Ethan and IGLing

#1

Hot take: Ethan is not a good IGL...
Not in the macro department. But is insanely good at the micro department(as he did in 23s eg)
My opinion:NRG with bonkar and ethan figured out a great strat to success
Bonkar handles the macro, the overall strategy, the big idea, the antistratting.
Ethan, handles the micro, the timing, the move to make next

And this system works, because unlike 24 or 25, Ethan is back on his native role of the micro IGL like he was back at EG with boostio taking macro with potter
Its brilliant, but remove bonkar, and im scared to see what happens to ethan. We saw it in 24s nrg with how disappointing they looked. (Sure it was Ethan's maiden igling so cut some slack)

#2

TheFumbler

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TLDR: NRG fluked.

Thank you I knew you had good takes

#3

kevuya

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Lol almost like this is the job of a coach

#4

Vyse-Fan_In-more-than-one

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I mean it is. But coaches arent that deeply invested into the team's strat that if the coach cant make the read the team basically crumbles
(The example-Mibr vs nrg upper semi's)

#5

aiber

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bonkar handles the macro but before he calls a timeout ethan does it so its not like he does nothing you’re just tripping
ethan is a good igl
but maybe not as high as people are placing him
he is top 10 for sure

#7

Vyse-Fan_In-more-than-one

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I say top 15 not top 10 because when the game strat goes out the window Ethan cannot hold the ground as well as other igl's he's being compared to

#10

aiber

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i think thats false because NRG’s resilience shows that if the game strat goes out the window his team is still adapting its not like oh game strat is fucked we lost because thats not how it goes

#6

jawn

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IGL on training wheels

#8

shrike-

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2024 has really done some damage to people’s thinking

#11

Vyse-Fan_In-more-than-one

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Brother no one says ethan is a bad igl
I said he's bad at macro unlike igl's like boaster or saddhak or ange1(boaster is the top of it)

#13

shrike-

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you are just listing the names of old heads you know to be the “goat” igls because of their runs in 2022

explain to me what ange1 has done after 2022? what saadhak has done after 2023? i’ll give you boaster, but if all of these players are just that good at both macro and micro, then are the coaches all frauds? is mini not that good a coach, are bzka/frod not good coaches, is doombros not a good coach?

all of this is telling me that bonkar is BAR NONE the best coach of all time if he is able to carry a team to one, potentially two, titles while having an igl that supposedly can’t macro

#15

Vyse-Fan_In-more-than-one

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I dont think you got my point.
No player is ever "perfect" At micro and macro.
Boaster is probably the only real example you can apply but he's like 70% of perfect

My point was that ethan basically specialized all his stats into the micro igl at like 80% and left the 20% for macro to understand bonkar's ideas and apply as he needs to

#18

shrike-

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so then why are we just ignoring the fact that ethan is the best itw at micro? he isn’t even that bad at macro either, you can see especially on attack he has a general good read on the map, but why do we just completely ignore his biggest strength when it comes to his igling ability?

it’s just disingenuous, and you bringing up names like saadhak and ange1 when they haven’t performed or had anywhere near the kind of igl ability they had years prior just tells me you’re more of a list watcher

#21

jawn

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it was the only other time he was calling and he was shockingly bad

#23

shrike-

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There were many problems with that 2024 NRG team and while ethan’s calling was a part of it, it was by no means the whole picture

he has improved in every metric in 2025 up to now

#30

jawn

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how do we know he has improved? all i see when i watch NRG is an insane backlog of set plays and protocols and very good midround reads

why would i have any reason to believe that that’s owed to ethan and not bonkar?

#33

guuz

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an insane backlog of set plays and protocols and very good midround reads

what the fuck else is the IGL supposed to do

#34

Vyse-Fan_In-more-than-one

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You realise the point is that bonkar is doing like 70% of the 'igl' work is the intended point

#39

espeon

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how the fuck is he doing 70% of the igl work when they are in game? is he the round calling the mid round adaptations when things go wrong? is he the one calling setups before the round and supposedly knows what the enemy is going to do in that single round? like dude listen to yourself

#42

guuz

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https://www.reddit.com/media?url=https%3A%2F%2Fi.redd.it%2Ftnowj4wjelj11.png

#46

espeon

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these people genuinely live in a different reality LOL

#37

jawn

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those things don’t necessarily come from the IGL, and since he has never showed a great affinity for those things it leads me to believe his calling ability is being significantly boosted by his very experienced teammates and the best coach on the planet

#44

jawn

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adapt and create a gameplan without needing your coach to call a timeout on the SECOND ROUND OF THE GAME

#35

shrike-

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is bonkar picking up a mic in order to midround the entire team? is he the one precalling every setup after every round? hell, is he the one playing on ethan’s setup and ethan is just in the back chilling?

it is very evident that especially in his T-side calling, ethan has improved drastically since 2024 as a caller, and while some of it can be attributed to bonkar’s prep, that prep means nothing if you don’t have a good igl who can lead a team to execute it properly

#36

Vyse-Fan_In-more-than-one

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A "micro" Igl is what id call him

#38

shrike-

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so that makes him an igl, hence he is a good igl and one of the best in the world.

#40

Vyse-Fan_In-more-than-one

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...
As a micro igl sure
As an overall IGL his macro is weak enough that i would consider him like top 15

#41

shrike-

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why are we just separating the two as if those two aren’t equally as important

if an igl is the best itw at micro, he is a top igl

his macro also isn’t weak 😭 as i mentioned, bonkar isn’t the one setting them up every round

#43

jawn

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bonkar literally calls a timeout round 2 to set up an entire defensive half, all ethan is doing is calling the protocols bonkar has already set up for him and his teammates who also happen to not be mutes

he is a decent igl but calling him a top igl is asinine, he hasn’t proved it

#47

shrike-

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you are giving way, WAY too much credit to bonkar if you think that he can set up AN ENTIRE HALF in one minute

and it’s good that bonkar is making protocols, that’s what a coach is meant to do. a good IN-GAME leader is the one meant to execute those protocols and those gameplans IN-GAME to where it leads them to wins, as well as midround them when necessary, to which ethan has excelled on

and yes, he has proved it, he has the trophy as proof

#48

jawn

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of course i am, he turned around a dogshit team within a month and led them to champs while creating a signature playstyle

also you’re not convincing anyone with the trophy argument, the last three IGLs before ethan to win a trophy were stax, forsaken and nobody

two of them are not on the role anymore and the other is barely an IGL

#49

shrike-

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Cool, i don’t need a trophy argument when the evidence is right there before my eyes. the fact that NRG has good protocols means that bonkar isn’t a fraud but rather a good coach. the fact that NRG is able to execute those plans and respond to adaptations given in timeouts by their non-fraud coach means that ethan isn’t a fraud but rather a good igl

players can improve within the span of two years… especially as a caller

#50

jawn

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he is a decent IGL, he clears the bare minimum for a functioning caller

he’s like zellsis level (worse according to demon1)

continue thread →

#9

catNmouse

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2024 nrg had a lot more problems than just ethan igling

#12

Pomshies

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how do you know that?

#14

Vyse-Fan_In-more-than-one

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Its an opinion based on rough observation

#17

Pomshies

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so you’re just guessing…
Also what you’re calling micro is actually macro so you’re basically saying that Ethan is a good at certain aspects of macro anyways

#20

Vyse-Fan_In-more-than-one

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I never said he was a dumpster with macro
Obviously he isnt a zero. Just, lower than the average expected

#28

Wolfed

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wrong, and that is all of our opinions based on rough obersvation. :)

#29

Vyse-Fan_In-more-than-one

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Because?

#31

Wolfed

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because of everything everyone is saying in this thread, pomshies summed it up well

i also said those exact points in another thread to you

#32

Vyse-Fan_In-more-than-one

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So the entire theory is that my line of micro vs macro is different for you hence why im wrong?

#45

Wolfed

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i mean you are interpreting words that have a certain meaning wrongly, yes, that is a part of it

igling means IN GAME LEADING. not creating strategies or anti-strategies, that is the coaches job, together with the igl. strats and antistrats are the theory, in game leading is executing those strategies. that latter is what we are all rating in these IN GAME LEADER top 10s. if you want a list for "best strategy creators", it will be filled with coaches. and sure, thats a skill that you can value, but it is not what makes an igl successful or not. an igl is a leader in the moment, who also manages the mindset of the players, hypes them up when necessary, stays calm under pressure, etc. - those skills are all equally, if not more, important than being able to come up with strategies (which, again, a good coach also does).

aside from that, you have no idea how much Ethan is involved in creating those "macro" strategies you talk about.

macro = putting pressure on certain areas on the map, rotating, anything that is related to taking/giving space on the map
micro = stun there and flash there when you execute, change up your set up on this site because they might do a fast hit, etc. (the details)

hope this gives you some insight, feel free to ask any questions

#16

erenkarayilan123

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by that logic none of the igls are good

#19

Vyse-Fan_In-more-than-one

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I mean id think all the good igls by people's standards either have a good mix of micro and macro like valyn and boaster or even forsaken if you wanted to, or they split the igl role into a macro igl and micro igl
(i am not sure of examples to say but im throwing some you are allowed to disagree or contest or make other examples im not sure of any of them
Boostio and Ethan
Johnqt and Zellsis
Boaster and Chronicle)

#22

SerenityinChaos

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Did Ethan tell you that?

#24

Vyse-Fan_In-more-than-one

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I dont have his number obviously. Its just my interpretation based on my ideas looking at their games
It can be incorrect but the logic to me fits well with the team and explains how ethan turned up by stage 2

#25

shrike-

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So you’re just guessing

#26

Vyse-Fan_In-more-than-one

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Isnt that literally obvious

It literally states "opinion"
I dont know what's clearer than that

#27

shrike-

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😭😭😭😭😭😭

#53

osamason

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brain damage thread

#57

twigster001

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"ethan not best igl because it doesn't fit my agenda"

#59

L0CKE

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Ethan still calls macro in game. It's not like Bonkar can talk to the team every round, it is still the job of the IGL to make decisions like that during a match. And micro decisions are typically made by the individual, not the IGL. One of NRG's best qualities is their ability to fake a site and great map positioning, drawing out rotates from their opponents or being in the correct position on defense. Those qualities are not from Bonkar creating good anti-strats, but from Ethan directing the team at a high level.

Ethan is literally one of the best IGL's in the world right now and one of the main reasons why NRG is such an incredible team. And IDK why you are using 2023 EG and 2024 NRG as examples. 2023 EG Boostio did the calling and IGLing. Ethan may have midrounded or called rotates but he wasn't the IGL, and EG literally won Champions that year. 2024 NRG is a bad example too because Ethan literally IGL'd for like less than 10 games and with an entirely different system of players.

Not really sure the point you are trying to make about Bonkar, but Ethan is an incredible IGL and Bonkar's contribution has definitely supported that but at the end of the day Bonkar can't play the game and make decisions for him lmao. I feel like you are slightly overrating the amount of impact a coach has on a team and their decisions in game.