Okay, this might be some of the best news to come out of the COVID-19 pandemic in a while. Instead of an event being canceled, we have an event being created!
League of Legends‘ esports scene has been hit especially hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, with a vast amount of the professional leagues being shut down. Among those is the LCS, which only just recently begun play again after switching to an online format. We also recently learned that the final match of this Spring Split will be played behind closed doors in a studio and broadcast live.
But that isn’t going to get the teams of the LCS down. Four teams – Cloud9, Dignitas, Immortals, and Flyquest – have partnered together to bring us a whole new tournament for charity. Enter the amazingly named Wash Yo Hands Tourney.
“We’re teaming up with Cloud9, Dignitas, and Immortals to raise some funds to benefit @Calfund’s COVID-19 LA Response Fund,” Flyquest announced on Twitter earlier today. “Come have some fun with us and help others who might be struggling during this time.”
All proceeds of this tournament – generated through donations via Twitch – will go directly to the California Community Foundation who are heading the Los Angeles County COVID-19 Response Fund. The team also provides alternative outlets to donate directly to the foundation instead, if those donating would feel more comfortable with their money going straight to the recipient instead of through a middle man.
With only four teams, it’s easy to understand that the tournament won’t have a massive variety of play opportunities. The tournament consists of six different matches held over three days, with two matches per day. The first day saw Cloud9 and Dignitas face off while Immortals and FlyQuest battled it out. For the second day of the tournament, we’ll see FlyQuest and Cloud9 take on each other while Dignitas and Immortals face off. Finally, we’ll see Immortals play Cloud9 while Dignitas plays FlyQuest.
Other than that, the tournament seems to have the same rules as any other. Teams take points for wins and the one with the most points at the end takes the “title” – though it seems like the teams are fittingly much more interested in raising funds for the California Community Foundation than in claiming wins over each other.
If you’ve been wanting to see some extracurricular competition, hop into the stream and watch the Wash Yo Hands Tourney! Make sure to toss out a donation if you can to help fund the charities as well!
