London event postponed again due to COVID-19 pandemic
As the global COVID-19 pandemic continues into its second year, we are already starting to see the rescheduling of multiple events previously postponed in 2020. Among these are the Pokémon World Championships, which for a second year in a row will not be taking place this summer.
Originally scheduled to take place in London in August of 2020, The Pokémon Company decided to push the event back to August 2021 as the UK remained in the grip of the coronavirus. But in February 2021, with the pandemic continuing to severely impact worldwide industry and travel, the decision has been made to further reschedule the championships to August 2022. Sorry, Pokémon players.
While all Play! Pokémon events for the foreseeable future are all currently on hold, online tournaments such as the Pokémon Players Cup and Play! Pokémon Team Challenge will continue as scheduled, so competitive players will still have some arenas with which to test their skills. A run of “League at Home” events are also in the works, so 2021 is not going to be a completely Pokémon-free year.
2021 has already seen the Rainbow Six Siege Invitational tournament held up, while the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) recently announced that it is making plans to host E3 2021 as a series of online events. In the coming months, it seems likely that regular gaming get-togethers such as EVO, gamescom, PAX, and other gatherings will struggle to return in 2021 in their recognized form.
