ESL will not host IEM China 2022 this year. The operator decided to cancel the event because of the number of COVID-19 cases growing in the region. The updated ESL Pro Tour schedule was posted on Twitter.
They will also postpone EPL S17 Conference to 2023 to avoid conflict in the schedule with BLAST Fall Finals 2022, which will run from November 23-27.
Additionally, ESL held the announcement of the dates for IEM Katowice 2023, traditionally hosted in February. The difficulties may be related to the upcoming entry ban for Russians in Poland and the Baltic states.
China reached a new coronavirus peak by mid-August. Since then, it has been about 1,000 new cases per day.
COVID-19 is still very much a threat to international competitions. The ongoing Valorant Champions 2022 in Istanbul suffered from multiple cases, including a Chinese player for EDward Gaming.
