The various League of Legends esports leagues across the world are rapidly approaching the conclusion of their spring seasons. Through April, twelve different regions will wrap up their spring League of Legends playoffs, deciding which teams will represent them at the international Mid-Season Invitational (MSI) tournament. Currently scheduled for a May 6, this year's MSI will be played live from Iceland. However, there may be an obstacle in the way of the tournament going forward as planned.
On March 19, the Icelandic volcano Fagradalsfjall erupted, the first eruption from the Reykjanes Peninsula since the 12th century. Over a square kilometer of land was covered by spreading lava following the volcano's eruption, turning the night sky red. While the eruption didn't disrupt life as usual for Icelanders who lived near the volcano, there's still some worry as Fagradalsjall is less than 20 miles away from Iceland's capital Reykjavik, where the MSI is meant to be held.
In 2010, another Iceland volcano called Eyjafjallajokull erupted, leading to 20 different European countries shutting down air travel for varying periods of time. While there's no indication that Iceland will move to shut down flights yet, the possibility of continued volatility surrounding Fagradalsfjall's eruption complicates the situation.
To be clear, there's a big difference between the Fagradalsfjall and Eyjafjallajokull eruptions. Eyjafjallajokull resulted in a massive plume of ash being launched into the air, while Fagradalsfjall's eruption is considered small and has not spread much ash. In fact, there's little enough worry about the situation that the area of the eruption is even open to the public, though it's a multi-hour hike to the volcano from the nearest road.
So far there has been no indication from either Iceland's government or Riot Games that there are any plans to delay. There are only worries, some lingering due to the Eyjafjallajokull eruption in 2010, that the recent eruption could cause adjustments in Riot's plans for the MSI. No official comment on the matter has been issued.
Iceland was chosen for the MSI in-part due to its impressive response to the COVID-19 pandemic breakout. Over the past week, just 38 total cases have been tracked on the island. Any travelers, including those visiting for the MSI, will have to provide evidence of being vaccinated, of having previously caught the virus, or will have to be double screened with tests and quarantine for five-to-six days. That's more than enough to worry about without having a volcano erupt nearby.
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