On Monday evening EST, the LCK announced an indefinite hiatus due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) situation. Riot Games has decided to take this action in order to keep all players and staff safe. It is unknown when the games will resume. Riot will keep fans updated as the LCK takes place in South Korea, one of the most infected countries.
“While we do not know when the league will resume, we will keep a close eye on the development around COVID-19 and make appropriate decisions.”
2/2— David Higdon (@davidhigdon) March 3, 2020
Riot Games’ Global Head of Communications David Higdon tweeted about the sudden LCK hiatus. Korean publication Fomos has reported on the matter as well. The decision to halt the LCK from continuing with its spring season came after Korea was placed on “red alert.” Due to the seriousness of the situation, Riot is taking precautions to prevent any staff from getting sick.
The LCK and its Challengers league will be going on hiatus after Round 1 ends on March 6. They plan on returning once they see optimistic progress in containing the virus.
A halt in the tournament
This has been a tough season for several regions as the COVID-19 situation gets worse each day. At the moment, South Korea has counted over 4,300 cases and about 26 deaths. Just recently, the LCK had experienced a virus scare with their number-one host. The staff had sent her to the local hospital to get tested, eventually resulting in a negative test. After that, they informed the staff of the severity of the virus spread. The LCK then prevented all media activity from taking place in order to keep everyone safe. As the LCK continued on without a live audience, team members and staff still interacted with each other. This hiatus will ensure that players are able to stay home and away from any possibilities of getting sick.
Do you think they will play scrims just like the LPL did? Let us know what you think below.
