League of Legends: LCK Goes on Indefinite Hiatus Due to Coronavirus
| Tags: League of Legends
| Author David Hollingsworth
Riot Korea suspend the the League of Legends Champions Korea (LCK) indefinitely due to the continued fear over spread of COVID-19 in the region.
The LCK has so far played out the Spring Split without an audience while neighboring league the League of Legends Pro League (LPL) had been put on hold. Recent news out of China will now see the LPL return after a period of quarantine for the players with matches played online instead. While we have no information about the long-term plans for the LCK, we’d expect them to follow Riot China and take the league online in the near future.
Riot Korea commented on the situation:
“Due to the on-growing Corona19 epidemic, in order to ensure the safety of the members of the league, we have decided to have the LCK and Challengers Korea go on an indefinite hiatus. Currently, we do not have a set return date, and will keep a close eye on the epidemic to choose the appropriate date of return.”
Riot Games also announced last week that MSI plans had been delayed due to the virus. While a location is still unknown some rumors suggest the event was due to be held in Asia. A logical date for MSI isn’t even clear in the current climate; With both the LPL and LCK having faced (or about to face) delays to the conclusion of their respective leagues.
Coronavirus also impacts IEM Katowice
Elsewhere in the esports, the recent IEM Katowice event took place without an audience, while a host of Overwatch Homestand series’ have already been called off. It seems like for now, esports tournament organizers are looking to just remove the audience from the live event in an effort to keep matches played out. So far other leagues have avoided any impact by the virus. With other major regions like the LEC and LCS continuing as normal for now.
David has written for games media outlets for the last ten years. With his first major esports role being with Esports News UK covering mostly UK League of Legends. David is also a member of the British Esports Association and is an advisor to them on World of Warcraft Esports. More recently David has worked for Esports Insider and Red Bull as an esports journalist.
David later became Editor at ESTNN and now leads the current team.