The League of Legends Pro League has been suspended in China as the deadly coronavirus spreads through the country. The virus has already claimed the lives of 81 people and there are fears that thousands may already be infected.
"We have decided to postpone week 2 of the LPL [League of Legends Pro League] until we can ensure the safety and health of our players and fans," the official LPL twitter account posted. "To our fans, we sincerely apologize that it has come to this and we will share any and all info as soon as we can."
Travel within China has been subject to restrictions as the virus has spread around the country and the continent. The virus was first reported in Wuhan China back in December, but since then it has been discovered in Thailand, the United States, and Australia. Those restrictions could create problems for players travelling for the tournament, let alone the risk of spreading the infection further.
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To battle the spread of the coronavirus, the Chinese government has extended the national New Year's holiday, stopping businesses from returning to work until February 10. The hope is that by keeping people off work there will be less chance for the virus to spread, especially as the end of the holiday could see as many as 500 million people moving across China as they return from trips to see their families.
The virus causes respiratory problems in its victims, which is why so far the people who have died as a result of infection were the elderly and people already living with breathing problems.
A strange side-effect of the coronavirus has been a spike in sales of a spike in sales of Plague, Inc, a game in which you create an illness and try to infect and kill everyone in the world. The game's developer Ndemic Creations admits that "whenever there is an outbreak of disease we see an increase in players." Although, it explains that this is because "people seek to find out more about how diseases spread and to understand the complexities of viral outbreaks". That's not a terrible idea as the game was built to be "realistic and informative" but the developer has warned that "Plague Inc. is a game, not a scientific model and that the current coronavirus outbreak is a very real situation which is impacting a huge number of people. We would always recommend that players get their information directly from local and global health authorities."
Featured Image Credit: PATopics: League of Legends, Riot Games