🏠 » League of Legends » Riot responds to backlash over Worlds 2021 Play-Ins joke

Riot responds to backlash over Worlds 2021 Play-Ins joke

Worlds Play-In

League of Legends fans were shocked when Riot Games appeared to mock the Play-Ins leading up to the World Championship.

Fans who were looking to participate in the Worlds 2021 Pick’Ems were met with a strange message regarding the first leg in the tournament. After selecting teams, participants got a message saying to come back on October 10 to make Group Stage picks. This was followed with:

Play-Ins are happening and we don’t support that fiesta. Sit back, relax, and gather up your posse in preparation for the show.”

Riot Games

;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dexerto.com%2Fleague-of-legends%2Friot-apologize-for-joke-mocking-play-ins-for-worlds-2021-after-backlash-1662296%2F

League of Legends esports fans were immediately thrown off by the text. To pros, streamers, and viewers alike, it appeared that Riot Games was dismissing the Play-Ins and suggesting it’s not something to be taken seriously.

Eefje “Sjokz” Depoortere chimed in on the matter saying, “Hmmm, I’m quite saddened by this wording. Disrespectful to 1) The fact that Play-Ins are such an important part of Worlds 2) The amazing teams and scenes from the play in regions. Really odd.”

Sjokz added that the “fiesta” teams in Play-Ins have booted top teams in the past, including MAD Lions last year. Other fans called it “disgusting” and “insulting.”

Worlds 2021 currently has Pick’Em play available, but this is limited to the “Crystal Ball” prediction where players can make their pick for the winner of the event.

Riot responds to Play-In message backlash

As the criticism kept flooding in, Riot Games issued a response to the surprising text. Riot explained that the message was not meant to be seen by the public. According to the digital director, the message was “placeholder copy” meant as an “ironic joke” due to the team’s frustration in “not being able to support Play-Ins.”

;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dexerto.com%2Fleague-of-legends%2Friot-apologize-for-joke-mocking-play-ins-for-worlds-2021-after-backlash-1662296%2F

“We all love Play-Ins here. This year, we overhauled Pick’ems from the ground up. The pivot to Iceland, late changes to the schedule, uncertainty about which teams would qualify plus technical complexity all resulted in our need to remove Play-Ins from our PIck’ems plans,” Luke Cudney continued.

The third tweet stated that the “sentiment reflected in the copy does not reflect our perspective and in fact is just the opposite.”

The text has since been changed.

While Riot Games had claimed the text was an internal joke and error, fans were not fully satisfied with the answer. For some, it seemed like insight into the company’s “way of thinking.” Others said they were now going to only root for the underdog teams in the Worlds Play-Ins.

Play-Ins began in 2017, allowing teams from smaller regions to try and fight their way to the main Group Stage. Pick’Ems started in 2014 but have never supported the Play-Ins stage at Worlds.

Play-Ins begins on October 5, starting with Hanwha Life Esports and LNG.

Read Also
T1 is the 2023 Worlds Champion
T1 is the 2023 League of Legends Worlds Champion after defeating Weibo ...
Best semifinals Pick’Ems for Worlds 2023
Only four teams remain in Worlds 2023 and these are the best ...
T1 destroys LNG Esports and moves to semifinals at Worlds 2023
T1 obliterated LNG Esports and is advancing to the semifinals at Worlds ...
JDG stays undefeated at Worlds 2023
JD Gaming has advanced to the semifinals after defeating KT Rolster at ...
Gen.G suffers major upset at Worlds 2023
Gen.G has been eliminated from Worlds 2023 after being upset by Bilibili ...
Latest News
Elden Ring: Save file locations and how to back them up
Every Elden Ring player has wanted to back ...
How to get the best outcome for Spoils of War in KCD2
Spoils of War is one of the more ...
Kick streamer Sliker accused of CS2 knife gambling scam
Kick streamer Abraham "Sliker" Mohammed is being accused ...
Should you choose Boots of Swiftness in League? Are they OP?
Players have plenty of items to choose from ...
Here’s how to see your missing cards in Pokemon TCG Pocket
Most Pokemon TCG Pocket players are missing a ...
Ice Poseidon drama has him threatening his girlfriend on stream
Controversial streamer Paul “Ice Poseidon” Denino is currently ...
The best settings to run Civilization 7 on Steam Deck
Civilization 7 reignites the iconic 4X franchise for ...
How to see if you’re shadow banned in Call of Duty, what it does
Just like many other games and apps, shadow ...
Editor's Picks
Who is Stevewilldoit? Net worth, girlfriend, and more
The news of Stephen "Stevewilldoit" Deleonardis, the master ...
All we know about Thea Booysen, MrBeast’s girlfriend
Jimmy "MrBeast" Donaldson is known purely for his ...
How to quickly make infinite water in Terraria
Whether you’re looking to spruce up your Hellevator ...
Best Pokemon Glazed cheat codes
Pokemon Glazed is one of the most popular ...
How to enable net graph in CS2 
Competitive players were disappointed when they discovered that ...

Players must be 21 years of age or older or reach the minimum age for gambling in their respective state and located in jurisdictions where online gambling is legal. Please play responsibly. Bet with your head, not over it. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, and wants help, call or visit: (a) the Council on Compulsive Gambling of New Jersey at 1-800-Gambler or www.800gambler.org; or (b) Gamblers Anonymous at 855-2-CALL-GA or www.gamblersanonymous.org.

This site is using Cloudflare and adheres to the Google Safe Browsing Program. We adapted Google's Privacy Guidelines to keep your data safe at all times.
21+NCPGGamblers Anonymous
×
Your Promo Code:
The bonus offer of was already opened in an additional window. If not, you can open it also by clicking the following link:
Visit Site