Photo: LoL Esports
Decidedly, the ping will have caused a lot of talk during the MSI of League of Legends this year. As a reminder, the Chinese of RNG were forced to replay 3 of their matches for gaining a competitive advantage following a connection issue in Busan. Even if the team had nothing to do with it, it was enough for part of the community to take a dislike to the LPL team, accusing the organizers and indirectly TENCENT (Chinese company) to favor representatives of the middle empire… Knowing that to allow the presence of RNG in the competition, we have agreed to set up a heavy and restrictive protocol for everyone. Not spared by criticism, the Chinese community is on edge. And when a small detail suggested that the players of T1 benefited from preferential treatment at the connection level, she obviously jumped at the opportunity to make noise and take her revenge… The atmosphere on the networks is deleterious and to try to see more clearly let’s come back to this sulphurous new episode.
Where did the Chinese counterattack come from?
Obviously, this controversy cannot be reduced to a confrontation China vs Korea since all teams were affected by this ping story. First, the PSG Talon, Red Canids and the Wildcats suffered from the incorrect setting of the ping smoother tool. But we also had the opportunity to interview an ORDER player who confirmed to us that there was indeed a problem at the start of the competition and that the ping sold at 35 corresponded more to a ping of 60/70. But the two Asian giants are really at the heart of the discussions, in particular because they are the two best regions in the world and that international titles almost always fall into their hands. The ping is a sensitive subject and the particular conditions of play are as many weapons for tackle only excuses for defend in case of failure. More generally, Korean players and fans have been the most vocal in criticizing and highlighting connection problems. And it is precisely a Korean player who has relaunched the controversy machine.
During a pro view (point of view which makes it possible to follow in particular a player during the match), we could see that Zeus (top) was playing with “only” 21 ping… While all the participants, whether they are on site in Busan or in China, are supposed to play with more or less 35 pings. While a small difference could be tolerated, such a large discrepancy would call into question the competitive integrity of the matches, especially after the first episode in charge against RNG. It was enough to make the Chinese community roar with discontent. The most extreme have even demanded that we cancel all the victories of T1… Which would involve providing extra effort and to reveal new strategies to replay those matches, not to mention a possible psychological destabilization.
Riot Games once again had to put out the fire
Riot Games took the floor, seeing that the controversy was, rightly, gaining momentum. Alex François, head of Competitive Operations, wanted to reassure everyone while clearing T1 players. Players who play from Busan are victims of a bug which displays the ping incorrectly. It should be noted in particular that the ping is not natural but artificially modified to smooth the connections between Busan and China. Given that this protocol is rare and little used, it is not surprising to see such a display bug. But in reality, the ping displayed by Zeus was 13ms lower than actual ping. 21+13 = 34. We are therefore very close to the 35 pings planned. This explanation should calm everyone down… Until the next episode. This edition of the MSI promises to be special and while the spirits are already well heated, it only takes a little to set fire to the powder again. The worst thing about this story is that if China wins, it will be criticized. If it’s Korea it will be the same thing… We cut the pear in half and we win G2 Esport and Targamas?