Today’s editorial cartoon concerns the upcoming Rift Rivals and its impact on the long-standing rivalry between EU and NA.



Rift Rivals, Riot’s new cross-regional event, is fast-approaching. Though it’s supposed to be a brief tournament taking place between regular seasons, the fact that it brings together top teams in each region is enough to grab everyone’s attention.



Despite the last minute nature of the tournament, people have voiced diverse opinions on Rift Rivals. Some praise the good it will do for underrepresented countries like Brazil and Japan for they will be seen participating on an international stage. At the same time, others express concerns for teams not having enough time to rest and the validity of the event’s results because inviting top teams from the previous split may not accurately represent their current forms. It makes sense since struggling teams have another thing to worry about on top of their current predicament.



At any rate, one of the most interesting points of contention for Rift Rivals is that, at the end of the day, it’s a blatant excuse to set fire on EU and NA rivalry. Since 2013, EU and NA have viewed each other as its archnemesis, firing shots from both players and fans alike. The apparent disdain against each region is so intense that some would rather prefer to win over their rival than to topple the reigning champions, SKT T1.



It’ll also be interesting to see teams from other regions perform on the big stage including LPL powerhouses like Team WE and RNG as well as the current 8th place LCK team, MVP. Additionally, some people look out for Flash Wolves from LMS because they historically have been the joker in the league and whether they can live up to their nickname of “Korean Killers” this time.



With less than a week left until Rift Rivals, will it finally put an end to the question, who the best region in the west is? Also, will Korean teams be able to assert their dominance again, or have LPL and LMS teams figured out the Achilles’ heel of the giants? What about lesser known teams from CBLOL(Brazil) and LJL(Japan) and the things they will bring to the table? Most importantly, can you survive Twitch chat and heated community discussions? In any case, I have a good feeling that Rift Rivals will be nothing short of glorious.