ESL Pro League moves online following Maltese coronavirus measures

ESL's CS:GO Pro League Season 11 will take place online as a result of the ongoing situation regarding the coronavirus outbreak and the LAN Finals scheduled to take place in Denver this April will be moved to a studio location within Europe.

The full statement from ESL explains the decision was “largely motivated by the fact that Malta, the country of our originally planned studio location, has instituted a wide range of travel restrictions and quarantine regulations as of today” that had been raised as a possible issue by others in the community as it happened.

OG Team Manager Vladyslava Zakhliebina had Tweeted earlier about the ban that had been introduced by Malta relating to numerous European cities which would see teams from those regions as well as those flying through them potentially unable to attend the LAN event.

It remains unknown what will happen to Group B as a report by 1pv suggests Funplus Phoenix has bought out the Heroic players for a FLASHPOINT debut, leaving their former organisation without a roster to field for the league.

ESL Pro League Season 11 begins on 16th March, with matches played by teams from home, team houses or in suitable boot camp locations in Europe on dedicated online servers.

Other events that have been affected by the spread of COVID-19 include IEM Katowice 2020, the League of Legends Pro League, the first Apex Legends Major, PUBG Global Series and gaming convention E3.