League of Legends memes send subreddit into lockdown after EU/NA grudge match ends in a stomp

There are few rivalries in competitive League of Legends more hotly felt than the one between EU and NA. Of the game's four major regions, China and Korea have been the dominant forces for years, with Europe and America trash-talking about who gets to claim third place (I might be biased, but when it comes to international success, the winner is EU, no contest).

Last night saw the beginning of League of Legends' 2022 world championships (starring Lil Nas X). That old rivalry reared its head quickly, with the second game at the tournament pitting Europe's fourth seed, Fnatic, taking on NA's third seed, Evil Geniuses.

The game was a stomp. North America was ahead for a brief window right at the start of the game, but the rest of the match was, to quote one of its commentators, "a beatdown." Add in the fact that Fnatic was playing remotely and with a last-minute substitute due to COVID complications, and it was a terrible start for North America.

And that lousy start didn't seem to sit well with the moderators of the game's subreddit. At six million members, it's one of the biggest online forums for League of Legends out there, but in the wake of that first game, players began to notice that the page had been made private, allowing only "approved members" to take part in discussions.

The change was only temporary, and at the time of writing, the subreddit has been restored to its former state, but the moderation team's actions haven't gone unnoticed. In particular, dozens of comments citing the impact of Fnatic's substitute have been purged from the official post-match thread, as have those that called out the mods for locking the sub.

While EU fans are likely riding high right now (both of the region's representatives went undefeated on their first day at the tournament), there's still a long way to go. Worlds is a month-long spectacle, and even if Europe is currently coming out on top of this bitter inter-region rivalry, fans probably won't be laughing quite so hard when the likes of Korea and China start getting involved.

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