Riot will host a 48-hour League of Legends stream for COVID-19 relief

Riot Games will host a 48-hour League of Legends charity stream to raise money for COVID-19 relief, the studio announced today. The stream, called the Mid-Season Streamathon, will feature competitive and exhibition matches from all over the world, and it’ll kick off on May 29th at 8PM ET.

On the competitive side, viewers will be able to watch the semifinals and finals for the Mid-Season Cup, a tournament pitting the top teams in China’s League of Legends Pro League and Korea’s League of Legends Champions Korea. But there will also be lighter fare, such as Turkey’s “Casters vs. Champions” competition and pro exhibition matches featuring players from North America’s League of Legends Championship Series.

Here’s the full schedule (times are in PT):

Image: Riot Games

Riot has had to change many of its planned competitions and events this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, including canceling the Mid-Season Invitational, one of the league’s premier international competitions. So the Mid-Season Streamathon could give fans something to look forward even though some other events have been called off. Many other esports competitions have also been affected by the pandemic, including Dota 2’s The International, which has been indefinitely delayed, the fighting game tournament EVO, which will be online-only, and the next Fortnite World Cup, which won’t happen until 2021 at the earliest.

Viewers will be able to donate during the Mid-Season Streamathon to support COVID-19 relief efforts. “Fan donations will be distributed by the Riot Games Social Impact Fund to organizations around the world such as the ImpactAssets COVID Response Fund and the GlobalGiving Coronavirus Relief Fund,” according to Riot.