On March 13, the next match day of the European League of Legends league LEC was supposed to take place. However, while viewers were eagerly waiting in the stream, it was canceled – due to Corona.
Update March 17: Via Twitter, the LEC announced their return. Starting this Friday, March 20, the European LoL league will be held online. This is expected to apply for the entire remaining Spring Split.
For viewers at home, not much changes. However, the question remains whether everything will go smoothly for the participants without internet issues. Most teams will participate from their location in Berlin. Only Team Origin will stay at the training center in Copenhagen.
The #LEC Returns this Friday!
— LEC (@LEC) March 17, 2020
Tl;dr:
Due to the ongoing developments of the coronavirus pandemic we have decided to play the remainder of the 2020 LEC Spring Split 100% remotely online, with matches resuming Friday, March 20th.
More info: https://t.co/Ewe5oZExfR pic.twitter.com/fZOcS2Zoid
What happened? At 5:00 PM on Friday evening, the livestream for the LoL league LEC started as usual. A countdown was shown, signaling the start of the coverage. During this time, recap videos were continuously displayed.
But the live event did not take place. Instead, Riot Games announced that the LEC would be suspended for the time being. They cited that one of the employees was suspected of having COVID-19. That person is currently in quarantine, which led to the cancellation of the entire event.
When the league will continue is currently unknown. Meanwhile, a tweet has been published that explains the situation in more detail. It also emphasizes that there is currently no confirmed case:
Important update about the #LEC pic.twitter.com/WSOZEQ21MZ
— LEC (@LEC) March 13, 2020
How was the cancellation received? During the countdown, many viewers had already gathered in various streams for the LEC. However, they waited in vain for the countdown to end.
In the chat, there was a lot of understanding for the situation, with only a few exceptions complaining or being rude in the chat. On reddit, the user MedicCasts reports the events from the perspective of the shoutcasters, who were also looking forward to the event:
That’s really unfortunate. Yes, really. All the casters and the teams behind them were ready. We only received the news shortly before the streams were supposed to begin.
I know it’s the right decision, but that doesn’t make it any easier for us.
However, even before the cancellation of the livestream, precautions had been taken to stop the spread of the coronavirus around the LEC.
Ghost Games and No Handshakes
What did Riot do regarding the virus? The canceled match day was supposed to take place, but with one caveat: The audience was disinvited. Just like in football, “ghost games” were planned.
However, there were also instructions for the professionals. It was advised to forgo the usual handshake at the end of a match.
What’s next? Many users on reddit anticipate that the leagues from America and Korea will soon make adjustments due to Corona.
They are also discussing whether the LEC could be held online, as it is currently the case with the Chinese LPL.
Whether that is a good idea remains to be seen:
- After all, pro players have long complained about the poor internet in Germany.
- And the worst part is: they are right with their complaint.
