How has the Corona pandemic severely affected Esports?

The world is exploding with a new pandemic, caused by a virus scientifically known as corona. This disease first appeared in the province Wuhan, China. This virus is “relative” to the virus that causes the pandemic SARS in the past. Symptoms include cough and fever, shortness of breath, which over time can lead to pneumonia and severe respiratory failure.

To date, China has reported more than 31,000 infections and 623 confirmed deaths. But this number is just the surface, we can hardly know the actual number because China’s health system is completely overwhelmed by this pandemic.

China is being stalled by this pandemic. Factories are closed. The street is empty. Government officials are all advising people to stay at home, and will even provide cheap video games to support entertainment to limit people having to go out.

China is big esports market most on the planet, with a recent report from Chinese media conglomerate Tencent reporting 2019 revenue esports nearly 2 billion USD. All of Tournaments The biggest takes place in China, from the Championship League of Legends world to Dota 2 The International, and many more are planned for 2020.

And now those tournaments are either delayed or canceled altogether. The Video Championship Pokémon Midseason Showdown was scheduled to take place on February 2 but was canceled due to the corona outbreak. The second week of the League of Legends Pro League 2020 Spring Split has been postponed by 2 weeks and so far there has been no update on whether it will still take place.

Last week, the Overwatch League canceled its third season in China. The Predator League has postponed the 2020 Asia Pacific tournament to the summer in response to this outbreak, and PUBG’s Global Series has been postponed indefinitely.

So far, the US and European leagues are not affected by corona, but if pandemic spread beyond China’s borders, those tournaments are also at risk of having to shut down.

Surely this will not be a very good year for the world Esports in general and Esports China in particular.​