Teams and fans alike will have to wait a little longer for the start of the MPL Philippines Season 8 as the league decided to postpone its opening due to the implementation of the Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ) in Metro Manila.
"Due to the implementation of ECQ in Metro Manila from August 6-20, the start of the MPL-PH S8 Regular Season will be postponed. We want to prioritize the health and safety of everyone," the league said in a statement on Thursday, August 6.
"We will announce the final schedule for MPL-PH S8 as soon as possible so stay tuned in our different social media channels. We will be back soon!" it added.
The MPL-PH, which revealed its adoption of the franchise model in Season 8 last month, was supposed to kick off on August 13.
The regular season was scheduled to run until the third week of October followed by the playoffs under a bubble setup.
Defending champion Blacklist International, Bren Esports, Smart Omega (mainly composed of former Execration players), Onic PH, Nexplay EVOS, Echo, RSG PH and TNC Pro Team were the eight teams that have secured their slots in the new season which stakes a total prize fund of $150,000 (P7.5 million).
With the postponement, the league's other plans such as the MDL (developmental league) in Season 9 might get delayed as well.