League Of Legends World Championships 2020 Will Still Take Place In China
Riot Games has confirmed that the League of Legends World Championship in 2020 will be played in China, on LAN.
The announcement settles months of uncertainty at whether the World Championships would be taking place at all, considering Coronavirus guidelines had already cancelled the Mid-Season Invitational.
With just under two months left until the biggest event on the League of Legends calendar, Head of esports at Riot Global, John Needham, confirmed that the Worlds will take place in Shanghai, China.
The grand final will take place in the Pudong Football Stadium, which will be home of the Chinese Super League team Shanghai SIPG. The stadium is still under construction, and the LoL World Championships will come as its inaugural event on October 31. For the first time, the Worlds will solely be held in Shanghai, rather than a tour of China, to maximise safety for fans and players alike.
CEO of Riot Games, Nicolo Laurent stated: “We have closely been monitoring the impact of Covid-19, partnering with local and national authorities, external risks and safety consultants, and we continue to follow guidance from various health organisations around the world".
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Whether fans will be permitted is yet to be confirmed, however, Laurent hints at this for the grand finals, explaining “To ensure the health and safety of fans, pro players, and everyone involved in bringing 2020 worlds to life, instead of touring across China all stages will be staged in Shanghai. This will reduce travel over the course of the tournament and give us the ability to more closely control the event environment”.
The LoL Worlds have been renowned for their groundbreaking special effects in the past, such as the CGI dragon and the digitalisation of the K/DA K-pop group, and this may very well be used to create a fan-like atmosphere at the earlier stages, which have been confirmed to not contain fans, focusing on a ‘digital viewer experience’.
Either way, fans or not, the best of the best in League of Legends are set to go head-to-head this fall, showcasing the heights of esports on one of the world's biggest stages.
Stay tuned at GGRecon for more LoL News.
Image via Riot Games