With the ever growing pandemic of COVID-19, Riot Games Brazil decided to suspend CBLoL, the Challenging Circuit and web series Depois do Nexus. The suspension is set to last at least 15 days and may be lifted depending on how the virus is controlled in the region.

Officially announced today, the measures have been taken with basis on the recommendations issued by the Ministry of Health and the Secretary of Health of the state of São Paulo, kicking off this weekend. Riot’s official statement has been translated from PT BR  below:

“Hi guys.

I am Cacophonie, Esports leader at Riot Games in Brazil, and I would like to share with everyone the decision we made yesterday, March 15, 2020, due to the new information and recommendations released by public health agencies in Brazil and the State of São Paulo regarding efforts to intensify the fight against the new Coronavirus (COVID-19).

We opted to temporarily suspend all Riot Games in-person esports operations in Brazil for 15 days - CBLoL, the Challenging Circuit and its open qualifiers and the Depois do Nexus series - while we wait for more information and observe the development of the public health scenario for a new decision.

Until Friday 3/13/2020, we were in a state of observation of the general situation regarding COVID-19 and based on the recommendations of the official health agencies and our assessment of the scenario that was manifesting for the weekend, we chose to let the rounds of the CBLoL from 03/14 and 03/15 happen, with several preventive measures during our operation (verification with all organizations that the players selected did not have any of the symptoms associated with COVID-19, frequent cleaning of all equipment, modification of the procedures of greeting and fair play of the teams, reduction of the team present in the studios).

However, in view of the evolution of the recommendations, it is our duty and priority to ensure the safety and protection of all our players and staff from organizations, press partners, sponsors and the Riot operation team. We consider the possibility of operating the tournaments remotely (online games, as the Challenging Circuit is held today), but we still have groups of professional players and Riot operation teams working together, and we prefer to take more cautious measures at this time and evaluate flexibility. them in the future if possible and responsible. 

We are looking for ways to keep content generation safe for everyone involved, to continue delivering content and information about Esports in the coming weeks - the formats may be different, but we are committed to seeking to bring the best of Esports to our community. Soon we will announce more information regarding our content plan.”