Rift Rivals: NA vs. EU returns

Riot·Apr 20, 2018·3 votes·44,363 views

In July, one of the age old questions shall be answered...is NA > EU or EU > NA?

Rift Rivals: NA vs. EU will take place on July 5-7 at the NA LCS Studio in Los Angeles, CA. Six teams - top 3 from Spring Split from both the NA LCS and EU LCS - will compete for regional dominance.

Here’s everything you need to know about Rift Rivals: NA vs. EU including format, event details, and how to get tickets:

FORMAT

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Group Stage: Best of 1 (Bo1) Single Round Robin
Finals: Best of 5 (Bo5) Relay Race

EVENT DETAILS

Dates: July 5-7

Times:

Pre-game coverage at Noon PDT / 9:00 PM CEST
Champ select for the first game will begin at 12:30 PM PT / 9:30 PM CEST

Teams

Top 3 teams from both NA LCS and EU LCS Spring Split will participate in Rift Rivals including:

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NA LCS:

1- Team Liquid (TL)

2- 100 Thieves (100)

3- Echo Fox (FOX)

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EU LCS:

1- Fnatic (FNC)

2- G2 Esports (G2)

3- Splyce (SPY)

Schedule

Group Stage - Thursday, July 5

Pre-game coverage - 12:00 PM PDT / 21:00 PM CEST
FNC vs. FOX - 12:30 PM PDT / 21:30 CEST
TL vs. SPY - 1:30 PM PDT / 22:30 CEST (approx.)
100 vs. G2 - 2:30 PM PDT / 23:30 CEST (approx.)
FOX vs. SPY - 3:30 PM PDT / 00:30 CEST (approx.)

Group Stage - Friday, July 6

Pre-game coverage - 12:00 PM PDT / 21:00 PM CEST
TL vs. FNC - 12:30 PM PT / 21:30 CEST
G2 vs. FOX - 1:30 PM PT / 22:30 CEST (approx.)
FNC vs. 100 - 2:30 PM PT / 23:30 CEST (approx.)
TL vs. G2 - 3:30 PM PT / 00:30 CEST (approx.)
100 vs. SPY - 4:30 PM PT / 1:30 CEST (approx.)

Finals - Saturday, July 7

Pre-game coverage - 12:00 PM PDT / 21:00 PM CEST
Relay Race Bo5 series begins at 21:30 CEST / 12:30 PM PT

Every team plays at least once in a Bo5 to determine a winning region with the following parameters:

The stronger region from groups gets to counter pick the first three games
Team matchups will be decided on the day of Finals
For the final 2 games, teams for each region will be selected at the same time with no chance of counter picks

FAQ

Why did we change the format?

After looking back at last year’s Rift Rivals, fan and pro player feedback showed that they preferred the Relay Race format for Finals as seen in other regions. We decided to move to a Relay Race format for Finals because it allows for every team in each League to play on the last day. The format also ensures regional dominance and bragging rights are earned by the best League and not just the best team. No sandbagging this year, if you want to prove your League is better, every player, every team, has to bring it. We want to provide the feeling that every team from both Leagues had a part in the win or loss during Rift Rivals. Last year, it felt like TSM won over UOL rather than all the regional teams coming together to defeat their rival league.

We decided to move away from a double round robin Group Stage for a few reasons. Last year, it felt like Groups was the centerpiece of the event rather than Finals. We felt we didn’t need to do a double round robin Group Stage at this event because every team will now play in the Relay Race Finals. In addition, the switch to single round robin Bo1 makes every game, team matchup, and champion selection matter more toward developing a winning strategy during Finals. While we know having less cross regional play in the Group Stage will undoubtedly leave some of you wanting more, we believe these changes will create a better overall tournament experience for fans and pros alike.

Why is Rift Rivals shorter this year?

Last year, we focused heavily on Groups and the double round robin format to get as many cross regional games as possible.This year, we felt it was more important to amp up Finals as such we didn’t need the extra day with our new format. We have taken steps to increase our storytelling so the content won’t be light, and the gameplay will be meaningful for every match, since teams only face each other once. With this format change, we only needed three days to deliver the chaotic and high stakes atmosphere of Rift Rivals.

Why not more action on the weekend?

With Rift Rivals being a part of an international week of rivalry, we decided to schedule our games on days and times that allowed fans to watch as many regional clashes as possible. On top of that, pro player feedback last year, was such that the travel and time commitment wiped them out physically and was a drain on restarting their Summer Split, so this year we are aiming to get them home with enough time to adjust for their pivotal LCS games the following weekend.

In what languages will the Rift Rivals: NA v EU broadcast be available?

We’ll confirm all the international languages of the Rift Rivals: NA vs. EU broadcast after MSI 2018 concludes.

TICKETS

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Tickets will go on sale on Tuesday, April 24 at 10:00 AM PDT / 19:00 CEST on EventBrite.

Tickets will be $25 USD including taxes and fees. Tickets are non-refundable and will there will be a limit of 4 tickets per person.

*Note: Links will not be active until tickets go on sale

Where is the venue?

The NA LCS Studio is located at 12312 W Olympic Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90064.

When should I show up?

Check-in begins at 10:15 AM PDT
Doors open at 11:15 AM PDT
Pre-show coverage at 12:00 PM / noon PDT
Champ select for Game 1 at 12:30 PM PDT

Will there be opportunities to meet the pros and casters?

Yes, we’ll confirm details closer to the event in our Field Guide. Keep in mind a valid ticket does not guarantee a photo with any pro or caster.

What language will Rift Rivals: NA vs. EU be inside the studio?

Live commentary will be in English.

Check out our studio guide and FAQ for parking, drop off, age requirements, etc. If you have any questions not covered above, leave a comment below or email [email protected] with the subject line "Rift Rivals: NA vs. EU Question"

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Will NA LCS defend their title as Rift Rivals champions or will EU LCS get revenge on last year? Don’t miss any of Rift Rivals: NA vs. EU starting on Thursday, July 5 at 12:30 PM PDT / 21:30 CEST with Fnatic vs Echo Fox.

Travis “Riot Simoorgh” Mynard is the lead for Rift Rivals: NA vs. EU. He manages the Player Management team for North American Esports. His group focuses on pro player health and wellness, amateur talent support, and league development.

20 Comments

Slice n Dice emApr 22, 20185 votes

Btw, is there any prize money involved? So that the participating teams(especially EU teams) care about winning the tournament.

Edit: Also what do the fans/winning region get out of this apart from boasting rights? Like double exp next week or triple exp next weekend of RR?

leatherbaltApr 21, 20183 votes

Last year, it felt like TSM won over UOL rather than all the regional teams coming together to defeat their rival league.

More like last year, it felt like NA went 12-6 over EU even BEFORE the TSM UOL final.

Burundi PrinceApr 20, 20181 votes

Feel bad for people on the west coast of both the U.S and Canada, the Games are going to be so late at night

KingClausewitzApr 20, 20181 votes

12:30 PM is in the middle of the afternoon for the west coast. The venue opens at 10:15 am to the public. The harder part will be getting off work Thursday or Friday to attend.

UTA SimoorghApr 21, 20183 votes

With the holiday, July 4th we are anticipating more people than normal having that Thursday and Friday off work. Also, schools and colleges should all be on break.

DomermacApr 21, 20181 votes

I have no idea how this Bo5 works. Either poor explanation or I’m dense. Can someone explain?

GeminiRuneApr 21, 20182 votes

Basically every team will play in the final. For the first three games of the final, the winning region among groups will get to pick whom they put against the opposing region per game. The last two games if need be will be blind to who plays whom. I can also be pretty certain that no team will be able to play more than two times similar to other Rift Rivals relays.

This aligns more to what the Red Rift (LPL-LCK-LMS) did last year in which the final game was a unified coach decision as to who played.

Slice n Dice emApr 22, 20181 votes

We all know EU is better than NA. There is no rivalry, rivalry is between equals. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Hope this triggers NA kids to downvote the hell outa me.

WhiteFireKirinApr 22, 20181 votes

nah its has to be one otherwise by your standards there is no rivalry in league cuz korea>all which is very bad for the competitive scene. china is still considered to be a rival of korean cuz they are the only region that has a potential to take down their top 2 teams.

Crackt AppleApr 22, 20181 votes

Somebody give me $3,000 so I can attend this please

ChymaerusJul 3, 20181 votes

The studio is only large enough to fit about 20 people, so even if you made it over there the tickets would all be sold out.

RiotRiot TrepexJul 4, 20181 votes

I think the studio fits more like 150 people. I'm going on Friday to support Fnatic. :)

III BAKURYU III Apr 25, 20181 votes

Will NA show their full hand? Make no mistake Eu got destroyed by NA and to add to it by TSM of all teams(TSM international) the thing is will NA teams not try as hard so A.) NA can stay humble. B.) So NA can learn a few things similar to EU did after MSI only for 2/3 teams from EU to make it out of groups a few months later at Worlds compared to the usual 1-(if any) NA teams making it out of groups with C9.
Is it even watchable?
I'm sorry but to me, League of Legends + the pro scene is boring these days. Ask me about the pro scene say, 3-4 years ago I would be excited to watch games but the same ole' same ole' formula(LCK-LPL-EU-LMS-NA-INT) is going 7-8 years and doesn't seem to be getting any different since day 1 of the pro scene. Same champions, same bans, same victors
Useless tournament? Now, any INT experience is great exp but who actually takes this seriously? RR is just 1 step above from saying All-Stars where there's really nothing at stake. Should there be a plastic trophy or $ involved? In my opinion no but to these players, RR is something that just gets in their way with formats that actually matter like LCS-respective regions/playoffs-Worlds.
Adding more tournaments but limiting formats that actually matter. OH, 1-3 teams are tied in the Spring split time to do some weird " who beat whom" so we don't play X amount of tie-breakers cause it could hurt players' mentality to playing 3-4 games(even tho they play like 30 games per day of solo Q-Willingly). So, to counter that we're going to continue with these winky-dinky tournaments that don't matter(RR-IEM-Etc)

EU will beat NA or NA will beat EU but overall, LCK will win Worlds!

WhiteFireKirinApr 27, 20181 votes

LCK will win worlds is the prediction but even edg took MSI from skt. the way u look at the pro scene is boring, u were probably one those people who "idc skt will win" for 2017 worlds, it was the most exciting worlds yet cuz it had good stories and the gap was very close cuz misfits and c9 should have done the impossible by misfits beating a korean team (skt would have loss if things went normally) and an NA team finally at semis.

III BAKURYU III Apr 27, 20181 votes

Not so much just SKT but more so how things have relatively been the same for the past 7 years. See if this rings any bells -

LCK SKT wins pretty much every tournament. They dominate the spring splits/playoffs only to be dethroned by another team only in the summer splits, only for that same team "most times" get eliminated by SKT at Worlds.

LPL EDG or RNG every LPL split it seems. EDG tends to win more LPL splits but RNG tends to do better than EDG at every worlds/international event barring 2015 MSI for EDG.

NA TSM 10 straight NA finals give or take, only to finally not make the Finals in the last 5 years. However, TSM tends to win(not this split clearly) every NA Split only for C9(RNG) to be the better team to the TSM(EDG) at every INT event. The third NA team gets so overhyped Vulcan 2013, LMQ 2014, CLG 2015(post-MSI), Immortals that they s$it the bed that even after 7+ years it shocks people(Some reason cause NA)

EU Sure, a bit more parity oppose to NA when it comes to teams in the Finals but overall it's been the same thing year after year, Fnatic 3 straight EU finals, 5 titles in the first 6 splits of the EU concept. Followed up by G2 winning 4 straight EU finals in a 5 split timeline.

LCS/League in general TSM-C9 SKT-X team hot only during the Summer split RNG-EDG FW G2-FNC

|That's been the same ol' same ol' for the past 7 years. So, sorry if my post seemed "boring" cause I only react to what I see and I've seen this story unfold numerous times. Maybe the LCK team at MSI or SKT won't win Worlds etc but at this point who honestly cares.