WePlay Dragon Temple, a Mortal Kombat 11 invitational tournament ran by WePlay Esports, held at the WePlay Esports Arena in Kyiv, Ukraine officially commenced yesterday. However as a safety precaution, there will be no live audience at the event due to COVID-19.
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When Esports Insider asked WePlay about safety protocols at the event, the tournament organiser explained that participants, broadcast and production crew, and other rare guests will be admitted, but they will need to have a recent negative COVID-19 test result before entering the facility.
Temperature tests and mask mandates will also be in play with sanitisers available in the facility, to ensure that the offline event runs as smoothly as possible. Viewers can watch the event at WePlay’s official Twitch channel from 10th-13th December.
It has also been announced that fighting-game website Dashfight is the official media partner of WePlay Dragon Temple.
The main tournament commences with a round-robin group stage, consisting of two groups of seven. All sets will be best-of-three, with four players advancing from each group to a double-elimination bracket, where all sets will be best-of-five.
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Group ‘Mortal’ consists of the following players: A F0xy Grampa; Hayatei; Konqueror; Asodimazze; AVirk; Foreverking; and Hadoken. Group ‘Kombat’ players include: Tekken Master; DizzyTT; GRR; Dubasik; 2EZ; Infinitii; and MK_Azerbaijan.
WePlay is an esports network — based in the CIS region with key offices in the US, China and Ukraine — owned by gaming and esports conglomerate TECHIIA Holding. Last month Esports Insider reported that TECHIIA had merged the operations of WePlay Merchandise — manufacturer and distributor of licensed gaming merch — and FS Holding, developer of the FragStore chain of stores in the CIS region.
Esports Insider says: Provided suitable safety measures are in place, a LAN esports event is a welcomed sight, and in this case it appears safety is prioritised. Though it may not be the same without fans in the arena, it’s a step towards the normality we all so desperately miss!
Disclaimer: This piece is sponsored by WePlay