Riot Games is taking precautions to ensure the safety of players, fans, and employees at LCS events.
LCS commissioner Chris Greeley addressed the growing COVID-19 concerns today, echoing sentiments from across the industry that “health and safety” for pro players, fans, and staff is the top priority. Riot is taking several precautions to protect against the coronavirus, including the suspension of fan meets, victory high fives, and post-game handshakes.
“Out of an abundance of caution due to the coronavirus outbreak, we’ll be suspending fan meets, victory high fives, and post-game handshakes at LCS games until further notice,” Greeley said. “As these precautions may disappoint some of our fans, we’ll be offering refunds to ticket holders who prefer not to attend our games.”
Riot is also “carefully monitoring the situation” for the 2020 LCS Spring Finals in April, scheduled to be held in Frisco, Texas. The company is working with the venue and local government to ensure the safety of the players and fans. With the location of the LEC Spring Finals moving from Budapest to the LEC Studio in Berlin, it wouldn’t be a surprise if the LCS followed suit and held the finals in Los Angeles.
This is just another example of how the coronavirus has affected major esports and gaming events. Twitch announced today that TwitchCon Amsterdam is canceled. The Game Developers Conference was similarly postponed, while the LCK and IEM Katowice playoffs were held without an audience.
