If you’ve somehow missed all the news about the growing coronavirus epidemic, we’ll forgive you – it’s been a wild news week in the world outside of gaming. But in a nutshell, health agencies and governments across the world have been working overtime to combat this new virus, which doctors think is a bit like SARS, only slightly more mild. It’s now spread to nearly 3000 cases, with at least 80 people dead near the Wuhan epicenter in China as the flu-like symptoms become serious respiratory tract illnesses in those with weakened immune systems.
In spite of the fact that large swathes of China are now on lockdown, the virus is spreading rapidly; according to CNN, it’s moving around the globe, with something like 50 cases confirmed across North America, Australia, Europe, Southeast Asia, contributing to stock declines, health screenings at airports, school closures hundreds of miles away, and quarantine zones.
So with all that in mind, it should come as no great shock that organizations in China are simply shutting down public gatherings and events to stop the spread of the virus, and that’s what brings us back to the world of gaming, as China’s Tencent-backed League of Legends pro and dev leagues canceled their ongoing events.
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!
— LPL (@lplenglish) January 26, 2020
As RPS notes, this decision might not have been made out of an abundance of caution but because they had no choice, given the tight restrictions on travel right now.
