League of Legends: Tiffany & Co Summoner's Cup garners mixed reactions from fans

League of Legends (LoL) developer Riot Games recently unveiled the new design for the Summoner's Cup, the official trophy of the LoL World Championship.

The trophy was designed by Tiffany & Co. after Riot signed a multi-year deal with the renowned artisan jewellery and trophy designer.

The new Summoner’s Cup veered away from the bulbous, ornate, and jewel-encrusted look that the old cup used to have.

It now has a sleek exterior with five handles each, making it easier for the winners to raise the trophy. Each handle has the icon of each player's role engraved at the tip.

In the middle is a slim, almost triangular-shaped cup with the iconic logo of Worlds placed on each side. The bottom is a simple ring with a couple of sapphire blue gems finishing the entire look.

It's a modern take on one of the most iconic trophies in esports. The new cup took four months and 277 hours to make, handcrafted by the artisans of Tiffany & Co.

However, it seems like not many of the LoL esports fans are happy with this new change. The comments section blew up on Twitter, with many fans complaining about the cup’s design or asking some legit questions.

Former C9 content creator and CLG coach Christopher "MonteCristo" Mykles said that he loved the idea of the new Summoner's Cup “but [hated] the execution".

Ashley Kang, co-founder of Korizon Esports and a LoL esports content creator, replied directly to the thread, pointing out the inconsistency of the list of previous winners.

She also said that the new trophy doesn’t take reference from the "distinctive ‘Championship' visual theme".

G2 Esports, on the other hand, just took the liberty of adding their 2022 roster onto the design, in full Comic Sans glory.

Others feel that the trophy doesn’t seem to represent LoL well enough, except for the blue Summoner logo on the trophy.

Twitter user @pasorac said that the trophy went from "representing a game about mythical creatures, magic, and warriors to a minimalistic one".

He then posed a question, saying, "In which world [do] you look to that trophy and think ‘yeah, that represents…the League of Legends world’."

Twitter user @noahbeeri also chimed in, saying that it "feels like it was designed by someone who doesn't play the game", adding that "it has nothing that ties it to League except for some icons from the lobby screen".

The Reddit LoL community commented more positively on the cup’s new design.

Some, like DecisiveDinosaur, were relieved that it looked better than the leaked design that circulated a couple of days ago, but also added that they "still prefer the original".

Most users, like deemerritt, gksxj and spillingTheBean, were happy about how the five handles for each role will make it easier to lift the cup, with deemerritt mentioning how these are "insanely good touches".

Others, like FSD-Bishop, added that they like the new design because they felt like the "old one (cup) has been dated for a while now", with tuckerb13 saying that "it looks way more mature".

Others, of course, have both positive and negative things to say, like ohvalox who loved all the engraved names but felt that the new cup is a "bit too clean", saying that the design “doesn’t have to be as 'baroque' as the old one”, but pointed out that "all other new trophies have more patterns and aren't as plain".

Other LoL trophies in major leagues like the League of Legends Champions Korea (LCK), League of Legends European Championship (LEC), and the League of Legends Pro League (LPL) have introduced new cups in the last few years and were well received by the LoL Esports community.

LPL’s Silver Dragon Cup was also handcrafted by Tiffany & Co. and included prized items from previous LPL legends and original Silver Dragon Cup pieces.

The League of Legends World Championship 2022 will be held in North America for the first time since 2016, and the multi-city tour format will also be revived after a two-year hiatus. 24 teams from different regions across the globe will be competing for the title and the opportunity to raise the new Summoner’s Cup.

The competition kicks off with the Play-In stage in Arena Esports Stadium (LLA Studio) in Artz Pedregal in Mexico City, Mexico, on 29 September 29 and will conclude on 4 October.

This will be followed by the Group Stage (7-10 and 13-16 October) and Quarterfinals (20-23 October), which will both be held at the Hulu Theater in Madison Square Garden, New York City.

The competition will then move to Atlanta, Georgia, for the Semi-finals, which will be held on 29-30 October at the State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia.

The tournament’s final stop will be in San Francisco, California, where the 2022 Worlds Finals will be held on 5 November at the Chase Center in San Francisco.

Anna is a freelance writer and photographer. She is a gamer who loves RPGs and platformers, and is a League of Legends geek. She's also a food enthusiast who loves a good cup of black coffee.

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