League of Legends Everything Wrong with Rift Rivals

Awful timing

As if Rift Rivals not offering enough incentive for the teams involved wasn’t bad enough, Riot also choose to schedule the tournament right in the middle of the summer split. Following week 4 of the LCS and week 3 of the LEC, the top three European teams from spring will jet off to Los Angeles for four days’ worth of games to decide which region is better over multiple Bo1s.

After this, the European teams will head home extremely jet lagged and will be given a weekend break from LEC action to remedy this. While on the surface this may seem like an excellent solution to last year’s jet lag complaints, it also means that EU teams will have two fewer weeks to prepare for the World Championship than those from North America, putting them at a severe disadvantage. All for a measly Rift Rivals tournament.

Following last season’s jet lag comments from multiple European pros, it wouldn’t be surprising to see teams sending several substitutes to LA to partake in this years’ event. The level of competition in both EU and NA has never been higher, with multiple teams vying for Worlds qualification. No roster can afford any slip-ups in the run-in towards summer playoffs and will want to keep their rosters fresh for regional league games, rather than giving their all for Rift Rivals.

There is no doubt that every member of the community enjoys watching the NA vs. EU rivalry flourish, and we received a huge reminder of that with G2’s 3-0 victory over Team Liquid in the Mid-Season Invitational final last week. But, when the level of play and player performance suffers as a result, perhaps it is time to consider a restructure to the Rift Rivals format in order to maintain hype while also keeping it fair for all parties involved.

Do you think Rift Rivals should stay? How do you think the tournament could be improved? Add your thoughts in the comments below!