Riot Games Suspends League of Legends European Championship Season Due to Coronavirus

Riot Games made another decision regarding the competitive League of Legends scene this week when [...]

By Tanner Dedmon

Riot Games made another decision regarding the competitive League of Legends scene this week when it told all those involved with the League of Legends European Championship league that the rest of the spring season will be suspended until further notice. The announcement follows previous decisions to cancel live events taking place within the LEC as well as within the North American LCS, but this spring split suspension only applied to the LEC for now. It's unclear when or if the spring split will resume at this time, but the LEC said it'd have more info to share when those details are available.

The LEC proceeded with its games as normal on Friday before the broadcast cut to the special announcement after it'd been live for around an hour and a match had already been played. The video above shows the announcement when it was shared as Riot confirmed that the rest of the spring split – including the games which were to be played this weekend – had been suspended.

A similar message was shared on Twitter for followers who weren't tuning into the live broadcast at the time.

"In light of the uncertainty during the rapidly changing COVID-19 pandemic situation and in an abundance of caution, we've decided to err on the side of player and staff safety and suspend the LEC spring season until further notice," Riot said. "At this point in time, no member of the LEC staff or players has tested positive for COVID-19, however we have reason to suspect an LEC staff member may have been exposed to the virus. This person is under quarantine and is being evaluated by health professionals. We will update everyone as soon as we have more information."

Other esports organizations and industry events which have also been affected by the coronavirus have elected to hold online-only matches instead of holding them in live settings even after they decided not to host a live audience. Due to the sudden suspension of the LEC during the start of its weekend, it's unclear now if that's an option Riot is considering for future LEC games.

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