The LCK won’t host a media day for the 2020 Spring Split, Riot Korea announced earlier today. This is due to the danger of the coronavirus outbreak, according to an Inven reporter.
The LCK will launch on Feb. 5 as scheduled, but it reportedly won’t welcome a live audience to limit the risk of spreading the virus.
“Riot Korea says preventive measures were needed to protect the health and safety of athletes, visitors and officials,” he said.
Riot Korea announced yesterday that it has already discussed the possibility of postponing the start of the LCK if the coronavirus outbreak worsens in South Korea. Officials updated the situation today with this announcement, though.
A similar situation has happened before in South Korean esports. In 2015, the StarCraft II StarLeague grand finals were moved to another location in Seoul, the Nexon Arena, to contain the risks of the MERS infection, another coronavirus that killed 36 people in South Korea.
The latest coronavirus outbreak was first discovered last December in Wuhan, China. Over 5,900 cases have been declared in the country so far. The Chinese government has taken drastic actions to curb the virus that’s already killed over 130 people. After one week of competition, the LPL was postponed for an indefinite time.
Related: English LPL caster team leaving China due to coronavirus concerns
The situation is less dire in other countries, though. Despite counting only four cases in South Korea since Jan. 20, the government said that it’d go “all out” to contain the virus. The government raised the infectious disease alert to “orange,” the third-highest level, and monitored 28 potential cases. It screened over 3,000 travelers who came from Wuhan, the center of the outbreak.
The 2020 LCK Spring Split will launch on Feb. 5 as planned, just without a live audience.
