Overwatch League will not be competing in China throughout February and March due to concerns over the coronavirus. The announcement comes from a post on the league’s website and social media.
Blizzard posted the statement Wednesday evening saying,
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 staff. We hope fans have a safe and happy Lunar New Year, and we remain incredibly excited to play Overwatch League matches in China later this season.”
The league is made up of 20 teams from all around the globe. There were four overall locations hosting the competition – Shanghai, Chengdu, Hangzhou, and Guangzhou – with the first match set to take place on February 15 in Shanghai.
— Overwatch Esports (@OW_Esports) January 30, 2020
Teams planning to compete in the league have previously stated that they are moving locations for pre-season training. Two such teams are the Guangzhou Charge and Shanghai Dragons who both moved to South Korea to prepare for the competition. A post from Guangzhou Charge says,
Our top priority is the health and safety of our players above all else. We believe this is the best course for our team, after looking at factors such as uncertainties around the epidemic, uncertainties around how our schedule will be impacted, geographic considerations and how best to protect our players given how quickly things change on a day-to-day basis.”
The League of Legends Pro League is also postponing the second week of league play.
To our fans, we sincerely apologize that it has come to this and we will share any and all info as soon as we can. Stay Safe and thank you all for your support!”
The post on Overwatch League’s website went on saying they will share more information about future matches at a later date.
