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Blizzard cancel Overwatch League matches in China over coronavirus concernsFollowing a LoL tournament
Following a LoL tournament
Blizzard have cancelledOverwatchLeague matches scheduled to take place in China in February and March, owing to concerns about the new coronavirus going round. First identified in China in December,the virus has now killed 170 people. A Chinese League Of Legends tournament also recentlywas cancelled due to the virus. Blizzard say they plan to return OWL to China later this season.
“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 stuff,” Blizzard say inyesterday’s statement. “We hope fans have a safe and happy Lunar New Year, and we remain incredibly excited to playOverwatchLeague matches in China later this season.”
Two of China’s four OWL teams, theShanghai DragonsandGuangzhou Charge, already announced plans to temporarily relocate to South Korea. The Chengdu Huntersare currently staying put, while Hangzhou Spark haven’t announced any plans either way.
Blizzard are far from the only group planning around this, with many countries and companies already taking preventative action. Chinese authorities have placed Wuhan on lockdown. Russia has closed its border with China. British Airways and several other airlines have cancelled flights to China. Britain’s Foreign Office areadvising againsttravelling to mainland China, and organised an evacuation for Britons in Hubei -200 of whom are facing 14 days in quarantine. That’s only a fraction of what’s going on. The World Health Organisation today convene an emergency meeting to decide whether this constitutes a Public Health Emergency and what should be done.
After seeing a surge in players, the makers ofPlague Inc: Evolvedhave stressed that their virus-spreading strategy gameis not a scientific modeland shouldn’t be taken seriously.
