Riot Games Plans To Hold LoL World Championship Amid Cancellation Of Sporting Events In China

News of sporting events canceled in China for the rest of 2020 brings questions about the League of Legends World Championships, set to end in Shanghai.

News broke out on Thursday of China deciding to cancel all sporting events for the remainder of 2020. This is just one attempt to protect the country from COVID-19.  The news shocked people across social media that were expecting to see the 10th Anniversary League of Legends World Championship in China in the fall.

Due to the cancellation of MSI, fans were hoping to experience an unusual yet familiar event to occur later this year. But, thanks to the news broken by The Associated Press, this idea started becoming uncertain. However, according to an ESPN article also released Thursday, Riot Games intends to hold its signature tournament this year.

The Esports Bubble will save the day

According to reports, Riot intends to use a bubble system for its upcoming World Championship. The details are uncertain, but we would see all 24 qualified teams arriving at the same hotel, weeks before the start of the tournament, to start a quarantine process. The teams would use a centralized location for matches for the duration of the championship.

Riot mentioned that the new cancellation of sporting events did not currently affect esports. As a result, this made them comfortable in pursuing this option for the fall.

What does this mean for the future?

“We are totally committed to delivering the biggest spectacle we've ever produced in China to celebrate our sport's 10-year anniversary…While we must remain nimble with our plans, we are eager to celebrate everything that we love about League of Legends with a memorable Worlds 2020.” Said Riot about the cancellation of MSI in April.

Riot still plans to hold the biggest tournament fans have ever seen in Shanghai. However, they plan on doing so next year and pushing back the other host regions by one year. Worlds 2020 is supposed to be the biggest event we have seen to date celebrating the 10th Anniversary of League of Legends. The event is supposed to feature a six-city tournament finishing in the Shanghai Stadium. To keep this promise, Riot is set to give China a chance to host next year. Meanwhile, they'll be pushing back North America to the 2022 World Championship.

We will update this story with any new details that emerge in the lead up to this year’s event.