KEY POINTS

  • The February and March Overwatch League in China was cancelled by Blizzard over novel coronavirus scare
  • The League said in a Twitter post that the cancellation was to protect the health and safety of their players, staff and fans
  • Hearthstone Grandmasters champ Xiaomeng “VKLiooon” Li won't be able to play at the Masters Tour in Texas following travel restrictions 

Blizzard has decided to cancel its February and March Overwatch League (OWL) in China due to the ongoing novel coronavirus (nCoV) that is sweeping the country.

The Overwatch League took to Twitter and told their fans that cancellation was a conscious effort to “protect the health and safety of our players, fans and staff.”

Overwatch 2 Unannounced Map
An unannounced "Overwatch 2" map was reportedly discovered by fans and they believe it is set in South East Asia instacodes/flickr

“We hope fans have a safe and happy Lunar New Year, and we remain incredibly excited to play Overwatch League matches in China later this season,” the post added.

Between the cancelled months, OWL tournaments were scheduled in Shanghai, Foshan and Hangzhou. A number of Chinese teams have already relocated to South Korea to protect their players against the virus, according to Kotaku.

In the same light, Hearthstone champ Xiaomeng “VKLiooon” Li will not be playing at the Masters Tour Arlington in Texas following travel restictions also brought by nCoV, said Forbes.

Li, the first female to ever win a Hearthstone Global Finals championship, was scheduled to play in her first major U.S. competition since BlizzCon Friday, the outlet added.

RELATED STORIES
Coronavirus South Korea Twitter Blizzard