The upcoming IEM event in Guangzhou, China has been cancelled at the final hour due to the cancellation of the Anime Comics and Games Show which was set to host the event between September 30th – 4th October. This late cancellation is sure to prove a great inconvenience to the teams and spectators who were planning to attend after the success of the tournament the previous year.

Officially, reasons giving for the cancellation are manpower shortages due to the holiday season and increased expected visitor traffic. However with the rise in tensions between Japan and China so prevalent in world news over a dispute about the sovereignty of a group of islands in the East China Sea, and the effect it is having on many Japanese businesses in China, one could conclude that politics may be the true reason for the cancellation. The venue and organisers sharing valid security concerns for an event which is showing predominantly Japanese products and ideals.

With the venue now unavailable, ESL and Intel’s search for a new venue where they could host a high quality event on the same dates in Guangzhou was fruitless leading to no other option than to cancel the event. A great sorrow is felt for the fans who had wanted to attend the event to see their favourite eSport stars, who have now been robbed of the chance because of a reason beyond their control. It is highly likely that the IEM organisers will be looking to try and get another tournament organised in China sooner rather than later.

ESL’s Director of Pro Gaming Michal Blicharz has issued the following statement:

“We were all looking forward to going to China yet again as last year’s tournament in Guangzhou, at the same venue, was a great success for us. Fans from all over the world surely remember Greg “IdrA” Fields’ successful run through the tournament as well as the first ever encounter between Western League of Legends teams and their Chinese counterparts.

We are terribly sorry to disappoint esports fans that were expecting to enjoy the event, especially all Chinese esports fans. Unfortunately, the circumstances that forced the cancellation upon us were entirely beyond our control, though we understand and respect the decisions made by the Anime Comics and Games organizers.

Despite this setback, we are working very hard on delivering more fantastic events for esports fans around the world. We will soon announce more Intel Extreme Masters tournaments, including another one in Asia.”