Even though COVID-19 vaccines such as Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna are slowly being given to Americans, the COVID-19 cases in the United States still continue to rise in incredible numbers. As of this writing, the CDC COVID Data Tracker reveals that there are almost 23 million cases overall and over 380,000 deaths recorded deaths so far.
Out of all the fifty states, though, California appears to have been hit the hardest, with each day seeing hundreds of deaths. Seeing as the North American League of Legends scene is situated in Los Angeles, a city in California, it was just a matter of time before the virus affected this, too.
In fact, Inven Global reported that several League of Legends players from Counter Logic Gaming have, unfortunately, tested positive for the coronavirus. CLG GM Daniel “Tafokints” Lee confirmed to the esports news website that the team, which is a competitor in the League of Legends Championship Series (LCS), had been practicing at the office instead of at home.
There were several reasons for this, one of which is the fact that the office provided better facilities and lower ping. Players were constantly tested for the virus, and as soon as someone caught it, the office was immediately shut down indefinitely.
Tafokints said that those who were possibly exposed to COVID-19 were immediately put into quarantine. Since then, the rest of the players began to practice at their own homes. “There’s not anyone that’s unable to play [due to] direct illnesses… Everyone is playing and scrimming.”
I've reached out to all the teams except CLG and C9 (gamer house) to see how they intend to have their players compete in LCS given the skyrocketing cases in LA and the outbreaks among CLG and DIG players. Updating this tweet thread with answers, may make a video.
— Travis Gafford (@TravisGafford) January 13, 2021
IMMORTALS:
Team plans to compete from individual apartments for all competitive events for the foreseeable future. pic.twitter.com/16zQmpFTvq
— Travis Gafford (@TravisGafford) January 13, 2021
On the other hand, another report from Travis Gafford, an independent journalist, reveals that several members of team Dignitas also fell victim to the virus. However, the team has yet to confirm what the current status of their members are. As for team Immortals, the organization plans on letting its players compete from the safety of their homes for the time being.
Asides from the different players testing positive for COVID-19, however, CLG also has another serious concern that’s also a result of the global pandemic, and that is the visas. More specifically, Swedish top laner Finn “Finn” Wiestål and Danish jungler Mads “Broxah” Brock-Pedersen are both still waiting for their visas to get approved.
For the meantime, while the organization waits for this crucial document to get approved for both members, Colin “Solo” Earnest and Raymond “Griffin” Griffin will server as temporary replacements for the two. For the unfamiliar, Solo is from free agency while Griffin is from the academy team.
Despite the turbulent year that is 2020, the global League of Legends pro scene did extremely well in adapting to the difficult times. At the moment, all leagues will be held online, which is the case these days for most events that are usually held physically.
Last year’s season concluded with the World Championship in Shanghai, China, where most of the games took place behind closed doors. There was a live audience for the finale, though, which saw Korea’s DAMWON Gaming win against China’s Suning.
Now that it’s a new year, it will definitely be interesting to see how the North American scene will adapt given the current circumstances.
