Published , by TJ Denzer
Published , by TJ Denzer
The Soul Calibur World Tour 2020 and TEKKEN World Tour 2020 are the latest gaming events to have been affected by issues regarding COVID-19, the coronavirus. Bandai Namco recently announced that both world tours will be postponed and a couple stops will be removed from the active tour as the organization assesses the situation and aims to keep its fans safe.
Bandai Namco Esports announced the postponement of Soul Calibur World Tour and TEKKEN World Tour 2020 and removal of events from the tour via Twitter on March 6, 2020. According to a statement released by Bandai Namco, both World Tours will be delayed as efforts to contain the coronavirus continue. As a result, upcoming events Final Round and Norcal Regionals, prominent stops for Soul Calibur and TEKKEN respectively, will be removed from the event list. Final Round and Norcal Regionals intend to go on anyways even in lieu of concerns, but it will be without Bandai Namco involvement or the presence of the World Tours. The Mixup, a stop in Lyons, France for both tours, has also been affected, but this event in particular will be rescheduled and new details are to be announced in the near future.
As has been the case of many cancelations and delays due to the COVID-19, Bandai Namco cites staff and player safety as the primary concern behind the delays of the TWT 2020 and SCWT 2020.
“The health and safety of tournament competitors, staff, and audience members is our top priority and this delay in holding official qualifying rounds will hopefully provide an opportunity for official tournament series qualifiers to take place later in the year,” Bandai Namco staff wrote.
It’s becoming a more and more common story with gaming events responding to the coronavirus. Recently, we saw IEM Katowice 2020 barring its audience from entering the arena, the Rocket League Championship Series World Championship Season 9 live event being canceled, and other gaming events like GDC 2020 being postponed in lieu of concerns over the epidemic.
It’s likely the right call, but the list of gaming events and competitions affected by COVID-19 continues to grow throughout 2020.