Coronavirus forces OWL to cancel months of Chinese homestands

gabhernandez Published 30/01/2020

Following the cancellation of numerous public gatherings due to the outbreak of the coronavirus, the Overwatch League has finally made the decision to cancel all of its February and March games in China.

Five homestands will be cancelled as a result of the decision. This will scrap Shanghai’s week two homestand, Guangzhou’s weeks three, six, and seven homestands, and Hangzhou’s week four homestand. 

Fans were uncertain what action Blizzard would take, but it is clear from the announcement on Twitter that the matches will be played, but uncertainty remains as to when and where. This information will be released at a later date.

Chinese OWL teams already taking coronavirus precautions 

Several teams have already taken steps to ensure that the virus doesn’t affect their players. The Guangzhou Charge, Shanghai Dragons, and Chengdu Hunters have already told fans the steps they are taking to safeguard their players’ health. The Hangzhou Spark have not yet issued any statement on the matter.

This shakeup will be an additional hurdle for Chinese teams to overcome. With the new format this year, teams will be exposed to a new travel schedule, and this adds another layer of difficulty to the mix. The uncertainty and sudden shift in schedule could cause teams to falter both in confidence and in performance.

The coronavirus has been a serious epidemic in China, with the death toll rising over 170 since Tuesday. The number of infections has reached over 7,700 reported cases around the world. China now has more cases of the coronavirus than it did SARS. 

With a rapidly increasing death toll and Chinese authorities taking the coronavirus very seriously, Blizzard has little choice but to cancel the first Chinese homestands. Because matches were meant to be played in week two, fans can expect news of when and where those matches will be played in the near future.

Read Also

News

Kalshi Hits Netflix With Cease-and-Desist Over Documentary Trailer Zachary Roberts Kalshi, one of the most popular prediction markets, is in a legal dispute with streaming platform Netflix after the trailer for a new documentary was released. Kalshi has responded by threatening legal action over claims of defamation. This centers on a scene in the trailer where traders were depicted making predictions in states where it is not permitted to do so. The trailer for Instadocs: The Prediction Market Games, a ...

Slots

Eddie Craven Reveals the Stunning Statistics Behind Stake’s Dice Game Khizar Mundia Dice has established itself as one of the most popular casino games online in recent years, and  Stake co-founder Eddie Craven recently revealed the eye-watering numbers behind the simple title — it has generated over $75 billion in wagers across 200 billion bets. Dice is a Stake Original game that has been available on the platform since its initial 2017 launch. The title has been around since before Stake and ...

Twitch

MrBeast Releases New Make-A-Wish Video Amid an Eventful 2026 Khizar Mundia Jimmy “MrBeast” Donaldson is known above all else for his charity and philanthropy, and the YouTuber's latest effort saw him release a Make-A-Wish video with other top streamers. This included Darren “iShowSpeed” Watkins Jr. and multiple mainstream celebrities as they fulfilled 100 wishes. MrBeast was married just a few days ago, but the YouTuber is already going viral for his latest video. His latest release is more emotional than entertaining, ...

Slots

Pragmatic Play’s The Dog House Megaways 1000 Takes the Slot Series to a New Level Ian John The Dog House series of slots have proven to be a hugely popular collection of games from Pragmatic Play, offering a wide range of variations to appeal to slot gamers of all breeds. The most recent release is The Dog House Megaways 1000 slot, an enhanced version of the hugely popular Dog House Megaways, and it hit casinos on 13 July, 2026. The original The Dog House Megaways introduced dynamic ...

Twitch

As Streamer University 2026 Ends, Here’s How Streamers Performed Khizar Mundia Kai Cenat returned from a hiatus to host Streamer University 2026, and his decision proved to be correct, with newly-released metrics showing that the event generated millions of views and hours watched on both Twitch and YouTube. There was significant anticipation for Streamer University 2026, and not just because the previous year’s event was a success. The bigger reason for many fans was that Kai Cenat would return from a ...

Twitch

iShowSpeed Reportedly Buys $11 Million Warehouse Following Huge 2026 World Cup Tour Khizar Mundia Darren “iShowSpeed” Watkins Jr. is showing no signs of slowing down after his massively successful FIFA World Cup 2026 tour. The YouTuber has almost 60 million subscribers, and has now reached another milestone by reportedly purchasing a $11 million warehouse for his content creation needs. The IRL YouTuber’s coverage this summer took his global appeal to a new level, and he set major milestones during the World Cup. FIFA made ...

Twitch

Ludwig’s Streamer Games 2026: Dates, Format, Roster and Drama Khizar Mundia Ludwig Ahgren recently appeared in Kai Cenat’s Streamer University 2026 as a professor and he has now announced the Streamer Games 2026. Here’s everything about the event, ranging from the streamers on the roster to drama surrounding the CORE boys. 2026 has been a seemingly good year for Ludwig, as he got engaged to his partner Blaire “QTCinderella” and also became the most beloved professor in Streamer University 2026. However, ...