Worlds To Europe: Fans React, Perkz Returns, Showmaker's Servers, And China Pines For Faker

The League of Legends World Championships, arguably the most prestigious competition in the entirety of esports, is set to be snatched from China’s grasp and whisked off to Europe.

According to reports from Upcomer, Worlds is to find a new location after Riot have struggled to pull off their multi-city tour of the country, especially with the global pandemic putting many restrictions on travelling into the country. The report says that Riot faced "difficulties securing travel for production crews to China", despite China being the only country capable of hosting the same event last year.

In a search for alternatives, it appears that Europe is set to host Worlds, just two years after the event was held in Madrid and Berlin, with an announcement due in the near future.

The news comes just days after the LEC, LCS, and LCK Worlds qualifications were settled, and the move to Europe has now pulled up some thrilling storylines.

Fans React to Worlds Potential Moving To Europe

With Europe looking to be the chosen destination for Riot Games, fans from all regions have expressed mixed reactions.

European fans have shown jubilation at the reports, and players have even expressed their desire to play on home soil. Fnatic mid lane Yasin "Nisqy" Dinçer joked that the organisation will win the elite trophy if he's able to eat his daily kebab. 

Some fans voiced their concerns about the impact of the global pandemic, with many European countries having a rising number of cases. One fan said, "China is best suited for worlds during the COVID pandemic, they have virtually no cases and things are normal there. Anywhere else will be rough and we can guarantee no fans at all in Europe. The event would have been way better in China."

As for fans in North America, most of their concerns were fuelled by being overlooked for the fifth consecutive year. The ventures to EU will also mean that the LEC sides will be available for scrims and practices against the world's best teams, allowing for a greater knowledge of regional playstyles over their American counterparts.

An Unexpected Adventure: Perkz And Aphari Return To EU

Having thrived in Europe for five years under the banner of G2 Esports, Luka "Perkz" Perković stunned the wider LoL community when he completed the switch to NA by signing for Cloud9. Barney "Alphari" Morris also boarded a one-way ticket to the States, having completed the transition from Astralis to Team Liquid, and now the pair are unexpectedly jetting back to home turf to see if they can do what was impossible whilst cursed in the LEC.

Perkz would return to EU as the only member of the G2 roster that featured in the 2019 Grand Finals and 2020 Semi-Finals, as the Spanish organisation failed to qualify for Worlds for the first time in their history. 

The Desolation Of Smaug: The Unkillable Demon Flies West Again

Much of the response, coming from the Chinese website "Weibo", heavily revolves around their chances to see Lee "Faker" Sang-hyeok in action again. The Unkillable Demon has qualified for Worlds after missing out on the competition last year and in 2018 when it was played in his host country, South Korea. 

Four years will now have passed since Faker reached the Grand Finals in Wuhan, China, and the nation will be wounded if they don't get to see the League of Legends hero for yet another season.

The Battle Of The Five Armies: EU Server Is About To Be Stacked, As Showmaker's Ladder Climb Begins

The final impact of the transition to Europe comes with the EU LoL servers, which will now be populated with fans making the journey from around the globe, as well as the Worlds stars grinding the ladders. 

DAMWON Gaming duo Heo "ShowMaker" Su and Kim "Canyon" Geon-bu are notorious for climbing the soloQ ladders in their respective regions and then conquering those in the regions where they visit for Worlds. The reigning champions will be making the trip over for the first time in two years, where they'll surely be running havoc on the EU playlists.

Riot Games has yet to confirm whether the reports are true, although an announcement is due in the coming days.