Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Gaming
  3. News

League of Legends 2020 World Championship to push through in China amid COVID-19

Add as a preferred source on Google
 

Riot Games is pushing through with the 2020 World Championship for League of Legends, despite safety concerns due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Recommended Videos

The global health crisis has affected the video game industry in the form of delayed releases such as The Last of Us Part II and canceled events such as E3 2020. However, it appears that Riot Games will not allow the coronavirus to affect its plans for League of Legends‘ Worlds 2020.

We're excited to celebrate the 2020 World Championship this September in China! #Worlds2020

See this video message from Riot Games CEO Nicolo Laurent and Global Head of Esports John Needham about our current plans: pic.twitter.com/c8trp4x8LD

— LoL Esports (@lolesports) August 1, 2020

In a blog post, Riot Games said that Worlds 2020 will be held exclusively in Shanghai from September 25 to October 31, as the inaugural event at the new Pudong Soccer Stadium.

The top teams from regional leagues across the world will compete in the tournament, which will be hosted in a single city to reduce travel and for control over the environment. Riot Games said that it will follow safety guidelines to protect the players who will be attending the event, as well as the fans who will watch if local guidelines will allow an audience by the time of the tournament.

Riot Games, however, did not share the specific measures that it will implement at World 2020. In comparison, Epic Games canceled this year’s Fortnite World Cup due to the pandemic, deciding against holding the tournament in an online format like many e-sports counterparts due to the “limitations of cross-region online competition.”

Digital Trends has reached out to Riot Games to confirm whether there are teams that have already expressed an intent to join the tournament, and for the developer’s plan in case some of the top League of Legends teams refuse to participate. We will update this article as soon as we hear back.

League of Legends‘ World Championship will be returning to its full multi-city tour in 2021, still in China, then in North America in 2022.

Aaron Mamiit
Aaron received an NES and a copy of Super Mario Bros. for Christmas when he was four years old, and he has been fascinated…
Xbox might let you digitize your game discs, and the timing makes perfect sense
Sony gave disc owners no lifeline. Microsoft's Disc2Digital would be exactly that.
Book, Publication, Comics

Earlier today, Sony announced it will stop making physical game discs for new PlayStation titles starting in January 2028. It looks like Microsoft is heading in the same direction, but with a consumer-friendly approach: Xbox owners may not have to leave their disc collections behind.

According to The Verge's Tom Warren, Microsoft has been quietly working on a disc-to-digital feature for Xbox. It's called Disc2Digital internally, and lets players convert their physical games into permanent digital licenses.

Read more
Sony is shutting down the PS3 and PS Vita stores after a very long run
PS3 and PS Vita stores will stop selling new digital content by July 2027
PlayStation 3.

Sony is closing the PlayStation Store on PS3 and PS Vita, ending new digital purchases on two of its most beloved older platforms after a remarkably long run.

The PS3 launched in 2006 and 2007, depending on the region, while the PS Vita arrived in Japan in late 2011 before reaching North America and Europe in February 2012. By the time the final closures happen in July 2027, Sony will have supported PS3 store purchases for nearly two decades, and PS Vita purchases for more than 15 years.

Read more
Sony kills physical PlayStation games. The era of discs comes to an end for Team Blue
The disc era is ending, and they're calling it a natural transition.
Book, Publication, Adult

Merely a few days ago, Rockstar courted plenty of flak for not releasing a physical copy of GTA VI, despite pricing charging up to $100 for the highly anticipated title. Well, it seems that the final days of game discs are nigh. Sony has just announced that it is shuttering physical releases for PlayStation titles.

Starting in January 2028, new titles released on PlayStation consoles will no longer be available on disc. Everything after that date, which is about a year and a half away, will be digital-only, whether you buy it from the PlayStation Store or at a retailer.

Read more