Guangzhou Charge Move Players Due to Coronavirus

The Guangzhou Charge issued a statement early today that in light of the ongoing Coronavirus outbreak, they would be moving their players to South Korea. Fans have been speculating about what the Pacific East teams and the Overwatch League would do after many other major esports leagues, such as the LPL and LDL, have delayed their events. The statement from Guangzhou reads:

Image Courtesy of the Guangzhou Charge via Twitter.

Players from the team have already checked in with their fans, letting them know they’re safe. Main support, Alberto “neptuNo” Molinillo Gonzalez tweeted immediately following the statement that he was already in Korea and was okay. He further stated that he hopes to return to China soon. On January 27, flex DPS player, Charlie “nero” Zwarg, issued a similar sentiment saying that he was “looking forward to playing in front of gz home crowd but now it probably won’t happen atleast [sic] for the foreseeable future.”

At this time it is unclear when the Chinese players will be able to join the rest of their team in Korea, but it seems that the Charge will be as transparent as possible during this difficult time. The Charge are supposed to host the second Pacific East homestand during week 3, February 22-23. It appears that the team and league may be looking for alternatives for at least the first few homestands. For now the community just seems to be relieved that preventative action will be taken and that everyone remains safe.

Further updates will be provided as the story develops.

[Update: January 29, 2020: Both the Shanghai Dragons and the Chengdu Hunters have relocated their teams to South Korea.]

Featured Image Courtesy of Guangzhou Charge via Twitter.

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