The League of Legends Championship Series and the League of Legends European Championship this weekend resumed play from a "series of remote locations after just a one-week hiatus for the coronavirus," according to David Wilson of the MIAMI HERALD. In the next few weeks, the Overwatch League is "set to return to action after a brief hiatus of its own," while the Call of Duty League and NBA 2K League also "expect to resume play in upcoming weeks playing from remote sites." Esports has been "able to adapt to our new crowd-controlled, self-isolated way of life by taking its biggest games out of the arenas and to the place most of them originated: the internet." In the LCS this weekend, players played from their "own homes" and broadcasters broadcast "from theirs." Everyone logged in to Riot-authorized Discord servers to "communicate" and matches were broadcast "on a delay to prevent cheating." At least this weekend, there were no "remote interviews or video of team celebrations." OWL and the CoD League operated "similarly." Esports has "always been comfortable with its massive, niche audience." Without "any sports alternatives, eSports has arrived at a chance for its biggest mainstream platform yet." Misfits Gaming CEO Ben Spoont agreed and said, “People are going to be playing massive amounts of video games over the next months" (MIAMI HERALD, 3/21).
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