League of Legends Pro League (LPL) postponed due to Coronavirus

Week 2 of the League of Legends Pro League  (LPL) has been postponed as a result of the spreading of the Coronavirus across China and the rest of the world.

The fallout from the spreading of the Coronavirus is starting to impact competitive eSports. The Chinese League of Legends Pro League (LPL) announced over the weekend that Week 2 competitions have been postponed.

The LPL’s official Twitter account released a statement saying that all competitive activity will be delayed “until we can ensure the safety and health of our players and fans.” There has been no announcement regarding any sort of make up dates or when play will resume.

LPL English commentators Jake “Hysterics” Osypenko, Robert “Dagda” Price, Oisín “Penguin” Molloy, Clement Chu, and Joe “Munchables” Fenny also posted a video confirming that they are leaving the country due to the dangers posed by the virus.

"“We don’t really know the extent of how dangerous it is, but it seems like it could be a lot worse than people are saying, so we’re getting the f— out of here.”"

Their announcement, however, was met with some concern as there are fears they could be already be infected with the virus. Fenny assured that none of them are showing any symptoms as of yet, but did add they are in contact with authorities to be vetted when they return.

In addition to the delay of the LPL, Polygon reports that WESG’s Asia-Pacific finals have been cancelled. They were scheduled to be held in Macau in February.

The Coronavirus remains a threat to the globe with nearly 3,000 confirmed cases, most of them in China. There have been 80 reported deaths so far, as of this writing. However, officials have confirmed cases in France, South Korea, Japan, Nepal, Thailand, Cambodia, Singapore, Vietnam, Taiwan, Canada and Sri Lanka.