Season 6 of the competition was just about to begin today when Ukraine’s capital was shelled again by Russian artillery. The opening day of the event was suspended by the organizers as most of their team is located in the city.
The six-week online tournament pits the academy teams of some of the biggest CS:GO orgs against one another for their share of a $100 000 prize pool. This season, Flames Ascent and MIBR Academy will replace Young Gods and Eternal Fire Academy.
The event was meant to kick off today, but a retaliatory artillery strike on Kyiv led to the suspension of the broadcast for the day. The attacks came a few days after the strike on the Kerch Bridge, which connects Crimea with mainland Russia.
The Associated Press reports that at least eight people were killed and 24 were injured in just one of the strikes on the capital, with blasts reported in the city’s Shevchenko district. Dnipro and Kharkiv were also hit today by missile strikes.
It is unclear how significant the disruption is for WePlay’s academy event. The original schedule would have seen the group stage run between Oct. 10 and 28, with the Gauntlet Stage on Oct. 29 to 30 and the playoffs between Nov. 18 to 20. It remains to be seen how this schedule is adjusted now after the attacks.
