CS:GO and Overwatch League cancelled in China amid Coronavirus fears

The Coronavirus outbreak has affected life in China severely. Originating in Wuhan, China, official figures put lives lost to this deadly virus at over 100. Due to these fears, League of Legends Pro Series was suspended in China earlier this week. Now, the Overwatch League and CS:GO tournaments in China stand cancelled. Not only that, two of the Chinese Overwatch teams have relocated to South Korea as well. 

WESG’s Asia-Pacific finals, which were supposed to be held in Macau, have been cancelled. The announcement was made on their official Weibo account. The follow up schedule for Asia Pacific finals have not been announced yet so it is not clear how long the delay will be. 

The Overwatch League also took to Twitter to announce their decision to postpone matches in China. They said that the matches scheduled to take place in China in February and March have been cancelled to protect the health and safety of our players, fans and staff” but said that they are “incredibly excited to play Overwatch League matches in China later this Season.” Regarding the cancelled matches, they also said that they would announce the details at a later date. 

Coming to the Chinese teams, Guangzhou Charge and Shanghai Dragons announced on Twitter that they would be temporarily relocating to South Korea. They said that the country will be their pre-season training base. They also said that the situation was unpredictable, complex and urgent. 

Shanghai Dragons, on the other hand, did not provide the duration of their move to South Korea. They said that they will be relocating to Korea with immediate effect.