Fresh off a historic win at MSI 2019, League of Legends star Luka ‘Perkz’ Perković voiced his concerns about Rift Rivals and why Riot Games should look into getting rid of the annual event.
Riot Games have put on incredible international events like the Mid-Season Invitationals and the World Championship, but it looks like some pros couldn’t care less about the cross-regional tournament the company is always keen to produce.
Rift Rivals 2019 will pit NA against EU and will take place in Los Angeles on June 27-29, though it doesn’t look like Perkz is looking forward to coming along for the ride.
During his May 22 stream, Perkz was in between games and answering viewer questions when someone asked if he even cared about the minor cross-regional tournament.
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“‘Do you care about Rift Rivals at all,’” Perkz read before continuing. “Honestly, I could not care any less about Rift Rivals. I don’t really think this tournament has its place in such a stacked season already.”
As one of the teams that qualified for the 2019 slate of games, G2 and Perkz will have to fly across the world to participate in the annual festivities to prove which region of the two reigns supreme.
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Even though the star-studded lineup just came back home from their successful trip in China, it looks like they’re going to jump right back on the plane in a little more than a month’s time.
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“I think Riot should remove Rift Rivals,” Perkz said. “And the fact that we need to fly to [North America] is even worse, in a schedule where we already fly so much.”
Can Rift Rivals cause a problem for League of Legends pros?
Fans are growing concerned for what Rift Rivals could mean for the rest of the year’s more prestigious competitions.
“… This schedule just puts EU teams at a disadvantage for worlds,” Fuzzikopf said in the LEC announcement. “They will have to fly to NA in the middle of the split, adjust to a new sleeping schedule, fly back, adjust again, and on top of that, they will finish their splits two weeks later than NA, which means two lost weeks of practice/vacation before worlds.”
It definitely looks like top teams, especially in EU, are going to get the brunt of fatigue with all of these events happening in such a cramped year.
While Riot Games tend to put on incredibly entertaining productions during these events, it doesn’t seem like Rift Rivals will be particularly appreciated by all those watching the tournament and those participating in it.
