February is often the time when many domestic League of Legends tournaments go halfway through the group stage. But the number one League of Legends in China, the League of Legends Pro League (LPL), has yet to start due to the direct influence of the Coronavirus (COVID-19).
The LoL China community raises money and items for the fight against the Coronavirus pandemic
And now, all sports – entertainment events scheduled before April 30, 2020 are forced to pause indefinitely – at the request of China’s National Sports Administration.
LPL Postponed
If true to the original schedule, Week 5 of the LPL Spring 2020 group stage took place yesterday (February 24). Unfortunately, fans only watched the opening week before deciding to pause from Week 2 on January 26.
This means that the LPL representative will probably be absent at the 2020 Mid-Season Invitational – the League of Legends tournament is considered the Mid-Season Finals.
Last year, MSI 2019 started on May 1. And if the 2020 Spring LPL can only take place as early as April, it means the region cannot choose the best representative to compete with the world’s strongest rivals.
This is considered a blow to the ambition of the world’s number one League of Legends – especially when China was chosen to host the World Championship 2020.
In the worst case, if the following 7-8 months coronavirus is not controlled, it is likely that Riot Games will be forced to search for a place other than China to host Worlds 2020.
When the situation of dealing with the disease has not shown positive signs, LPL will organize an online test tournament in coronavirus season.
“We will host an online practice tournament to kick off on February 26,” LPL announced on its official Twitter account on February 19. “Our top concern is to keep everyone safe and we are looking forward to exciting entertainment.”
There are six teams accepted to participate in this tournament, including eStar, JD Gaming, Suning, Top Esports and Victory Five. All matches will be livestreamed on Twitch and of course their results will not affect the competition in the LPL Spring 2020 Rankings.
It’s not clear when the LPL will be back, but at this point, an online practice tournament is considered the most practical solution.
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