The Vancouver Titans Overwatch team is part of Enthusiast Gaming's Luminosity organization.
The Vancouver Titans Overwatch team is part of Enthusiast Gaming's Luminosity organization.
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The DeanBeat: Esports pivots to digital because of the coronavirus

  • Posted byby Dean Takahashi
  • Updated
  • 8 min

As the coronavirus epidemic accelerated, esports had to change. The first sign was when Blizzard canceled its events in China on January 29, to protect the safety of people who gathered at live events at stadiums in China to cheer on their favorite esports stars.

And now, all of the esports events are being canceled at physical venues, whether they’re at small internet cafes, movie theaters, or large stadiums. Fortunately, unlike sporting leagues like the NBA and the NHL, esports teams have the option of pivoting to digital competitions.

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Written by

Dean Takahashi

Dean Takahashi is editorial director for GamesBeat. He has been a tech journalist since 1988, and he has covered games as a beat since 1996. He was lead writer for GamesBeat at VentureBeat from 2008 to April 2025. Prior to that, he wrote for the San Jose Mercury News, the Red Herring, the Wall Street Journal, the Los Angeles Times, and the Dallas Times-Herald. He is the author of two books, "Opening the Xbox" and "The Xbox 360 Uncloaked." He organizes the annual GamesBeat Next, GamesBeat Summit and GamesBeat Insider Series: Hollywood and Games conferences and is a frequent speaker at gaming and tech events. He lives in the San Francisco Bay Area.