The League of Legends European Championships has been indefinitely suspended amid the coronavirus outbreak.
LEC Postponed
According to a report by Hotspawn, LEC has decided to make the move after they have revealed that a staff member is now under observation after coming in contact with a person with COVID-19.
As of now, there are no reported cases of a staff member or a player who has been diagnosed with the coronavirus disease.
The announcement came unexpectedly during a scheduled broadcast by LEC to kick off the season. Still, fans perhaps a little confused as Eefje "Sjokz" Depoortere took over to deliver the news of the LEC's suspension.
The indefinite postponement of LEC came as a surprise to fans as the start of the Spring season was supposed to start on Friday.
"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," LEC posted on its official Twitter account.
Important update about the #LEC pic.twitter.com/WSOZEQ21MZ — LEC (@LEC) March 13, 2020
More League of Legends Events Canceled
The news came a day after Riot Games and Head of eSports Europe, Alberto Guerrero, have officially announced that there will be no live audience, tailgates, and even press during the League of Legends championship series as a response to the coronavirus outbreak.
As of now, the LCS Spring Finals that will take place in Texas in mid-April is also in jeopardy of being postponed, but LCS hasn't reached any decisions yet but will announce the fate of the finals next week, Mar. 20.
Riot Games are in the middle of figuring refunds out, so expect to get a refund if you have purchased a ticket for any of the events.
Besides LEC, a few other League of Legends events has been postponed, including the championship series in Korea--where there are currently a number of confirmed cases of COVID-19.
According to GameRant, Faker, a popular League of Legends star, has already donated $25,000 from his own earnings to help battle the spread of the new coronavirus disease in South Korea.
LCK will remain suspended until further notice.
The League of Legends Professional League is ongoing but has chosen to play the league online, instead.
The mid-season invitational which was supposed to take place in May was moved to July. All other Summer Split dates have also been adjusted.
Coronavirus Affecting eSports
Besides League of Legends, the coronavirus outbreak has taken its toll on the eSports world, as it has also affected several other gaming leagues, including that of Overwatch, Counter-Strike: Global Defensive, DOTA 2, Call of Duty, Rocket League, Hearthstone, Apex Legends, and more.
The Esports Observer has a complete list of the canceled or postponed eSports events that were affected by the growing cases of the new coronavirus outbreak.
The decisions to cancel the events, however, were essential as the disease is highly infectious. Everyone is advised to stay at home, avoid massive gatherings, do social distancing, and follow proper hygiene to limit its spread.
