This has been hotly debated
Is 30 Ping Disadvantageous to Faker?
The 2022 Mid-Season Invitational is going to be played on 30-ping due to the heavy COVID-19 restrictions that China has imposed on Shangahi citizens. Therefore, RNG, the Chinese representative is not able to come to South Korea for the event.
Is this fair, though? In the last years, the VCS representatives have not been able to make it to tournaments due to similar reasons, and now Riot is accommodating to the Chinese representative once more. Some LoL pros, as well as T1's owner Joe Marsh, have spoken out about this favouritism and how 30-ping will affect the players.
RNG Staying Home Due to Schedule
Royal Never Give Up are defending their Mid-Season Invitational title from last year, but due to heavy travel restrictions that have hit Shanghai, the players will have to stay home. This is partly due to the filled schedule the team is facing, with the LPL Summer Split, Asian Games and the 2022 World Championship.
One of those events has been moved though clearing up the schedule, which has prompted LCK fans to be enraged at the fact that the event is still being played on 30-ping. The 2022 Asian Games, which were supposed to take place in Hangzhou this fall have been moved to 2023.
Therefore, many fans have complained that the schedule for LPL teams isn't as tight anymore and RNG could still make it to Busan in time for the 2022 Mid-Season Invitational.
Ping Issue Hits LCK Players Hard
On stream, T1 bot laner Lee "Gumayusi" Min-hyeong was asked about the difference between 10 ms and 30 ms ping. The player explained that LCK teams, as well as LPL teams, usually only practice on 8-11 ms ping. The same goes for their solo queue environment, which has the same amount of ping.
The ms difference is definitely noticeable, and as far as I know, Faker’s especially sensitive to ms changes
While LPL players do practice on the same ping levels as LCK players, many LPL pros prefer to play on the Korean solo queue server, since they believe the quality is higher than that on the Chinese server. There, the players will have to deal with higher ping, which is why Chinese players will be more likely to be used to higher ping.
Also, players who consistently play on the same amount of ping will have certain muscle memory, which will be obsolete once they are in an environment with higher ping. Therefore, players like Faker, who have always played on the Korean server and who is used to the ping could be affected by the higher ms.
Not the First Time Riot Shows Preferential Treatment to LPL
This also isn't the first time that Riot has shown preferential treatment towards the LPL. At last year's Mid-Season Invitational, RNG got to play in the earlier MSI semi-final, ahead of DAMWON KIA who had been higher placed. This was done because RNG had to do PCR tests ahead of their flight back to China.
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So, while the ping issue will impact all teams, some will feel it more than others. Teams like G2 Esports and Evil Geniuses are used to their solo queue having higher ping, which could give them advantages when potentially facing off against T1.
Will this impact this year's MSI? Will T1 falter due to this issue? We will have to watch the tournament to find out. MSI is just around the corner, kicking off on May 10, with T1 and Saigon Buffalo going head-to-head.