Rift Rivals 2018 Guide

Rift Rivals, the event born out of the ashes of the Battle of the Atlantic between the North American and European League of Legends Championship Series. This event is not as competitive as the Mid-Season Invitational, and it’s not as illustrious as the World Championships, but damn if this event isn’t where regions can get revenge for all the trash talking that goes on between them in between the major international events.

There are five tournaments to settle five different regional rivalries, and that means at the end of it we’ll have five different regional champions, so let’s dive into how you can catch all the action from your preferred region.

Let’s start with the event that kicks off first, the Rift Rivals: Pacific Rift event. Taking place between Japan, Southeast Asia, and the Oceanic servers, the current champs are Japan, though the teams from SEA and OCE are hungry for revenge. You can catch the action when it kicks off on July 2^nd – 5^th starting at 5pm AEST (12am PDT) in Sydney Australia.

Next up is the LCL, TCL and VCS clash, taking place in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, kicking off on July 4^th – 7^th at 5pm ICT (3am PDT). At the same time the LLN, CLS, and CBLOL will be kicking off in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on July 4^th – 8^th at 5pm BRT (1pm PDT).

Next on the agenda is the LCK, LPL, and LMS clash, that will see the best teams from Korea and China doing battle with the wild and crazy LMS teams. Kicking off in the Dalian Sports Center Stadium in Dalian, China, the event will run from July 5^th – 8^th starting at 3pm CST (12am PDT).

Finally, the main event, so to speak. It’s no surprise that while this might not be the most competitive tournament falling under the Rift Rivals banner, the battles that take place between the North American and European LCS are some of the most exciting to watch, with the fans proving to be the most outspoken at every turn. This time the event is taking place in Los Angeles, California, on July 5^th – 7^th from 12pm PDT.

So you might be wondering what the formats for the competition are. Well, fear not, here’s the breakdown of how each region will do battle:

NA x EU

• Group Stage: Best of 1 (Bo1) Single Round Robin
• Finals: Best of 5 (Bo5) Relay Race

 

LCK x LPL x LMS

• Group Stage: Best of 1 (Bo1) Single Round Robin
• Semifinals: Best of 5 (Bo5) Blind Relay
• Finals: Best of 5 (Bo5) Blind Relay

SEA x LJL x OPL

• Group Stage: Best of 1 (Bo1) Single Round Robin
• Finals: Best of 5 (Bo5) Blind Relay

 

LLN x CLS x CBLOL

• Group Stage: Best of 1 (Bo1) Single Round Robin
• Semifinals: Best of 5 (Bo5) Relay Race
• Finals: Best of 5 (Bo5) Relay Race

 

LCL x TCL x VCS

• Group Stage: Best of 1 (Bo1) Single Round Robin
• Semifinals: King of the Hill
• Finals: Best of 5 (Bo5) Relay Race

That probably didn’t clear things up too much, so here’s Riot Games official explanation on what each format means:

Relay Race Format

Every team plays at least once in a Bo5 to determine a winning region with the following parameters:

• The stronger region from groups gets to counter pick the first three games
• Team matchups will be decided on the day of finals
• For the final two games, teams from each region will be selected at the same time with no chance of counter picks

Blind Relay Format

Every team plays at least once in a Bo5 to determine a winning region with the following parameters:

• Team matchups will be decided on the day of finals
• Teams for each region will be selected at the same time with no chance of counter picks

King of the Hill Format

Each respective region's third seeded team competes in a Bo1 game. The winner of the game moves on to compete against the opposing region's ascending seeded team in a Bo1 game. This will continue until one region wins three games of the series. 

So what will the teams be playing for, you might ask? Well, there isn’t much of an incentive on offer this year, unless you count the copious amounts of bragging that the winning regions will have all the way to the World Championships. Plus, Riot Games have made some pretty snazzy new trophies for the winning regions to keep, which is always nice to have sitting on the bench.

For more information on the event, check out the official event overview, here, and you can catch all the action on the Riot Games Twitch channel, here. For more League of Legends action, check out the match recaps from the NA LCS from earlier today, here.