ESL has disclosed that IEM Melbourne 2020 will not materialize. Additionally, ESL One Cologne will also not go as originally planned. The tournaments were affected by the coronavirus pandemic and the Australian and German government measures to fight the disease.
No IEM Melbourne in 2020, but there will be one in 2021
Dozens of esports events have faced the unpleasant fate of being canceled or postponed as a result of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. The League of Legends Mid-Season Invitational and the Dota 2 International were among those postponed, while the Fortnite World Cup was canceled altogether.
The latest victims stem from the CS:GO competitive scene as IEM Melbourne 2020 was completely scrapped and ESL One Cologne will, after weeks of speculation, indeed be played behind closed doors.
For the past 6 years, we have greeted thousands of fans at the Cathedral of Counter-Strike, and no matter where you came from, we all came together as one at #ESLOne Cologne to celebrate our favorite esports.We are going to miss every single one of you this year.#weareone
— ESL Counter-Strike (@ESLCS) May 5, 2020
Better luck next year
The good news in all of this is that both tournaments will return (hopefully) in their standard format next year. ESL already announced the dates for IEM Melbourne – August 21-22, and that it will be part of the Melbourne Esports Open festival. IEM was supposed to debut during this year’s festival, but Melbourne CS:GO fans will have to keep their patience for another year.
No 2021 dates were revealed for ESL One Cologne, but unlike IEM Melbourne, this year’s rendition of the legendary event is not lost yet. ESL are doing what they can to salvage ESL One Cologne 2020 and have set their sights on an August 21-30 time frame. The idea is for the tournament to be a live broadcast without an audience, similar to ESL Pro League Season 11.
All tickets purchased for either event will be valid for the 2021 reincarnations. In case you wish to return your ticket, you can do that as well by the end of this calendar year.
ESL One Cologne’s rescheduling is a sign that the recently discussed player-break alterations could very well materialize and we will be left without premier CS:GO throughout July. Can you smell the ESL One Cologne 2014 reruns if the pandemic is still present then?
