The coronavirus outbreak has dealt a serious blow to esports and traditional sports, forcing the closure of entire seasons of major tournaments and leagues as the world grapples with "flattening the curve." leagues like the NHL, which was supposed to have playoffs in April, are waiting it out They want to. Other leagues, like Major League Baseball, are reportedly trying to figure out how to play while the pandemic is ongoing.

Finland has decided to take a slightly different approach. When the Riga, Finland's most popular sport, the top ice hockey league, was forced to cancel due to the outbreak of the pandemic, fans were understandably heartbroken. So the league decided to continue the activity after all: the Liga has partnered with Telia, a Finnish broadcaster and esports company, to broadcast all games of the "Liga ePlayoffs" on NHL 20.

"The ice hockey season ended early this year due to the coronavirus outbreak. We agreed together with the Finnish Hockey League that we should find an alternative way to end the season," said Niklas Segercrantz, commercial manager of Telia esports.

"We are very proud that the ePlayoffs will be broadcast on national television in primetime and that all Finns will be able to watch the games from the safety of their living rooms.

All 10 teams that were scheduled to advance to the Liga Española final will participate in the online playoffs, which will begin on April 8 and continue for a best-of-five round of matches, including two days of quarterfinals, two days of semifinals, and the final and "bronze match." Each team will be represented on digital ice by one person during the playoffs (good luck). [HPK, for example, will be represented by Yoni Turola, a former member of the Finnish National Junior Team who now plays in the AHL, while Ruuko will be represented by Teemu Laurel, winner of Top Chef Finland 2012 and now runs his own restaurant, Shelter, in Helsinki. He will be represented by.

"As far as we know, we are the only ice hockey league to use online to end the season, and to be able to work with Telia to provide entertainment for ice hockey fans, even if we have to end the actual season early is It's great to be able to work with Telia to provide entertainment for ice hockey fans, even if the actual season has to end early," said Aija Saha, Marketing Manager of the Finnish Hockey League. Kudos also to the former players and loyal fans who stood up for their teams online. This promises to be exciting and entertaining to watch."

The "ePlayoffs" may not be a serious, hardcore field hockey event, but it is a way to provide a kind of closure for fans, and it is getting the full treatment: each game will be broadcast on "multiple video-on-demand platforms," complete with decorations and commentary like an actual live Liga complete with decorations and commentary like those of the actual Liga broadcasts, and the finals and consolation matches are shown on MTV3, one of the country's largest commercial broadcasters. Liga is not the only professional league looking to esports to entertain fans: several racing circuits, including F1, NASCAR, and the FIA, are also participating in the virtual action.