Overwatch League Cancels Events Because of Coronavirus
Activision Blizzard has opted to cancel its live Overwatch League events scheduled during March [...]
Activision Blizzard has opted to cancel its live Overwatch League events scheduled during March and April, the company announced this week. The decision follows cancellations of numerous other esports competitions and other industry events like E3 which have been called off over concerns of spreading the coronavirus, so while the decision to suspend the live events is a disappointing one for any fans who were planning on attending matches, it's not unexpected. Matches scheduled to take place in March and April will still happen throughout the next two months, but they'll only be broadcasted online for viewers at home to watch.
The Overwatch League announced the decision to cancel the events of the next two month on Twitter as many other organizations have in recent weeks. A statement shared about the events said the cancellation was the result of continued monitoring of the coronavirus and the goal of preserving the health of attendees, players, and all others involved in the Overwatch League.
— Overwatch League (@overwatchleague) March 11, 2020
"We are continuing to closely monitor COVID-19 (coronavirus), city-level recommendations and mandates, and all guidelines set forth by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention," the Overwatch League statement said. "After careful review and working in close collaboration with out teams, we are canceling all Overwatch League events scheduled for March and April."
The Overwatch League said they're still working with teams to make sure matches are played "when it's safe and logistically feasible." Various options are being considered to make sure the teams are able to stick to the schedule as hoped.
To be clear, we WILL be playing matches in March and April. We cancelled the events, not the matches (though we will have to move a few things around in the schedule to make this work). https://t.co/guxoTWLhMk
— Pete Vlastelica (@PeteVlastelica) March 11, 2020
Not long after the Overwatch League shared its update, Pete Vlastelica, the CEO of Activision Blizzard Esports, shared another update to clarify the statement. He said the matches in March and April will definitely be played and that things will be moved around in the schedule to make the plans work.
Other esports events like Tekken and SoulCalibur competitions were also changed recently for the same reasons. The big Final Kombat tournament was hit with some last-minute changes as well.
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