Just moments ago, Riot Games officially announced the fate of the second-largest international tournament of the year for League of Legends – Mid Season Invitational 2020. Accordingly, after considering the global impacts and risks posed by the Covid-19 pandemic, the organizers of the League of Legends tournament decided to cancel the MSI 2020 event.
Previously, Riot Games had planned to postpone the MSI 2020 schedule from May to July, hoping for positive results in pandemic prevention efforts. However, after receiving warnings from health organizations and regional authorities, Riot Games had to make a difficult decision to officially cancel this tournament.
With MSI 2020 not being held, the Summer tournament system for 12 major regions will continue as scheduled from the beginning of the year, starting in July and ending in October. Some regions will continue to compete online in case the pandemic does not show any positive changes.
As for the 2020 World Championship, as previously revealed by writer Kenzi from FOMOS, South Korea, the participants in the tournament will also be restructured, with LEC and LPL holding 4 slots each, LCK and LCS maintaining 3 slots, VCS and PCS with 2 slots, and other regions having 1 slot to participate in the tournament.
However, it is still unclear whether this is only a temporary change for the 2020 season to “compensate” for the cancellation of the MSI tournament, or if it will be applied from now on in future World Championships.
The cancellation of MSI 2020 is likely disappointing news for League of Legends fans worldwide, but during a time when the pandemic is very complex, this is a necessary move to ensure the health of the community.