Pokémon and Apex Legends esports events cancelled
Physical events scrapped amid coronavirus concerns, prize money shifted to online competitions
Two more esports competitions have been cancelled or drastically altered to account for the COVID-19 pandemic.
Firstly, The Pokémon Company has cancelled the 2020 Play Pokémon leagues, which encompasses both the video games and the trading card game. This includes the two international championships that were due to be held in the US and UK this summer, Polygon reports.
The North American International Championship was previously scheduled for June 26 to 28 in Colombus, Ohio, while the World Championships would have followed in London from August 14 to 16.
The Championship Series is now cancelled, as are all matches until further notice. The rest of the Play Pokémon league has also been altered, with no championship points to be awarded for the rest of the season. Points earned so far will roll over into 2021.
Meanwhile, EA has announced it is bulking up the online element of the Apex Legends Global Series.
Having previously announced all live events were suspended, the publisher confirmed it has postponed the upcoming PGL Bucharest Premier Event #2, which had been due to be held from May 30 to 31.
Instead, EA has added three more online tournaments to their plans, each now offering a prize pool of $100,000 in addition to ALGS points. A $100,000 prize pool has also been added to the next online tournament, due to run from April 4 to 6.