The CS: GO Professional Players Association (CSPAA) has announced that it is working with major tournament organizers to develop new protocols that allow for safe offline events in the pandemic. Rules will govern overseas travel, coronavirus testing procedures, interaction between players, media and venue staff. In practice, these measures will go into effect in December, when ESL plans its second major LAN tournament of 2020.
The CSPAA notes that a return to offline events in the current circumstances poses additional health risks because they involve crowding large numbers of people in one place. Therefore, compliance with the new regulations is especially important.
The IEM Global Challenge tournament is scheduled for December 15-20, and with its exception, no other major offline competitions have been announced yet. At the same time, several North American teams are known to be planning a trip to Europe, probably in conjunction with the BLAST tournament. If Evil Geniuses, Liquid, 100 Thieves and MIBR can indeed make it to the Old World, BLAST will hold the tournament without splitting into regional divisions. Similarly, the organizers of Flashpoint – plan to do the same. Only those teams that will be in Europe at that time will participate.
