World-class League of Legends analyst Nick “LS” De Cesare revealed that current pro players are being blocked from playing on their desired servers in preparation for the 2020 World Championship.
On yesterday’s rendition of Hotline League, LS and Travis Gafford mentioned that LEC and LCS teams currently in Shanghai for the upcoming League World Championship are locked to practicing on Riot’s Chinese “super server.” The Western players have reportedly been unable to play on the Korean or Chinese regional servers as a result.
“Western players that requested to play on [Korean servers] were denied,” LS said.
This restriction doesn’t only apply to European and North American players, however. In a recent stream by Edward Gaming’s Meiko, current Worlds participant and Top Esports AD carry JackeyLove explained that the teams at the current Shanghai hotel are limited to the super server. JackeyLove added that the in-game interface is in English, forcing him and other Chinese players to write in Pinyin to communicate.
But the server limitations are seemingly partial. Some players have reportedly been able to continue practicing on other regional servers. On Sept. 19, journalist Tyler Erzberger reported that most LCK players had been playing on Korean servers in lieu of the Chinese super server.
While it’s unclear whether the current server restrictions are under Tencent’s or Riot Games’ authority, it’s clear that the limited access is prohibiting players from practicing on their desired servers. Worlds 2020 begins on Sept. 25.
