Two more big tournaments have been added to the pile of events canceled due to concerns surrounding the coronavirus as both Final Round 2020 and April Annihilation call it quits for the year.
This is huge news because Final Round was just a week away from kicking off and the tournament organizers will now need to try and manage refunds along with keeping options open for a return next year.
Due to the rapid spread of the coronavirus, along with the various travel and hosting concerns that come with it, Final Round had to shudder a week out despite the staff trying to keep it alive for as long as possible.
“We have been constantly monitoring the recent events with the COVID-19 virus that has gone from a health advisory in our local city/region just a week ago to a worldwide pandemic,” TO Larry “Shin Blanka” Dixon said. “It’s with a heavy heart and a great responsibility to our community health/safety that we cannot run Final Round 2020!”
Like with many other tournaments that are specifically run by a larger company, Final Round is run on the backs of the TOs, entry fees, and any sponsors that choose to partner with the event. And with this cancelation, it is unclear if the event will even be able to come back after a year-long hiatus.
Shin Blanka cites venue payments, games and DLC, badges, venue utilities such as internet, and the recent purchase of 2,000 cleaning masks in the list of expenses his team will have to cover that are non-refundable. He is giving players who ask for a refund their respective game fee (which is usually around $5) and 43 percent of the amount ticket cost.
April Annihilation also canceled its 2020 tournament, though the team had enough time left to provide all players with a full refund for their venue and game fees since it wasn’t set to begin until April 9.
Alternatively, players can refuse a refund and put their money towards the venue fee for Summer Jam, which is set to run from Aug. 28 to 30. It is unclear if tournament cancelations due to the coronavirus will last through the Summer, but take caution when making that decision.
More tournaments will likely join the list of events closing due to the ongoing coronavirus concerns in the coming weeks.
Published: Mar 13, 2020 10:13 pm