Cover-Credits:
Royal Never Give Up (RNG)’s League of Legends head coach Zhu “KenZhu” Kai released a lengthy statement explaining his thoughts on what transpired after Riot Games discovered the ping discrepancy and how the team has been coping with the pandemic.
On 13th May, Riot Games found out that the teams playing from Korea were playing on a higher-than-intended-ping and therefore the teams going up against RNG were at an inadvertent disadvantage. As a result, the first three games that RNG played were declared null and void for upholding the competitive integrity of the tournament.
RNG puzzled by the development
KenZhu said the players and the managers were all confused by what had happened just a couple of hours before their Day 4 games. He added, “My first reaction was puzzled. In my decades of employment, I’ve never encountered such a thing.” As the head coach and a leader, KenZhu calmed down, reassured his players, and relayed that they were all professionals.
KenZhu further wrote, “In any case, no matter how much injustice and difficulty there are, we must respect our own profession, respect the game, respect our opponents, respect our fans, and respect all audience.”
The head coach also acknowledged the rigor of his roster and lauded them for getting through the day’s matches and also winning them all again. He pointed out the difficulties of quarantining in the training facility and that RNG had no chance of participating in the MSI 2022 because of Shanghai’s preventive measures. KenZhu thanked Riot for allowing the team to participate remotely but stated that the situation has made things difficult for the team.
Difficulties faced by RNG
KenZhu stated that it has been immensely pressurizing lately because of the pandemic and the situation in Shanghai. According to the head coach, RNG’s training ends at three in the morning and the team heads to bed at 4 or 5 am. After just a few hours of sleep they have to undergo a strict procedure to ensure fairness at MSI 2022 and also cooperate with all parties.
KenZhu also pointed out how RNG had to set up the training room, adjust all the settings on the computer, check the audio and get interviews done all by themselves.
“That's it, we still received the penalty for the rematch, and even if it was not our fault, we could only accept it silently. In such a predicament, the players insisted on training and competition, in order to present to the audience a great game. The sudden rematch hits all of us badly,” he added.
KenZhu also said that if the decision to replay the matches was made on Day 1 of MSI 2022, after discovering the inconsistency in latency, RNG would have understood it. “But after three days of matching, people found this problem and asked us to replay, isn't it too much? But all we can do is accept and cooperate.”
RNG’s head coach also stated that the team will not back down from challenges and that it will finish MSI. He added that the team will not be defeated by these factors and asked the League of Legends community to extend its support.
