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EA suspends all live FIFA, Madden, & Apex Legends esports events

EA has taken extra precaution in closing down all scheduled live esports events until the situation around the coronavirus pandemic improves.

TJ Denzer

March 13, 2020 3:05 PM

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After some time of closing down event here and there in Electronic Arts’ various esports leagues, the organization has finally made the decision to shut down nearly all live competitive events until further notice.

Electronic Arts made its decision regarding many of its major esports leagues via the EA competitive website blog on March 13, 2020. Effective on the same day, live events in Apex Legends Global Series, EA SPORTS FIFA 20 Global Series, FIFA Online 4 Live Events, and Madden NFL 20 Championship Series, as well as any and all live events run by third parties with the EA license will be suspended. Only events which can be played, organized, or broadcast remotely will remain scheduled and intact for the time being.

“Our priority is protecting our competitors, our employees, our partner’s employees and our communities,” EA Competitive wrote. “As we continue to monitor the situation around the coronavirus and receive updated guidance from health officials around the world, we will use this time to determine next steps for moving forward with all of EA’s Competitive Gaming live events and online broadcasts.”

It would seem EA Competitive may explore the possibility of expanding its competitive series in to further online events, though nothing was revealed at the time of post. Even so, it would go hand-in-hand with other announcements in the esports field today, including Overwatch League, which revealed that matches canceled previously in the week would now be scheduled for an online format. With coronavirus as an ongoing concern the world around, remote events seem to be the coming trend in esports until the virus is contained and the situation improves.

As we await further details for Electronic Arts plans regarding their postponed competitive events, it’s also worth noting that the League of Legends European LEC went a similar route today, suspending the Spring season until further notice as the organization determines a safe solution for continued competition.

TJ Denzer

Senior News Editor

TJ Denzer is a player and writer with a passion for games that has dominated a lifetime. He found his way to the Shacknews roster in late 2019 and has worked his way to Senior News Editor since. Between news coverage, he also aides notably in livestream projects like the indie game-focused Indie-licious, the Shacknews Stimulus Games, and the Shacknews Dump. You can reach him at tj.denzer@shacknews.com and also find him on Twitter @JohnnyChugs.