- The Overwatch League is planning to host several live events in China
- The League promises utmost care taken when it comes to player safety
- The COVID-19 protocols may still hinder some of the planned tournaments
For the great delight of fans worldwide, the Overwatch League is planning to return with several live events in China. However, the ongoing pandemic may still make the hosting of such events and the voyage of teams to the venue difficult.
The Live Tournament Plans and What We Know
Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, esports tournaments have suffered. Most of them moved to an online play with the teams playing remotely, but this hindered both teamwork and performance. Because of that, the Overwatch League is planning a gradual return to live events for this year.
The League's spokespeople explained in an official release that the health and safety conditions in China have greatly improved. Thus it has been discussed with officials if there are any prospects of live events taking place. And luckily, there are.
With that in mind, the Overwatch League quickly laid down plans for several events. For now, the plans include four tournaments, out of which three are supposed to take place live with teams playing in person. These events and their planned dates are the following:
- June 4-6: Hangzhou Spark (June Joust)
- July 9-11: Shanghai Dragons (Summer Showdown)
- August 7-8: Guangzhou Charge (Countdown Cup)
According to the Overwatch League itself, five Chinese teams will be participating and playing on stage. These are the teams that will be representing China:
- Hunters
- Charge
- Spark
- Valiant
- Dragons
Three Korean teams will play in the OWL's planned events as well. Here they are as well:
- NYXL
- Fusion
- Dynasty
The Live-Online Hybrid Events
The teams are expected to travel to the event's venue. However, the OWL reminded that COVID-19 protocols are a subject of change because of the fluctuating numbers of the virus' spread. Therefore some of the teams may not be able to participate, in which case they can still play but remotely. In the same way, the three Korean teams are not expected to travel at all and will also play remotely.
Hence the tournaments that the Overwatch League is planning will be a live-online hybrid. This may not be the best-case scenario for teams and fans alike but is sure a step for the better.
The OWL concluded that additional details would be revealed at a later date. The next season starts on April 16.
The previous days' Call of Duty teams also teased the prospects of LAN events returning, so it's obvious that everyone is looking forward to the pandemic letting up and esports events returning to normal.
