Coronavirus Outbreak Continues to Impact Live Poker Stops: APL Da Nang Cancelled

The Coronavirus outbreak that has originated in China has now become a global epidemic. The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that even though the spread of the virus outside of China is slow at present, it may accelerate. The impact on tourism in China that had reported 34,598 confirmed cases until Saturday has been enormous.

Other countries have been affected as well, with Singapore suggesting that significant public events be canceled or deferred. Germany has officially confirmed its 12th case while till last weekend; Britain had confirmed five nationals who were infected.

The reverberations of this outbreak have been felt by casinos and by extension poker venues in Asia. The most prominent of these was Macau that closed all casinos for 15 days last week. Still, other Asian destinations have been affected as well.

Live poker stops involve large gatherings of poker players, and, unsurprisingly, tournament organizers are taking the cautious route keeping the virus outbreak in mind. After the Triton Super High Roller Series Jeju announced an indefinite postponement, the ongoing WPT Philippines was also forced to slash its Main Event guarantee from PHP20 Million to PHP12 Million.

The latest poker brand to take action on the situation is the Asia Poker League (APL). The tournament organizers have announced that the Da Nang stop that was scheduled to run February 19 to 28 at the Risemount Premier Resort stands canceled. The move comes in the wake of Vietnam’s Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism’s advisory to cancel all international sporting events in the country this month.

On February 7, the APL announced the cancellation of the stop. APL`s message on social media read – “In accordance with WHO and the rapid spread of the coronavirus, the APL and the VSOP’ Tip Off’ in February has been cancelled. Furthermore, a reliable source has stated that the Vietnamese Government has banned all international sporting events temporarily. It is unfortunate that our event cannot proceed, and we sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this has caused. However, the APL/ VSOP considers the safety of our players first! Hope to see you in Taiwan.”

APL – A Chequered History

The APL struck roots first in Beijing China way back in 2016. After a break owing to legal issues in Shanghai, the APL returned to Beijing and soon spread its wings to other Asian destinations like the Philippines and Vietnam. In Vietnam, the APL hosted two stops last year, one of them being the tour`s debut run at the Risemount Premier Resort in Da Nang.

Taking significant strides, APL onboarded India’s Sumit Sapra as one of its official ambassadors at the last Da Nang stop and had ambitiously announced eight stops for 2020. The first of them was the scheduled February stop at Da Nang that featured a full 22-event roster.

Talking about the stop being canceled, APL Executive Managing Director, James Kim, when contacted, said, “Well, it’s a shame we had to cancel our event in Da Nang. The NCOV has effected many areas and businesses. We, as a brand were looking forward to a massive turnout; however, APL and VSOP decided that the safety of our players is first and foremost. Although our “Tip Off” did not go as planned, we look forward to our next event in Taiwan.”

While Asian stops have felt the fallout from the outbreak, India, for the time being, has mostly remained unaffected with only isolated cases reported so far.