Riot reveals major LCS Championship changes over COVID resurgence

League of Legends developer Riot has announced major changes to its 2021 LCS Championship event due to the resurgence of COVID-19 cases in the United States. The biggest change is that these matches will take place not in Newark, New Jersey, as planned, but instead at LA's LCS Arena. In a statement, Riot said, "We cannot in good conscience conduct a massive fan event at this time."

Riot explains that it planned the LCS Championship as a 'road show' due to the mass COVID-19 vaccine rollout earlier this year. However, public health officials have been raising the alarm over the Delta variant and the number of cases that are increasing across the US, particularly in states with low vaccination rates.

Due to this change in circumstances, some big changes have been made to the esports event, including that all matches will be held at the LCS Arena in Los Angeles instead of at the Prudential Center in New Jersey. As you'd expect, Riot says that it will give full refunds to people who purchased tickets to the events.

This was supposed to be a "sold-out celebration" event, making the decision particularly disappointing. Riot goes on to state, "After assessing the risks, no set of protocols or plans allowed us to deliver that event without jeopardizing the health of our teams, staff and fans." Fans will not be able to attend the event in person; no tickets at the updated venue will be sold.

Though the change has taken place this year, Riot is optimistic that it will be able to do more next year. As well, a future LCS esports event will take place at the Prudential Center in New Jersey. With uncertainty remaining around the pandemic, variants, and cases, no concrete future plans have been stated.