Regional rivalries took on a new meaning this July as 13 regions converged around the world for regional supremacy. Leagues sent their top representatives, games were played, and winners emerged: some surprising and others not as much.

Yet outside of two events: North America versus Europe—where the top-ranking teams from NA and EU after two days of inter-regional Bo1 games faced off in a Best of 5 series, and Turkey versus Russia—where TCL teams proved thoroughly superior to the LCL teams, there appeared to be no conclusive evidence of a region being superior to the other—perhaps a result of the different compositions of the teams. Some events were two-team deathmatches, while others were triple threat matchups.

The question then is: what are we hoping to achieve from Rift Rivals? Determining the better region? Or is it determining the best league, as we saw in the format where the LPL contingent triumphed over the LCK team in the final?

Different Rift Rivals events ended up having different stakes due to the format. In the Purple Rift Rivals, where Asia and Oceania faced off in Vietnam, the Last Man Standing semi-final series proved to be the most enthralling matchup and even ended up overshadowing the final, as SIN Gaming of the OPL took out both Mineski and Ascension Gaming of the GPL, before Gigabyte Marines came back to smash all three OPL representatives in one of the most impressive all-kills in LoL history.

Last Man Standing creates a hype and unpredictability distinct from other formats

No matter how one carves it, the Last Man Standing series creates so many storylines that it is difficult to not justify its entrance in all future Rift Rivals events. The LPL won as a region, but could not conclusively say that any of their teams were better than the likes of SKT or Samsung Galaxy due to the limited nature. It was pointed out that the final of the LCK-LPL-LMS event was a series of Best of 1s, which said little about the strengths of any one team.

But you know what? Given the lack of importance placed on Rift Rivals beyond bragging rights, that really is fine. This isn’t Worlds or MSI where the stakes are as high as they can get. The format change placed a ton of pressure on Europe and North America to deliver, while it is arguable that a Last Man Standing competition could have both alleviated some of the pressure, and provided more entertainment for fans.

An all-kill, where a single team eliminates every other opposing team in succession, is one of the most impressive feats a team can achieve, and the relay which ended up being used for the final in the GPL-LJL-OPL event was disappointing in comparison, even as one must congratulate the LJL for coming together as a region to take the win.

As far as I’m concerned, SIN Gaming nearly beating all three GPL teams was the definition of hype, as was Gigabye Marines coming back to take down all three of the OPL representatives in style. Imagine if this scenario happened in NA versus EU, where the final was originally a Last Man Standing series as well: fans would have been buzzing for days after the event’s conclusion.

Yet Western fans appeared more interested in bragging rights and seeing their teams play more games, and the format was changed to what we saw: a 3-0 demolition by TSM inflicted on the entirety of Europe (even though it was Unicorns of Love they defeated). Fans were left with a conclusive result, but an unexciting final in comparison.

Examine the above photo. Was it NA who won Rift Rivals, or TSM?

Yes, a Last Man Standing series would have arguably lowered the importance of the competition’s result, but what kind of importance exactly did we wish to place on the event? At the end of the day, Rift Rivals as a whole wanted to be both an exhibition of regional clashes, and a definitive ‘who is better’ tournament, but because the storylines were so different between regions, it is hard to say if it accomplished either.

Going forward, it would help if Riot defined Rift Rivals properly; what do they want Rift Rivals to be? Should teams be taking the event seriously at all? LCK teams did not seem particularly interested coming in, seeing Rift Rivals as a chance to take a break from the rigorous competition they face weekly, and TSM ended up being the sole winner of their event, leaving Cloud 9 and Phoenix 1 wondering what they were doing there besides playing a few games against European teams.

Should they wish to emphasis teamwork between teams from the same region, a Last Man Standing series would achieve this, and at the same time allow one team to cover for another’s deficiencies as they can step in if their compatriot loses: the definition of a team event.

The counter-argument

Plenty can be extrapolated from the formats that ended up being used instead. As Europe discovered, its long-standing meta of drafting lategame-heavy compositions and taking said drafts to their logical conclusions ended up being countered by NA teams’ tendency to control the early game and secure leads that way.

The LMS discovered that through working together, they were able to surpass some of the LCK and LPL teams, a strategy they may take to Worlds. Same goes for the LPL, whose coaches brainstormed team compositions and matchups in late-night meetings for the sake of defeating the Korean overlords.

And the LJL, by joining forces, showed impressive performances against the disjointed GPL and steadily rising OPL squads, far surpassing their previous ventures at international competitions.

There is some justification for doing these events in the end, and the amount of salt induced by fans of losing regions might be the best justification. It does feel like a missed opportunity to not involve more teams in the finals, however, especially in the case of NA vs EU, as it looked like TSM won the whole event instead of NA as a whole. We saw that P1 were very good, and...that's it. 

In conclusion, Last Man Standing created hype storylines, stunning resilience from certain teams, an opportunity for every team to compete, and real solidarity between regional compatriots as they were representing the same flag. On the other hand, the Bo5 series provided a conclusive winner, and the team rivalry match allowed for strategizing between coaches of the same region, emphasising teamwork and focusing on countering specific teams. Both are great in their own ways, but I'd definitely pick Last Man Standing if only for the excitement generated. 

Images sourced from lolesports Flickr and lolesports

Follow the author on Twitter at @uhhhmigraine.