Rift Rivals: NA vs. EU Format Update + Tickets

Riot·Jun 21, 2017·1 votes·24,485 views

The time has come for gauntlets to be thrown down and scores to be settled: Rifts Rivals 2017 is just around the corner.

Before we dive into ticket details for Rift Rivals: NA vs. EU, we wanted to cover some of the changes coming to the clash of the NA and EU powerhouses in July:

Format

When we announced the format for NA vs. EU in late May, we heard feedback that you were disappointed not to see more individual games and a longer series (Bo3 or Bo5) between the top NA and EU teams. This echoes feedback we’ve heard from pros in the run-up to this event.

This is a rare opportunity for guaranteed matches between multiple teams from NA and EU, so we’re expanding Rift Rivals: NA vs EU to deliver more games and longer series.

To achieve this, the event is being expanded to include a double-round robin Bo1 Group Stage with a Bo5 final between the top team from each region based on Group Stage results. This means that Rift Rivals will now be a 4 day event, with the Group Stage spanning 3 days and Finals on the last day.

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This means that there will no longer be a Last Man Standing final. Although Last Man Standing is an exciting elimination showdown between two regions, executing Bo3 in that format would have lead to a potentially long final day of games that would require us to start the broadcast at an inconvenient time for NA viewers. It is something that we’ll consider in the future, but we think that the current format offers a healthy mix of varied matchups as well as a conclusive final.

Dates

Rift Rivals: NA vs. EU will now take place on July 5-8.

Tickets

When are tickets on sale?

Ticket sales will go live on Friday, June 23 at 17:00 CEST.

Where will tickets go on sale?

Tickets will be available via Eventbrite at these links for Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.

How much are tickets?

Tickets will be available at €15 per day.

Is there a limit on the amount of tickets I can buy?

You can buy up to four tickets per transaction.

Will I need an account to buy tickets?

No, but you will have a faster and easier checkout if you pre-register with Eventbrite.

Venue

Where’s the venue?

The event will be held at the EU LCS Studios in Berlin, Germany. The studio can be found here: Am Studio 20D, Berlin, Adlershof, 12489.

What language will Rift Rivals: NA vs. EU be in?

Live commentary inside the studio will be in English.

Will there be any other activities surrounding Rift Rivals: NA vs. EU?

We’ll have more information on extra activities as we get closer to event date including opportunities to take a photo with some of the Rift Rivals teams each day. We’ll get you updated as soon as all the details are worked out.

Now you should have all the info you need to lock in your spot to see all the Rift Rivals: NA vs. EU action first hand. It’s going to be one hell of a battle, and it’ll be winner-takes-all as the teams fight for regional pride. Remember to keep it dialed to Lolesports.com for all things competitive League of Legends.

Derrick “Riot FearGorm” Asiedu is part of our International Esports and League Operations Team. He works on the global development and operations of competitive League of Legends. He splits his time between global policy execution and implementation and supporting international events including MSI and Worlds. Riot FearGorm is jungler main and if possible, he would only play Hecarim. He used to have the most Hecarim games in the world. You can find him on Twitter at @FearGorm.

26 Comments

DubaliciousJun 21, 20176 votes

This is awesome... I'm always excited to watch NA v. EU in the international tournaments now this is a whole tournament of those games. Good job RIOT! GO NORTH AMERICA =D

XORcutorJun 22, 20173 votes

Does this new format compromise competitive integrity? NA can throw games to who they think are the worst EU team, and EU can throw games to who they think are the worst NA team, so that they can face the weakest opponent in the finals.

Ale non è maleJun 21, 20172 votes

This new format Is worse than the old. You should have just kept the Last Man Standing format but with Bo3, especially because you showed here that you were willing to extend the tournament by 1 day, with the final Bo3s being played on last day (when basically one region was left with only 1 team)

XORcutorJun 22, 20171 votes

I second that new format is worse than Last Man Standing.

KrittyJul 4, 20171 votes

So you would rather not see all teams from your region play? That seems like backwards thinking. This way, there's no teams that would make the effort to prepare and travel just to sit and watch other teams play.

frankievJun 22, 20172 votes

I'm glad Riot is listening to feedback but I'm personally disappointed.

I was looking forward to what I hoped would be a fast-paced, high pressure event with great storylines, trash talk, cheese strats, camaraderie between teams, and the sense that regional pride was at stake.

I think the original format was quite clever. Bo1s are certainly more volatile but the consequences of teams' results in these Bo1s were correspondingly less extreme. No team was kicked out but the order could only have a minor influence on how the final went. The Bo1s, less for hashing out a tier list, were meant to give teams an idea of what they were up against in preparation for the final.

The new format is more competitive for sure but as a competitive event leaves something to be desired. The participants were not chosen carefully to compromise between consistently great teams and hot teams like they are for worlds and the knockout stage is only one series meaning teams cannot afford to have a mediocre group stage before they show their true quality.

Moving the format closer to that of a competitive event might seem like a better compromise, but we're now left with a pale imitation when we could have had something original and exciting.

KrittyJul 4, 20171 votes

The problem that would have arisen is the travel expenses for teams that may not have even ended up playing. At least this way, you're guaranteed to see all of the teams from your respective region play.

Tbone6Jun 21, 20171 votes

So would this be applied to all the regions? I feel like changing the format this close to the competition is a little unorthodox... Why change what hasnt even happened?

ArchäenJun 21, 20171 votes

Because everyone was up in arms about the Bo1 format they had going. Felt too much like an exhibition and not a competition.

BigBellBruteJun 21, 20171 votes

{quoted}

So would this be applied to all the regions? I feel like changing the format this close to the competition is a little unorthodox... Why change what hasnt even happened?

The Russia vs Turkey one was already similar to what NA vs EU is going to be in formant.

LA North, LA South, Brazil involves three regions. SE Asia, Oceana, Japan involves three regions. The Korea vs China vs Taiwan one involves three regions.

All three are similar in format to each other and different from the two region events.

BigBellBruteJun 21, 20171 votes

EU 1,2,3 vs NA 4, tied for 5 with two other teams, 10. Not really interested regardless of format.

ArchäenJun 21, 20171 votes

Actually it's T1, T1, T6 vs 4, T5, 10... so not quite a lopsided as you make it seem. But yeah, NA has their work cut out for them. Additionally, makes it that much worse when EU loses. :D

VioresJun 21, 20171 votes

Is it just me or are these changes working for the sake of Na? cuz Na is gonna have some shit teams and im really expecting all of em to shit the bed vs EU ... so after these changes Na is guaranteed a finals spot

SupaTobiJun 21, 201710 votes

It's just you, Rift Rivals wouldn't have featured an all EU finals anyways... Assuming EU was much better as you say, last man standing format would've been EU 3 vs NA 3, EU 3 vs NA 2, EU 3 vs NA 1. End tournament. EU 2 and EU 1 wouldn't have played at all if EU 3 just swept NA... so NA was guaranteed a "finals" spot anyways.

BigBellBruteJun 21, 20171 votes

{quoted}

Is it just me or are these changes working for the sake of Na? cuz Na is gonna have some shit teams and im really expecting all of em to shit the bed vs EU ... so after these changes Na is guaranteed a finals spot

In the old format you'd have potentially teams traveling all that way and have all the expense and not even get to play a single game. And with teams on both sides now in splits that may be more competitive than we thought G2 has lost two already, Unicorns 1, Fnatic 1, TSM 2, P1 winless, C-9 3, what if some teams didn't take it seriously using the time to concentrate on practice. It easily could have ended with a team or even two not playing a single game. That's not to mention if someone were a Unicorns fan, bought tickets, and they didn't get to play would be disappointed.

DesertFoxJun 21, 20174 votes

like how g2 shat the bed last season? kek.

DATdesoJul 7, 20171 votes

lmao

FamousTGJun 21, 20171 votes

Nice - now how about a new format to make sure the most competitive teams are participating? Maybe 1-2 from the previous split and number 1 in standings from the current split - if two teams are tied for first have them play a Bo3 series to determine who moves forward. A lot can change the few months between splits. CLG being dominantly in first for the Summer SPlit but not participating in the Rivals tournament just seems a bit off.

DubaliciousJun 21, 20171 votes

"CLG being dominantly in first ....."

Dominantly in first while being tied with 2 other teams and the team they lost to a game behind??? idk.

Cheesy12Jun 21, 20171 votes

Man, I was looking for to the team elimination format.

BigBellBruteJun 21, 20171 votes

Now, NA may have a winless team in the finals of a tournament for the first time Ever!!! Oh yeah!!!!

Lîl Rice CakeJun 22, 20171 votes

Considering the current spots that the 3 teams going to Rift Rivals are currently at, I feel as if they're not gonna do all too well.

TrollFan01Jun 22, 20171 votes

TSM/G2 will be the finals and then they'll be in the same group at Worlds and a new rivalry will be born!

Crow2Jun 27, 20171 votes

I think that the Finals, ONLY for SPECIAL EVENTS, should be a BO7 (Best-of-7)!!

FreekosuaveJun 28, 20171 votes

Rift Rivals seems like an excuse to extend the season out more. What even is the point of a "competition" like this irrelevant of the format? Hey look, (Insert any other region here) is better than NA!

When it is little more than bragging rights that are on the line, the whole thing is an exhibition. I might watch it out of curious speculation online, but with little interest since there is nothing on the line. If NA could take the EU #1 worlds seed away by winning this competition however. Now you would have my interest as this becomes something relevant. As it stands now, it feels like little more than a cash grab during a scheduled break period in the respective LCS calendars. Why not just have an all-star exhibition game or something equally meaningless to the standings that does not have to involve such a time commitment or travel? Just my opinion here, but i find this whole Rift Rivals uninteresting at the base level since there is nothing on the line.

KrittyJul 4, 20171 votes

You do realize that every non-season event has started out as just a friendly competition, then evolved into something more, right? I mean, MSI used to just be bragging rights, and now it has Worlds seeding implications. They have to see how successful an event is going to be before they can make things ride on it.