When will the quarantine end on the professional stage?!

The COVID-19 virus has affected all areas of society, and esports is no exception. Against the background of high-profile cancellations of large and long-awaited tournaments, the sphere of e-sports switched to Online Leagues, which were actively held one after another from March to June.

The cancellation of ESL One Los Angeles 2020 in March was a watershed moment for Dota 2. Following the third major, the fourth major was canceled, also like the minor. The statistics of infected people with the virus were not pleasing at all. And while Valve veiled the “cancellation” of The International under “postponed indefinitely”, it became clear to everyone that this would not be the last offline tournament that would no longer take place this season. But the decision to launch online leagues saved the situation.

In August, it became known that the NBA and other sports are resuming their seasons, as they don`t have the option to play matches online. Mark Averbukh, a representative for Epic Esports Events, explained that tournament operators don't hurry to host LAN tournaments amid the pandemic due to the risk of participants being withdrawn due to sudden quarantines or country restrictions.

Let's get back to esports and the positive news with the LAN-format tournaments. In August, it became known that Riot Games had announced the date for League of Legends World Championship. The tournament will be held from September 25 to October 31, in Shanghai. The final stage of the tournament will be held at the Pudong Football Stadium with spectators.

While it`s known that Valve has not announced the start of LAN tournaments, and at the moment OMEGA League and ESL One Thailand 2020 are being held online. Nevertheless, ONE Esports announced the ONE Esports World Pro Invitational Jakarta tournament on its official page, which will be held from November 23 to 29 without mentioning it to be held online.

And lastly, there is hope that, at the beginning of October, major Dota 2 tournaments, such as Fall League Season 1 and WePlay! Pushka League Season 2 will be transferred to the Lan format.