As everyone knows, the biggest League of Legends tournament between the spring and summer seasons has been canceled – that is the Mid Season Invitational, the tournament that serves as a stepping stone to determine the number of slots for the World Championship for each region. In Korea, the LCK Spring tournament concluded on April 25, with T1 (formerly SKT T1) taking the championship.
Meanwhile, the LCK Summer tournament in Korea is set to officially kick off on June 17, 2020, which means there will be a gap of nearly 2 months between the two seasons, an extremely long period as League of Legends tournaments have typically only been about a month apart over the years. Therefore, not only Korean League of Legends fans but also fans worldwide are feeling quite suffocated and frustrated due to the lack of matches to watch their favorite players compete. Of course, Esports is luckier than many other sports, at least this sport can still compete online.
Hence, the “higher-ups” in Korea are planning to organize a highly competitive Esports tournament between the two League of Legends regions that are considered to have the most connection: China and Korea. It could take a format similar to the Rift Rivals tournament or have some slight modifications and more creativity.
The first person to suggest this idea was Joe Marsh – CEO of T1, the team that just won the LCK Spring tournament. Joe Marsh made a post on social media hinting that a tournament between Chinese and Korean teams is highly likely to take place during the time when the regular tournaments are put on hold.
Immediately after this information was updated, many Korean League of Legends players expressed differing opinions. Some believe: “A showmatch tournament like this will help teams warm up before entering the summer season, while also allowing fans to watch during this boring time.” Meanwhile, many others fear that Korea may fall behind China, leading to embarrassment and a loss of confidence.
Currently, Riot Games Korea and the Korea Esports Association (KeSPA) are actively working hard to make this tournament happen. However, given the sensitive situation due to the pandemic, organizing the tournament must be meticulously planned. Of course, Riot Games Korea will find a way to organize a showmatch-like tournament, perhaps holding offline matches without an audience. The organizers are very determined to present this event as a gift to League of Legends fans worldwide during a time when no tournaments are being held as the pandemic is being controlled. Unfortunately, we cannot know when the pandemic will be controlled in both countries, we can only hope that the tournament will be held to enjoy the fierce competition between these two regions. Let’s hope and wait together, everyone!