Chinese state curfew forces fans to miss LoL qualifier

The regional qualifiers for China's top League of Legends team came to a surprising end over the weekend, with the last game in the tournament between Snake eSports and Team World Elite, having no audience to play in front of. Thanks to the local region's curfew, the entire crowd was sent home when the show ran late.

By all accounts the games were good too, with the two teams going back and forth and the potential for either to take home the top spot which would help them advance towards the end goal of a LoL World Championship run. Ultimately Team World Elite was able to defeat their opponents, but the moment must have been somewhat anti-climactic without the crowd cheering them on.

The stadium is empty now, it's really weird coming into a game 5 with that. pic.twitter.com/rszQH2LwU9

— Rusty The Caster (@RustyLoL) August 27, 2016

It sounds like the problem stemmed from two of the main games in the event running to a best of five, and long games at that, which pushed the broadcast past its allotted time. Once the clocks ticked past 10:20 local time, the organisers were forced to send the crowds home, leaving the gamers playing in-front of stream viewers alone. Granted there was still a solid fan base there, but it must be quite different performing in an arena that echoes to the sound of your mouse clicks.

Perhaps the subdued victory for Team World Elite didn't give the players enough of a boost to continue, as when it came to the regional finals against I May, they fell short, sending one of the newest pro teams on to their first World Championship.

KitGuru Says: It's that age old proverb isn't it? If a League game goes down in an empty arena with no one to see it, did they really use their Ult at the right moment?

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