German authorities recently issued a statement on how quarantine measures will change in the coming months. Although some restrictions will be eased in May, the ban on public events will last longer than initially expected: events involving large gatherings of people will not be able to be organized until August 31. As a result, the holding of the ESL One Cologne tournament, which was supposed to take place in July, was in jeopardy.
It was planned that it would take place at Lanxess-Arena, which seats fifteen thousand spectators. Selection for ESL One Cologne will be carried out through the regional rankings of ESL Pro Tour: the teams with the most points during the season will be included in the participants.
The final decision on whether the tournament will take place in the usual offline format will be made a little later. German officials say they will make adjustments to the restrictive measures every two weeks, depending on how the situation develops. Representatives of ESL have not yet given specific comments.
The spread of the coronavirus pandemic has already led to a change in the format of many eSports competitions. The tournament in Katowice was held without spectators, the selection system for Road to Rio was changed, and ESL One Rio 2020 was postponed to the fall.
