Vietnam to miss e-sports world championship in China

By Dang Khoa   September 3, 2020 | 04:00 am PT
Vietnam to miss e-sports world championship in China
2019 League of Legends World Championship in Paris, France. Photo courtesy of LOL Esports.
Vietnamese teams won't compete in the 2020 League of Legends World Championship over concerns about Covid-19 related reentry protocols.

Tom Martell, director of operations of Riot Games, developer of e-sports game League of Legends, explained that the top two winners of the ongoing 2020 Vietnam Championship Series (VCS) Summer Season fear that they won't be able to return home after the tournament because of protective measures instituted by the government to curb the Covid-19 pandemic.

Vietnam has two world's seeds, one in the main event stage and one in the play-in stage.

The world championship this year is scheduled to take place in Shanghai on September 25, with the participation of Team Flash and the winner of the losers' bracket finals between EVOS Esports and GAM Esports set for Thursday.

Riot said the tournament will now only has 22 teams due and they had to change the competition format due to recent withdrawals.

Despite the unwanted result, organizer of VCS said the tournament will still continue normally to find the winner and determine teams ranking. The last match of the season is on Saturday.

The world championship this year will be held in a single-city and bubble format, requiring players to limit contact with outsiders.

In April, Riot Games had to cancel the Mid-Season Invitational planned between July 3-19.

The League of Legends, also known as LoL, is a multiplayer online battle arena video game first launched in 2009. Players control a "champion" with special abilities and battle against a team of other players or AI-controlled champions in a pre-defined arena. The goal is to destroy the other team's "nexus," a structure located in the heart of base which is protected by other defensive structures.

 
 
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