The 2020 Call of Duty League Championship will be played online amid the coronavirus pandemic, the league announced on Sunday.
"The Call of Duty League has been working in close collaboration with teams and players over the last several months regarding the 2020 Season Playoffs and Championship Weekend," a league statement read. "Due to continuing health risks associated with COVID-19 and our collective priority focus on protecting the safety of our teams, players, league staff, and partner personnel, the remainder of the season will be held online. This decision was made with great care, communication, and consideration over the course of many discussions."
The decision to do so marks the first time since Activision began hosting an annual world title event that it will not be played on LAN.
Call of Duty revealed on its website some of the technology improvements and new measures it is taking to monitor competitive integrity.
Among those improvements will be a universal camera setup, which will allow the league's officials to view each competitor's console, controller and monitor as needed. This system will be in place for the New York Subliners Home Series event on July 10.
Call of Duty also announced that teams will be allowed to test and select from five servers during the playoffs and championship weekend, as opposed to three.
The season ends July 26, but the playoff start date hasn't been announced. The playoffs carry a $4.6 million prize pool, with the winner earning $2 million.
--Field Level Media