- Riot Games will reportedly be changing League of Legends World Championship 2021’s venue
- According to the sources, the game company met difficulties with getting its staff through the Chinese border
- The big League of Legends event will instead take place in Europe, in a yet undisclosed location
According to reports, Riot Games will be moving the League of Legends’ World Championship to Europe because of COVID protocol complications.
League of Legends World Championship Reportedly Coming to Europe
Riot Games may be moving the League of Legends World Championship from China to Europe. This was reported by esports outlet Upcomer which claims that the video game company will make the announcement soon.
Upcomer reports that the reason for this relocation is because of the difficulties that come with hosting a big event in another country during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. According to Upcomer’s sources, Riot is having major trouble with getting its staff to China to prepare for the event. Additionally, the esports teams from North America are still yet to be approved for visas that will allow them to enter China.
If Riot makes a statement and this turns out to be the case, it will be big news for League of Legends and esports as a whole. On one hand, it will be exciting news for European fans who may get the opportunity to see their favorite teams play live. On the other hand, it shows that the COVID-19 hurdles are still far from over and that in a worst-case scenario a new pandemic spike can delay whole events or force them to move online.
Changing Venue Twice in a Row
This year’s iteration of the League of Legends World Championship was originally planned for North America. It was later changed as Riot Games decided to move to China where the situation is more forgiving to hosting live events. Last year’s World Championship was in Shanghai and allowed for a limited crowd during the finals, despite the raging epidemic.
The World Championship 2021 had a detailed plan on its venues. It was to take place in several Chinese cities: Chengdu, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Quindao, and Wuhan. The World Championship’s winner was to be decided with grand finals in Shenzhen.
However, these plans may be out of the window if the report is correct and Riot is going to change the location to Europe. Dexerto reached out to the game company. It was told that an official announcement is scheduled for later today, August 24.
