Due to COVID-19... China's 'Overwatch' League Also Evacuates to Korea

eSports Shooting Game to be Held at Seoul DDP on July 7-8
Added to 'Seoul Dynasty' Home Matches
Last Year Averaged 11,000 Spectators per Game

Overwatch League stadium scene
Photo by Overwatch League official Facebook

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Heung-soon] The eSports 'Overwatch' League, originally scheduled to be held in China, will now take place in South Korea due to the impact of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19). The event organizers made this decision, judging that South Korea is relatively safe from COVID-19.

According to the Overwatch League website on the 17th, the Overwatch matches that were scheduled to be held in Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Hangzhou, China from February to March will be added to the Seoul Dynasty's home games at Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP) in Seoul on March 7-8. Seoul Dynasty is a representative Overwatch team from South Korea.

Overwatch is an eSports shooting game where teams of six compete against each other. A total of 20 teams from South Korea (1 team), China (4 teams), the United States (11 teams), Canada (2 teams), France (1 team), and the United Kingdom (1 team) compete in a league format to determine the champion. The league started in 2018 and until last year, all regular season games were held at Blizzard Arena in Los Angeles, USA. From this year, the format changed to a home-and-away system. However, as COVID-19, which originated in China, spread worldwide, the schedule was disrupted from the very first season with the new format.

According to Blizzard, the developer of Overwatch, the average attendance per Overwatch League match was 11,217 in 2018 and around 11,000 in 2019. The organizers stated, "Considering the health of fans, players, and officials due to the large crowds, we have decided to cancel the matches in China scheduled for February and March."

Among major international competitions, there have also been cases where schedules were postponed due to concerns about the entry of Chinese athletes. One example is the AFC Champions League, a club competition organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). Four K League teams?FC Seoul, Suwon Samsung, Ulsan Hyundai, and Jeonbuk Hyundai?were scheduled to play home qualifying matches against Chinese clubs this month, but the matches have been postponed to April or May.

South Korea's women's national football team will play a home match against China on March 6 at Yongin Citizen Sports Park Main Stadium for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics Asian final qualifying playoff. The venue for the away match on March 11 has not yet been decided. The Chinese team has been staying in Australia since February 29 for the Asian final qualifiers. A Korea Football Association official said, "There are currently no plans to cancel or change the home match against China due to COVID-19."