Table of Contents
The third regional tournament has concluded, and by far, Dalian earns the title of most interesting event to join so far. After Fuzhou and Chengdu crowned Draven as the undisputed best legend in Riftbound, this regional challenged that idea a bit. Not a ton rest assured, as the Glorious Executioner still seized 27 of the 64 day 2 spots while also being the most popular legend at the start of the tournament.
However, the second day of this tournament played differently compared to the first two events. First, Draven didn't win, which is a first in the Spiritforged meta after Bologna, Fuzhou, and Chengdu. Then, Draven also lost a step in other areas. For example, there was only one representative in top 4, when there were two in the other regional tournaments. Also, there were 4 Irelias left in top 16, against just 3 Dravens, marking the first time the Chaos - Fury legend was not the most popular at any step of a regional tournament in China. Last, Irelia also had the better conversion rate in the top 64 with 27.45% while Draven's 20.9% ranks third overall, behind Ezreal.
Now, the question is : Which legends made the most of that situation?
- Kai'sa won the entire event, and redeemed herself after a disappointing performance in Chengdu. On top of her first crown in Spiritforged, the Daughter of the Void managed to have six players in the top 64 for a 15% conversion rate, much closer to her typical standards.
- Irelia improved when it comes to her ability to reach day 2, but still failed to reach the big game, the last one standing ending her run in the quarterfinals.
- Ezreal once again improved compared to the previous regional tournament. After two top 32 in Fuzhou, a semifinal in Chengdu, the Prodigal Explorer made it the finals and featured four players at the start of day 2.
- Sivir, Jax and Lucian also deserve their flowers, as all three posted their highest finish in regional competition. Jax and Sivir in particular improved tremendously, as they looked like shaky contenders for a top 64, and made it top 4 and top 8 respectively.
Sivir could actually have made it to the finals if not for a controversial ruling in her semifinals match.
A few words about the legends with mixed results as well:
- Fiora soared in popularity with 41 players, four of those making it to day 2 for a decent conversion rate. However, they all lost in the first round, meaning Fiora ended in Top 64 after reaching the finals twice.
- Ornn had a catastrophic tournament with a top 256 at best among 18 representatives. The legend looked to improve lately, but this is a tournament to forget for sure. Plus, its 6-cost champion unit SFD-085 appeared in a few Mind decks, meaning the legend could lose some appeal going forward, as its signature strategy might be reproducible elsewhere.
- Annie was competing with Ezreal in that dark horse position in the eyes of many. In Dalian, the Dark Child lost a big step, as she couldn't even reach the top 64 while Ezreal had a great performance.
- Last week in Chengdu, Garen was the first legend to not be picked at all in a regional tournament. In Dalian, Teemo became the first to be picked, but not even make it to the first cut threshold, as the Swift Scout best result still had him ranked in the Top 512.
Overall, this more diverse field heading into the last three rounds made the tournament much more enjoyable to follow. Hopefully, this mark a turn in the Spiritforged metagame, with certain legends finally figuring out their refined list, and how to efficiently play against Draven going forward.
Kai'Sa
- Top Ranked Player: 1st
- Total Picks: 40
- Conversion Rate into Top 64: 15% - 6 Decks
Ezreal
- Top Ranked Player: 2nd
- Total Picks: 23
- Conversion Rate into Top 64: 26% - 4
Draven
- Top Ranked Player: Top 4
- Total Picks: 129
- Conversion Rate into Top 64: 20.9% - 27 Decks
The top 4 list for Draven has not been revealed yet. This is from the player ending their run in Top 8.
Sivir
- Top Ranked Player: Top 4
- Total Picks: 13
- Conversion Rate into Top 64: 7.69% - 1 Deck
Irelia
- Top Ranked Player: Top 8
- Total Picks: 51
- Conversion Rate into Top 64: 27.45% - 14 Decks
Jax
- Top Ranked Player: Top 8
- Total Picks: 10
- Conversion Rate into Top 64: 10% - 1 Deck
Lucian
- Top Ranked Player: Top 16
- Total Picks: 10
- Conversion Rate into Top 64: 20% - 2 Deck
Master Yi
- Top Ranked Player: Top 32
- Total Picks: 12
- Conversion Rate into Top 64: 8.33% - 1 Deck
Fiora
- Top Ranked Player: Top 64
- Total Picks: 41
- Conversion Rate into Top 64: 9.76% - 4 Picks
Lux
- Top Ranked Player: Top 64
- Total Picks: 11
- Conversion Rate into Top 64: 9.09% - 1 Deck
Azir
- Top Ranked Player: Top 64
- Total Picks: 19
- Conversion Rate into Top 64: 5.26% - 1 Deck
Sett
- Top Ranked Player: Top 64
- Total Picks: 5
- Conversion Rate into Top 64: 20% - 1 Deck
Viktor
- Top Ranked Player: Top 64
- Total Picks: 16
- Conversion Rate into Top 64: 6.25% - 1 Deck
Ahri
- Top Ranked Player: Top 128
- Total Picks: 8
- Conversion Rate into Top 64: None
Annie
- Top Ranked Player: Top 128
- Total Picks: 8
- Conversion Rate into Top 64: None
Rumble
- Top Ranked Player: Top 128
- Total Picks: 15
- Conversion Rate into Top 64: None
Lee Sin
- Top Ranked Player: Top 128
- Total Picks: 2
- Conversion Rate into Top 64: None
Rek'Sai
- Top Ranked Player: Top 128
- Total Picks: 7
- Conversion Rate into Top 64: None
Leona
- Top Ranked Player: Top 128
- Total Picks: 8
- Conversion Rate into Top 64: None
Darius
- Top Ranked Player: Top 128
- Total Picks: 8
- Conversion Rate into Top 64: None
Miss Fortune
- Top Ranked Player: Top 256
- Total Picks: 9
- Conversion Rate into Top 64: None
Yasuo
- Top Ranked Player: Top 256
- Total Picks: 9
- Conversion Rate into Top 64: None
Jinx
- Top Ranked Player: Top 256
- Total Picks: 7
- Conversion Rate into Top 64: None
Ornn
- Top Ranked Player: Top 256
- Total Picks: 18
- Conversion Rate into Top 64: None
Volibear
- Top Ranked Player: Top 256
- Total Picks: 6
- Conversion Rate into Top 64: None
Renata Glasc
- Top Ranked Player: Top 256
- Total Picks: 4
- Conversion Rate into Top 64: None
Garen
- Top Ranked Player: Top 256
- Total Picks: 16
- Conversion Rate into Top 64: None
Teemo
- Top Ranked Player: Top 512
- Total Picks: 5
- Conversion Rate into Top 64: None
