2020’sOverwatchLeague has faced several challenges and its fair share of controversy. After initial criticism of Activision-Blizzard’s exclusivity deal to stream the tournament on YouTube Gaming, the OWL was called out forincluding more ads than gameplayin its streams. Unlike these previous incidents, the League’s latest setback is entirely out of anyone’s control.
In the days leading up to the eSports event, the coronavirus began affecting Chinese citizens. The disease soon caused an outbreak that has affected several thousand people and spread across different countries. While thecoronavirus has already impacted the PS5 and Xbox Series X, its effects were bound to affect the OWL, a massive public gathering. While Blizzard Entertainment had already cancelled matches and events based in China, it recently announced that these delays and cancellations would also impact the Korean leg of the tournament.
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In a recent tweet, theOverwatchLeague announced that it would be cancelling the South Korean matches that were meant to take place from the fifth, sixth, and seventh weeks of games. Blizzard also cancelled an event held by the League’s South Korean home team, Seoul Dynasty. Citing the need to “protect the [players', fans' and staff’s] health and safety,” Blizzard Entertainment said that it would update viewers soon about when and where these events could be scheduled to.
MostOverwatchfans have been understanding. While several pointed out that this cancellation was for the best (and only) choice for protecting players and viewers alike, others questioned how these delays and cancellations would be handled, or how they would be rescheduled. Considering thatOverwatchLeague events were also cancelled in China, these questions are valid. The amount of matches missed are piling up.
However, logistical issues like these are not as important as the health and safety of everyone involved. Hopefully, the Chinese and South Korean cancellations will ensure the safety of Blizzard’s staff. These difficulties have not stopped people from trying to help coronavirus victims. In the wake of the cancellation announcement, for example,Seoul Dynasty announced fundraisers to aid in coronavirus relief.Such an encouraging commitment demonstrates how people can still continue to band together for the common good, without a single public event to unify them.
Overwatchis out now for PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One.
