely change. While champions get buffed or nerfed, and metas shift, the deeper understanding of wave management, vision control, recall timing, and map pressure remain evergreen. They are the invisible rules that govern the game beneath the patch notes.
If you're serious about climbing in League of Legends, start learning concepts not just combos. Think like Dopa. And always ask: Why did this happen? Because the answer to that question is what separates a future Challenger from a forever Gold player.
Coming soon: Part 2 – Dopa’s Theory of Pressure and Decision-Making.
If you are a fan of League Of Legends and Esports, you're probably wondering how much money does Faker actually make? We wrote an article earlier about it that you can check out here.
May your grind and climb be a rewarding and learning one! If this short guide gave you some useful help or insights, feel free to share it to your friends! Otherwise, stay tuned to Gamefragger.com for more League Of Legends and video game news!