Overwatch and League of Legends Tournament Matches Cancelled Over Coronavirus

Overwatch

The Overwatch League and League of Legends Pro League (LPL) have announced they will be cancelling all games set to take place in China, due the coronavirus.

The Overwatch League announcement came via the tournament’s official Twitter account, which tweeted the following message:


“We have decided to cancel our February and March matches in China in order to protect the health and safety of our players, fans, and staff. We hope fans have a safe and happy Luna New Year, and we remain incredibly excited to play Overwatch League matches in China later this season.

We’ll share more information about when and where the matches will take place at a later date.

Thank you for your support and understanding.”

Back in March 2019, Overwatch League Commissioner Nate Nanzer announced that in 2020 “all Overwatch League teams will be playing in their home cities.”

During the 2019 season, out of 20 teams, four of them were from China (Chengdu Hunters, Guangzhou Charge, Hangzhou Spark, and Shanghai Dragons).

In addition, the LPL announced they would postpone Week 2 of the tournament.

“We have decided to postpone week 2 of the LPL until we can ensure the safety and health of our players and fans.

To our fans, we sincerely apologize that it has come to this and we will share any and all info as soon as we can.

Stay Safe and thank you all for your support!”

The tournament began on January 13th, with Week Two originally set to begin February 5th, and the grand finals on April 5th. The tournament venues were all set in mainland China, including Hangzhou, Chengdu, Beijing, Suzhou, Xi’an, and Shanghai.

Yesterday, we also reported on Google temporarily shutting its offices in mainland China due to coronavirus. You can also find more information about the coronavirus within that article.

We will keep you informed as this story develops.

Image: Overwatch (via Rock Paper Shotgun)

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Ryan was a former Niche Gamer contributor.


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