Riot Games made a controversial decision in a tournament for League of Legends: They stripped the Chinese team RNG of 3 victories at MSI 2022. The Chinese complained about unfair treatment, even considering withdrawing from the tournament, but ultimately they continued and dominated even worse than before.
Why were victories stricken?
- At MSI 2022, 11 of the best teams in the world are competing in Busan, South Korea. 10 teams are on-site – the Chinese from Royal Never Give Up are playing from Shanghai, China. They are subject to strict travel restrictions due to Covid.
- Riot originally wanted all 11 teams to play with a ping of 35 to ensure equal conditions. However, due to a technical error by Riot, the teams in Busan were apparently playing with a worse ping, giving the Chinese, who were not in Busan, an advantage.
- When the error came to light, Riot Games stripped RNG of their 3 victories – the Chinese champions had to replay their matches.
Chinese see decision as unfair treatment
Here was the reaction of the Chinese: The Chinese were apparently quite upset about this decision. This is evident from a lengthy post by the head coach on Twitter (via twitter).
The coach Zhu “KenZhu” Kai said.
“My first reaction was confusion. In my decades of employment, I have never experienced anything like this.”
The coach said that the players were also confused. The decision came only two hours before the first match of the day. KenZhu said he had to calm his players down before the matches started and explain to them that they are professionals and must respect their opponents, the game, and the fans despite the unfairness.
League of Legends is known for its great cinematics:
Chinese have been in lockdown for 6 weeks – atmosphere is tense
For the Chinese, the last 6 weeks have been tough: Because they had to follow the special lockdown rules in Shanghai. They live a life that boils down to “Stay at Home”. The situation creates immense pressure: The days consist of training and Covid tests. Additionally, they have to set up the technology themselves.
They are constantly under the supervision of Riot – doing everything they want. Still, they receive a penalty for something that is not their fault, which they can only endure silently. This mistake by Riot only came to light on Day 3.
They even considered withdrawing from the competition, but a “truly strong person” should not back down in the face of difficulties, but confront them and grow from them.
Chinese defeat Brazilians in 20 minutes – record time
Here was the reaction: The Chinese were apparently quite fired up after the penalty. They won their rematch against the Brazilian RED Canids in 20 minutes and 33 seconds. This is the record for a victory at MSI.
During this, the 21-year-old bot laner GALA got his pentakill back, which had been denied to him by Riot Games:
They also won all other matches clearly and finished the group stage with 6-0 in first place.
All 3 favorites at MSI 2022 still unbeaten
How is the tournament going? The group stage of MSI 2022 has been going on almost without surprises:
- The South Koreans T1 dominate Group A with 4-0.
- The Chinese from RNG are at the top of Group B with 6-0.
- G2 Esports from Europe has marched through Group C with 8-0.
It will only get exciting in the Rumble stage when the 6 top teams face each other. Today, Sunday, May 15, it will be decided who takes the last spot, likely the Vietnamese Saigon Buffalos – the other 5 participants are already set.
In addition to the 3 favorites, Evil Geniuses (USA) and PSG Talon (Hong Kong) will also enter the Rumble stage.
The rebellious Americans Evil Geniuses are currently at 4-4: They lost all their 4 matches against G2 Esports – the young Europeans thought before the tournament that they were “clearly better”:
