Blizzard Entertainment has announced that it will change to an online format for its Hearthstone Masters Tours event, previously scheduled to be a massive offline event in Los Angeles. The reason for the change in format is the continued spread of the Coronavirus (COVID-19). Players who have already booked their travels to the event will be compensated up to $1,500 USD.

The Hearthstone Masters Tour Los Angeles already was a result of the Coronavirus itself: originally, the Masters Tours was meant to be held in Indonesia, but was moved because of the same health risks. In the announcement, the Hearthstone esports team states: "Upon further review of the coronavirus situation given the broad international nature of our event, with invitees from more than 40 different countries, we have made the decision to hold Masters Tour Los Angeles entirely online. After initially relocating from Indonesia, we were excited to host the Masters Tour in Los Angeles, but the safety and well-being of our community will always take precedence over hosting a live event."

Blizzard hasn't announced whether or not the following Masters Tours, scheduled to take place in Jönköping, Sweden in June this year, will also switch to an online format. However, the Hearthstone esports team urges all players that plan on attending the event to book flexible travel options.