The 2021 season can be viewed as a monumental success for the LPL region. They completely dominated the two largest international tournaments in the League of Legends scene: MSI 2021 and Worlds 2021. Notably, these two championships hold even more significance as the LPL representatives (Royal Never Give Up and EDward Gaming) defeated the LCK representative DWG KIA in the finals. For the LPL community, a championship victory means defeating their fierce Korean rivals.
However, on the eve of the 2022 season, the Korean media ignited a new battle by pointing out 4 issues with the LPL region’s 2021 season. First is the infamous match-fixing drama involving Bo during Spring 2021 when the former FPX player was still competing in the LDL. This punishment not only led to Bo being banned from competition for 4 months, causing the LDL to be immediately suspended, but also placed FPX in a difficult position. Many believe that FPX’s poor performance in the 2021 season stemmed from Bo’s ban and Tian’s injury, forcing him to play while not in top form.
Next is the controversial scheduling of matches during MSI 2021. The LCK accused Riot of favoritism towards RNG as this team had a day of rest, while DK had to play almost continuously, with only a few hours of rest. This led to outrage from the LCK, criticizing RNG players as “shameless” for not admitting they benefited from Riot’s scheduling decision. However, in their own matches, DK also did not perform well. Additionally, the LPL responded by pointing out that at Worlds 2021, EDG convincingly won despite playing a day after DK.
Following that was the controversy regarding some international media being unable to interview players while only Chinese media could operate at Worlds 2021. However, this was later quelled as many prominent international journalists like Sjokz and Laure Valée were still able to cover the event.
The final point raised by the Korean media concerns the restrictions on gaming hours for minors. This has significantly impacted the LDL tournament as most teams utilize players under 18 years old. With the Chinese government’s policies, LDL teams face the reality of struggling to find suitable players for competition. This will also affect the LPL, as the younger players may find it difficult to meet the requirements to compete at the first team level.
However, it must be said that despite the controversial scheduling at MSI 2021 and the issue of international journalists not being able to operate at Worlds 2021, the match-fixing scandal involving Bo and the gaming hour limitations are issues that the LPL organizers cannot control. Moreover, the punishment for Bo was promptly administered, and the former FPX jungler is now paying the price for his impulsive actions. As for the gaming hour restrictions, this is a national policy, and the LPL must comply regardless of their preferences.
From the factors presented by the LCK, it can be said that although they suffered a complete defeat to the LPL region, the Korean side is still not truly “reconciled”. Therefore, in the upcoming 2022 season, the focus of international tournaments will still revolve around the China-Korea rivalry, and teams from both regions must strive their best to avoid becoming targets for domestic fans in case of defeat against their fierce rivals.