The LCS has reported that one of their staff members tested positive for COVID-19, thereby forcing all professional players to transition to remote play for the remainder of Week 8 in the 2021 summer split, the league announced late Friday.
The move comes a day after two members of the Immortals organization tested positive which forced everyone involved to institute self-quarantine measures. This happened regardless of the organization vaccinating its staff and players in prior months. All of Immortals’ players subsequently competed in their first match of the weekend under such conditions, ultimately defeating Dignitas after 42 minutes.
In a follow-up to the initial announcement made regarding the pair of Immortals cases, LCS Commissioner Chris Greeley informed that both instances happened to people who have not been on-site at the LCS Arena, thus opening the possibility of a return to the studio in Week 9. Nevertheless, for the rest of this week, the rest of the staff will continue to work in the studio despite the players’ move to remote play. As a result, Pro View will not be available for fans to spectate their favorite LCS players for the rest of Week 8.
Greeley and other league officials will determine in the leadup to Week 9 if teams can return safely to the LCS Arena. This will be the first time since the league returned to the studio that players head back to remote play. The LCS was previously remote for most of 2020 and all of the 2021 spring split out of precaution for the COVID-19 pandemic.
