Riot Games officials have halted all LCK press activity after South Korea’s president Moon Jae-in placed the country on “Red Alert.” The coronavirus outbreak has made it difficult for esports broadcasting and tournaments to continue. It has especially been hard for several countries as the virus has infected over 80,000 people worldwide.
Update on the LCK
Founder of Korizon news site Ashley Kang had announced updates regarding the status of the League of Legends Champions Korea. Before today, all LCK matches continued in the empty LoL Park stadium. This is a result of Riot Games prohibiting the attendance of a live audience. They took this action to prevent the spread or exposure to the coronavirus. Just recently, Riot Games officials had placed host Kim Min-ah on quarantine, as she had felt feverish and sick. Luckily, she tested negative for the virus.
The last time the Threat Alert Level was the highest was 2009 during swine flu H1N1 outbreak. The Threat Alert Level lasted for five to six weeks.
There is a possibility that their might be no media activities for the rest of the spring split.
— Ashley Kang #Worlds2021 (@AshleyKang) February 25, 2020
As of Tuesday morning EST, Kang informed her Twitter followers of the situation happening in the LCK. “LCK Media Room is closed indefinitely. This means no press activities.” She continues by saying Riot Games will eventually re-open the media rooms once the high alert level has dropped. She also mentions there may be a possibility of no media coverage for the rest of the Spring Split. It is unclear on what Riot Games’ next steps are. Of course, the safety and health of all staff on site is at the highest priority. Most responses on the Twitter announcement ranged from concern to relief.
Growing health concerns
At the moment, Riot Games have scheduled the LCK games to continue. As of today, the number of South Koreans infected with the coronavirus has reached past 123. Additionally, the total number of worldwide deaths are at least 2,704. We will continue to update our readers as we receive more information regarding the situation in the LoL Park stadium.
