As coronavirus continues to spread across the world, more and more games, consoles and events are getting cancelled or postponed. But despite this, many are doing their best to help, including LCK star and South Korean native Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok.
Donations like Faker’s could go a long way towards helping those in need and getting things back to normalcy. He is often considered one of League of Legends’ top pros, and promises to donate 30 million Korean won ($25,000). His team, T1 (formerly SK Telecom T1), are also promising all proceeds from this week’s streams will be donated to charities committed to stopping Coronavirus.
Faker “이상혁” 선수가 코로나 19 확산 예방을 위해 기부 행렬에 동참했습니다.
— T1 LoL (@T1LoL) March 9, 2020
모두 함께 힘을 모아 어려운 시기를 이겨내자는 페이커 선수의 뜻을 함께하기 위해 T1은 금주 진행되는 소속 선수들의 모든 스트리밍 도네이션을 기부하기로 결정하였습니다. 팬분들의 따뜻한 응원 부탁드립니다. https://t.co/DCqtRFAUQz
In case you can’t read Korean, this tweet translates as:
“Faker Lee Sang-hyuk joined the donation process to prevent the spread of Corona 19.
T1 decided to donate all the streaming donations of its players this week to join Faker’s willingness to come together and overcome difficult times. Thank you for your support.”
How Is Coronavirus Impacting Esports?
South Korea has reported 7,400 cases and 53 deaths. Sadly, coronavirus has led to the Center for Disease Control (CDC) advising people be “cautious” about large gatherings.
Considering this, it’s pretty easy to see why so many events are seeing delays or outright cancellations. This also extends to the gaming industry – South Korea is the home of some of the biggest eSports teams and competitions. This lockdown, whilst necessary to protect vulnerable citizens, has hurt the industry badly.
To see such a big name as Faker, who has lifted the League of Legends world championship trophy three times, in Season 3, 5 and 6 commit to helping to fight the virus is great! Especially since the World Health Organisation declared coronavirus to be a global pandemic. This really shows the importance of gamers working together. While not everyone can donate any money, let alone the 25 thousand dollars Faker has committed, there are other ways you can get involved.
What Can I Do To Help?
The biggest thing individuals can do is to stay home (and play videos games). But if you fancy doing something extra, Stanford University has the solution for you!
They’ve released software that gamers can download which borrows some of a PC’s spare GPU power to research COVID-19. They’re also researching other illnesses, including cancer and Parkinson’s Disease. The processing power generated could lead to a breakthrough in the hunt for a vaccine, which is currently expected to still be 18 months away.
Featured Image Credit – Inven