Epic says it has no plans for in-person Fortnite tournaments throughout 2021

[midian182]

What just happened? With vaccines on the horizon, there's plenty of optimism about the world returning to normal next year, but game companies remain cautious. Epic has confirmed there are no plans for in-person Fortnite tournaments in 2021, and Valve has canceled a Counter-Strike: Global Offensive Major tournament in spring.

Epic writes that while it does eventually intend to hold in-person tournaments again at some point in the future, "our priority for any such event is the health and safety of our players and staff. With so much still unknown about what is practical and safe, we do not plan to hold in-person events in 2021, including a Fortnite World Cup."

Fortnite's online events will continue to take place next year. Epic writes that Fortnite Champion Series (FNCS) Trio events will keep going throughout 2021, and the FNCS for Chapter 2 - Season 5 is set to begin February 4th, 2021. "This date allows plenty of time for players to adjust to the new season and give our team more time to make adjustments before FNCS play," says Epic.

The company adds that while FNCS will remain the constant measure of success in competitive Fortnite, it is "looking at other avenues for high-level competition 2021." Epic is also planning more weekly and unique tournaments, along with Creator Cups throughout the year.

Epic Games isn't the only firm to scrap next year's in-person tournaments. Valve has decided to cancel its Counter-Strike spring Major, which was due to take place in May 2021. It writes that the Majors will not take place until "Regional Major Ranking (RMR) LAN events are safe to hold around the world." Unlike Epic, Valve did use the word "pandemic" in its statement.

Despite the upcoming vaccines, it seems a return to crowded venues isn't on the agenda just yet, especially as Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla told NBC Dateline that it's unclear whether those vaccinated could still carry and spread the virus. There's also the question of rollout times and the large number of people who will refuse to take the vaccines.

Image credit: Roman Kosolapov

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[Endymio]

Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla told NBC Dateline that it's unclear whether those vaccinated could still carry and spread the virus.

As usual, the media has irresponsibly run wild with this statement. It's true for this vaccine, and essentially all vaccines. It's also irrelevant.

A vaccinated individual can still carry a viral load -- but a much smaller load, which means the risk of transmission is, while not zero, still very much smaller. And if they do transmit, it tends to cause much less serious cases. From an epidemiological perspective, it doesn't matter, as the vaccine still reduces the virus's r-nought factor to the point that the epidemic quickly dies out.

NBC's Lester Holt should be drawn and quartered for the "gotcha" question he asked and then broadcast without context or clarification. With no research studies yet on Covid-vaccinated individuals, there was no other way Pfizer CEO Bourla could answer without drawing legal liability onto Pfizer. Yet the safe bet is that the vaccine will reduce transmission risk by at least two orders of magnitude.

 

[Theinsanegamer]

As usual, the media has irresponsibly run wild with this statement. It's true for this vaccine, and essentially all vaccines. It's also irrelevant.

A vaccinated individual can still carry a viral load -- but a much smaller load, which means the risk of transmission is, while not zero, still very much smaller. And if they do transmit, it tends to cause much less serious cases. From an epidemiological perspective, it doesn't matter, as the vaccine still reduces the virus's r-nought factor to the point that the epidemic quickly dies out.

NBC's Lester Holt should be drawn and quartered for the "gotcha" question he asked and then broadcast without context or clarification. With no research studies yet on Covid-vaccinated individuals, there was no other way Pfizer CEO Bourla could answer without drawing legal liability onto Pfizer. Yet the safe bet is that the vaccine will reduce transmission risk by at least two orders of magnitude.

The media has been running absolutely rampant with misinformation fueling the corona hysteria. In any just country every media CEO would be brought up on charges of propoganda, perhaps even sedition in a few cases.

That will never happen, sadly. We're going to see the media hammer Corona HARD trying to keep views up. They dont care if they drag lockdown on for months out of fear destroying the lives of millions, as long as they get their ratings up. Scumbags, the lot of em.