Coronavirus hit Dota 2 ESL Esports to move Online
Two DOTA 2 events, ESL one Birmingham and ESL one Los Angeles are going to be moved online.
Further details
ESL Birmingham was originally scheduled to take place at the Arena Birmingham in England from May 26-31. Now the tournament will be held online from May to June. The exact date is unspecified. ESL one Los Angeles was originally supposed to be held from March 15-22. It will now be held from March 28 to April 19.
“After carefully reviewing all possibilities for ESL One Los Angeles and Birmingham 2020 powered by Intel with VALVE, we have come to the conclusion that both tournaments will not proceed as initially planned this year and will both be transformed into online tournaments,” ESL commented on its official site. “The safety and well-being of players, fans, and staff is our utmost priority.”
Multiple other DOTA 2 events have been cancelled due to Covid-19.The OGA Dota PIT Minor, scheduled for Spaladium Arena in Split, Croatia was cancelled. It was scheduled for April 23-26. The following EPICENTER Major, set for Moscow on May 2-10, was canceled by Valve on March 15.
There are only 3 DOTA 2 events where teams can secure qualification. 2 of them are yet to be announced.The final Major in the calendar, the ONE Esports Singapore Major 2020, is still set to take place at the Shrine Singapore Indoor Stadium in Kallang, Singapore, on June 20-28.
Not the anomaly
Esports worldwide have been affected by the pandemic. Not only Esports, but traditional sports have also been affected. Some of them have even made the move to Esports, though temporary. The NBA, NFL and MLB have cancelled all tournaments and training sessions. Other Esports leagues like China’s League of Legends Pro League, League European Championship and Counter Strike’s ESL Pro league and Flashpoint have been cancelled/moved online.
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Lets hope all ESL Dota 2 moved online competition bears same response as the physical one during Coronavirus breakdown.
