After the first day of Rift Rivals, EU and NA are locked into a tie with both regions winning 2 games. The already light-hearted event has turned into an even bigger clownfiesta with both regions delivering some awful and fantastic performances.
The first game featured Echo Fox vs Fnatic. Although many people gave the edge to Echo Fox, Fnatic won with a very clean victory. Many people thought Echo Fox would have the edge in this game as they have Huni. Huni is considered one of the strongest players in the current meta due to his versatility. However, during the game, it was Huni that ultimately caused the team a great deal. Nobody was playing perfectly but Huni probably died quite a few times more than he should have.
The second game featured Team Liquid against Splyce which was just a complete stomp in Team Liquid’s favor. Splyce could hardly do anything during the entire game and might be the weakest team at the tournament. They used to be quite strong last season when they got third during the EU LCS playoffs, but they have not found themselves any success in the new meta.
The third game was another win for Europe when G2 took on 100 Thieves. With the new 100 Thieves roster, they hardly look like the team they used to be. Brandini is an extremely weak top laner and having Levi as starting jungler doesn’t make up for Brandini’s awful play. Of course, it’s only the first day so it’s hard to say how they will play or improve for the rest of the tournament, but as it currently stands 100 Thieves is looking like a complete mess.
The last game of the day featured Echo Fox up against Splyce, which once again was a complete stomp. Splyce stands no chance against any decent team. If you want to see a true clownfiesta during this Rift Rivals tournament you gotta tune in for Splyce vs 100 Thieves game that will the final match tomorrow.
Besides the real competition, there were also some fun games being organized such as an arurf game between various players. Riot’s intention is to make the tournament more for fun than for show but this does incentivize teams to not take it as seriously. 100 Thieves have completely changed their roster for the tournament and various teams are trying out entirely new strats. While the games are certainly fun to watch, they’re hardly a real representation of which region is actually the better one.
