This year could not get any worse for Garena king NRX Jeremiah 29:11.
Members of NRX could not hide their sheer disappointment after Activision announced the cancellation of the first Call of Duty Mobile World Championship on Tuesday.
The American video game publisher cited health concerns brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic as the main reason for calling off the $1,000,000 offline tournament which was planned to be held this month in Los Angeles, California.
"Our highest priority will always be the well-being of our players, fans and communities around the world. After carefully reviewing the status of Covid-19 conditions, social distancing, and other safety guidelines across all regions, we do not wish to place players at risk by travelling to a hosted, live event," Activision said in a statement.
NRX coach Michael "Kyaaah" Belaya and his boys aired their dismay through social media as the former Rules of Survival players experienced another cancellation of a world competition.
"It really hurts," Kyaaah posted on his Facebook page.
Captain JC "Jayzee" Rivera initially said that he would quit the game but later on explained that he was just seriously downheartened by the news.
"Sana gets niyo naman pakiramdam na 'yung pinaghahandaan mo araw-araw halos 'di na ako matulog para mag-improve, para makarating dun at once mangyari 'yun ready ako tapos malalaman mo cancelled? 'Di ba masakit?" he lamented.
Read: NRX wants the world title
Kennedy "iDra" Mondoy, Benj "CRUSH" Trinidad and John Kenneth "KenDy" Pimentel were also upset while Jerrold "Woopiiee" Regay has yet to express his sentiment.
With the abandonment of the tournament, the prize pool will be equally distributed to the Filipino powerhouse team and the six other regional champions.
"We congratulate all of the Stage 4: Regional Playoff Champions and thank everyone for their understanding. We are excited for the future of competitive gaming within Call of Duty Mobile and will be sharing more on our plans in the future," the organizers concluded.
NRX entered the CODM World Championship after ruling the Garena qualifiers against five other squads in Southeast Asia and Taiwan.