Evo 2020 has officially been canceled, the tournament organizer announced today.
Although there won’t be a physical event at the Mandalay Bay Arena in Las Vegas, the Evo team does plan on hosting a new, online tournament in place of the normal one.
This news comes days after CEO pivoted out of June and into December due to the coronavirus pandemic. Tournament organizer Alex Jebailey said that he didn’t see events in “June or anything happening this summer.” Likewise, other big events scheduled for later in August, such as Valve’s Dota 2 International and the Pokémon World Championships, have either been postponed or canceled as well.
With how volatile the current live event landscape is due to the coronavirus, this move is being made to protect all potential attendees and the Evo brand as a whole.
“Due to COVID-19, we are sadly canceling Evo 2020 at Mandalay Bay and refunding all purchased tickets,” the Evo team said. “But to keep the Evo spirit alive, we’re bringing the event online this summer. The health and well-being of our community is our highest priority. We hope everyone stays safe during this time.”
More details about the online replacement event will be revealed in the coming weeks, but it’s likely that the eight main stage games will hold online competitions with the Evo team running the show in some form. With this new format, other titles that might not have been selected for Evo 2020 could also make an appearance, specifically with Mortal Kombat 11 or the recently-revitalized Killer Instinct community getting some representation.
After this news, it’s unlikely that any other fighting game Major will be held in-person during the summer. A September return to competition is starting to look less and less likely as the weeks go on.
