Recently, the international community was abuzz with the news that Riot Games announced the change of the venue for Worlds 2021 from China to Europe, just under two months before the tournament kicks off.
This is truly not pleasant news for China, which has invested heavily in preparation for hosting the biggest League of Legends tournament in the world for the second consecutive year, after experiencing the 2020 Worlds without an audience.
However, contrary to Riot Games’ concerns, the Chinese gaming community received this news with a relatively positive attitude, rather than a fierce backlash after losing the hosting rights.
As known, the main reason China had to hand over the hosting rights to Europe is due to the complicated developments of the COVID-19 pandemic in the country. This is why the matches in the 2021 LPL Summer Playoffs will have to take place without an audience. Similarly, the major event celebrating the 10th anniversary of the League of Legends server in China also cannot welcome live viewers. Meanwhile, the Chinese government has begun tightening entry and exit regulations to control the pandemic, making it difficult to bring foreign players to China.
The Chinese League of Legends fan community believes that not hosting Worlds 2021 is a practical move to ensure the safety of players and to prevent the spread of the virus. Therefore, in most large surveys on social media in China, supporters of Riot Games and Tencent’s decision make up the majority.
In addition to safety and pandemic prevention concerns, another reason why Chinese LoL fans express their support for Riot Games in the decision to change the venue for Worlds 2021 is… luck.
In the past, Europe has been a favorable ground for Chinese LoL teams. Three out of the four international titles they have won were on European soil, with the exception of Invictus Gaming winning Worlds 2018 in South Korea, while Royal Never Give Up won MSI 2018 in Germany, MSI 2021 in Iceland, and FunPlus Phoenix also crowned at the 2019 Worlds held in Europe.
Furthermore, the four times Chinese LoL teams have reached the pinnacle of the world, Team SoloMid has missed out on international tournaments each time. And in this Worlds 2021, the North American team is once again absent. These two “spiritual factors” have led many Chinese fans to believe even more that their representatives will soon reclaim the throne from LCK after a disappointing Worlds 2020 against DAMWON Gaming.
Indeed, losing the hosting rights for Worlds 2021 has left many regrets, but upon careful consideration, holding the tournament without an audience means that whether or not they have hosting rights, it wouldn’t matter much. On the bright side, Europe becoming the new venue for the tournament brings many positive thoughts for Chinese fans about the prospect of a successful season for LPL representatives.
Especially when this prospect is entirely grounded, as the performance of LPL representatives this year is still considered slightly better than their main rivals in LCK, especially for FunPlus Phoenix – the name likely to become the number one seed from China at Worlds 2021.