There’s a possibility the winner of the 2022 LPL Spring Split will have to sit and watch May’s Mid-Season Invitational from the sidelines, according to LNG’s Kim “Doinb” Tae-sang.
Due to the COVID-19 situation in Shanghai, China, the LPL representatives will likely have to play remotely at MSI 2022 or not play at all. “For the latest version I’ve heard, [the LPL] will play remotely for MSI. If [the LPL] can’t play remotely, they may not attend,” Doinb said in a recent stream, according to a translation by cutebchu.
This is because the COVID-19 policy in Shanghai dictates people quarantine for a total of 21 days after entering the city—14 days of centralized quarantine and seven days of health monitoring. In regular circumstances, players would be able to quarantine and make it back in time for LPL Summer, but that might not be the case this year.
“They can’t catch up on the Summer Split schedule. It is impossible to come to Korea so the only way is playing remotely,” Doinb said.
The LPL representatives won’t have to quarantine in South Korea, but they will have to quarantine for the required 21 days when they return home to China after the event. This, because the upcoming split is expected to be condensed to one month, means players won’t be able to compete in the league.
“The format is the same as the Mid-Season Cup. If you come to Korea, you don’t have to quarantine in Korea, but you need to quarantine when you return to China. The Summer [Split will] play around one month,” Doinb said.
To prepare for the Hangzhou Asian Games, where League of Legends and other esports titles will be featured in September, the Summer Split schedule is rumored to be cut short this year, with the LPL expected to play four series every Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday.
“If you don’t quarantine, you can’t play the Summer Split. You can’t promote academy teams to play [in the summer], right? It’s impossible to play the matches via the hotel’s computers when you have to quarantine in the hotel,” Doinb said.
It remains to be seen if the LPL representatives will be able to compete at MSI 2022. But for now, fans will have to wait and see how everything pans out. The upcoming LPL playoffs have been delayed to April 12 and onwards and will be played remotely, making the situation even more complicated.
MSI 2022 is scheduled to kick off in Busan, South Korea on May 10. A total of 11 regional representatives, including the LPL champions, are expected to compete.
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