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Bad luck keeps on hitting the Overwatch League’s first season of localization. COVID-19, or the coronavirus, has led to the cancellation of dozens of esports events around the world. Earlier this year, six Overwatch League homestands planned for China and South Korea were canceled due to the coronavirus threat.
Today, the league announced that all homestand events in March and April would be canceled. Overwatch League commissioner Pete Vlastelica said that matches will still be held in some way, but actual homestand events for fans will not be taking place as planned. The announcement affects 11 homestands and one unclaimed event that included Pacific West teams.
We’ve compiled the full list of homestands affected by today’s announcement as well as statements released by each team related to their individual events.
- Florida Mayhem, March 14 and 15, hosted in Miami.
- Atlanta Reign, March 21 and 22, hosted in Atlanta.
- San Francisco Shock, March 28 and 29, hosted in Berkeley, California.
- London Spitfire, March 28 and 29, hosted in Wembley, London, United Kingdom.
- Dallas Fuel, April 4 and 5, hosted in Dallas.
- Washington Justice, April 4 and 5, hosted in Washington, D.C.
- Paris Eternal, April 11 and 12, hosted in Paris.
- A homestand labeled “to be announced” that included Pacific West teams, April 11 and 12, hosted in an unknown venue.
- Toronto Defiant, April 18 to 19, hosted in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
- Los Angeles Valiant, April 18 to 19, hosted in Los Angeles.
- Dallas Fuel, April 25 to 26, hosted in Dallas.
- Boston Uprising, April 25 to 26, hosted in Boston.
- The midseason tournament, which had not yet chosen a venue or date, would have been scheduled for the last week of April.
This list does not include the previous homestands that were canceled in February and March. Those homestands would have taken place in Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Hangzhou in China and Seoul, South Korea. The previous six canceled homestands accounted for 33 individual matches. Today’s cancellation added another 68 games to the postponed match list. At last count, 101 matches have been affected by the coronavirus.
Please check with individual teams for homestand information regarding ticket refunds or transfers. The Overwatch League has promised to update fans about the future of the season and how matches will be played in the future.
Published: Mar 11, 2020 07:55 pm