Riot Games has delayed announcing any plans regarding the League of Legends Mid-Season Invitational—citing the Coronavirus as the source of the delay.
John Needham, global head of esports at Riot addressed fans ahead of the announcement: “As countries around the world respond to the Coronavirus, we’ve had to adjust our plans and delay announcing the location and timing of MSI 2020.”
The event is one of the biggest of the year, but the safety of players and attendees is obviously the number one priority for Needham and the rest of the event organizers. The integrity of the event is also important to Riot. They don’t want to hold the event if half the participants won’t show.
The Coronavirus made international news at the start of the year when close to 40 individuals fell ill in the port city of Wuhan, China. In under a month, the virus has become a pandemic of frightening scale—already killing close to 3,000 people across four continents.
A wide range of esports and gaming-related events have already been delayed or entirely called off. Overwatch League team Seoul Dynasty was recently sent back to the US from Seoul, South Korea, amid concerns of the Coronavirus’ spread. The league is currently over 33 games behind schedule due to cancellations.
Logistics and safety issues regarding travel and shipment of materials from China to the US has also put delays on the release of new technology. Valve’s Index VR is likely to be delayed, and production delays have resulted in the Switch being completely sold out in Japan. The virus may even cause a delay in the release of the Animal Crossing inspired Switch. Nobody wants the Switch: Coronavirus edition, apparently.
The Coronavirus has put a wrench in almost every international gaming event that has taken place or was scheduled to take place in the last two months. The League of Legends Mid-Season Invitational is just the latest iteration of the pattern. As the virus continues to spread its global reach, the problem will likely only get worse.
