Heroic to compete from quarantine after player tests positive for COVID

The player is in good condition and will take part in IEM Cologne.

One of the members of Heroic has tested positive for COVID during the standard testing procedure to exit the initial three-day quarantine at IEM Cologne, ESL announced on Wednesday.

Heroic has not disclosed who the player in question is and hopes that the community "would respect our players’ privacy so they can focus on the tournament", but shared that all of their members and staff are "without symptoms and in good condition". The Danish team ranked No. 4 in the world is set to play the tournament from the quarantine of their hotel rooms.

According to ESL, the player in question has not had close contact with tournament staff or members of other teams.

"Based on the currently available facts, the entire Heroic team will remain in quarantine in accordance with our protocol", the tournament organizer wrote, adding that they will continue to follow their protocol and update the public with more information as they receive guidance from German health authorities.

Read more: Carmac on IEM Cologne: "It's probably the biggest challenge of the last five years because it's so different and difficult"

According to ESL's COVID protocol, teams are required to quarantine in their hotel rooms for 72 hours after their arrival. Following that period, members of the team are tested for COVID, with a negative test allowing them to access shared areas such as the tournament space, gym, pool and more.

Heroic will not be the only team competing from their hotel rooms in Cologne, as Spirit has already played two games in the Play-In from quarantine due to their late arrival to the tournament, with Virtus.pro another team potentially joining that list. Despite not participating in IEM Cologne from the official tournament area of the hotel, the quarantined teams will play on the same LAN connection with no ping disadvantage in comparison to their opponents.