Due to the impact of the well-known pandemic, numerous top-tier esports tournaments around the world across various genres have been canceled, postponed, or at the very least, played without an audience. League of Legends is certainly not exempt from this, as most spring tournaments in all regions have switched to online play, with the most significant blow being the cancellation of MSI 2020.
Esports and international tournaments are an indispensable part of League of Legends, and the lack of any significant events or tournaments over nearly two months (the break period between tournaments this year) is a huge loss for Riot Games, the teams, and fans alike. Recently, the CEO of T1 proposed an idea for the China-Korea Grand Battle and received overwhelming support from fans and players.
Perhaps Riot Games understands this as well, as just a few hours ago they announced the Mid Season Cup: LPL vs LCK. This news has made the community ecstatic, as finally there is a prestigious tournament to watch during this challenging time.
The tournament will kick off on May 28 (local time), featuring the top four teams from the LCK and LPL Spring 2020. Unlike the rather lackluster Rift Rivals tournament, the Mid Season Cup will be a true battleground for teams to compete and prove who is the strongest between the two regions of China and Korea.
The four teams representing the LCK are: T1 (Spring 2020 LCK champions), Gen.G, DragonX, and Damwon Gaming.
The four teams representing the LPL are: JD Gaming (Spring 2020 LPL champions), Top Esports, FunPlus Phoenix, and Invictus Gaming.
Many will wonder if players will have to compete online. Wouldn’t that give one side an advantage due to ping and connection issues? You can rest assured that to ensure the most equitable competition, Riot Games will use a third-party tool to guarantee that the players compete under standard conditions with a ping of 30-40.
Regarding the competition venues, the Chinese teams will compete at the LPL Shanghai Arena, while the Korean representatives will compete at LoL Park in Seoul. According to Riot Games, this is just the first event in a series of worldwide events to replace the previously canceled MSI 2020. Details about such tournaments will be announced throughout this week.