2026 Honor of Kings Major League Spring loses three teams due to travel issues

The Honor of Kings Major League Committee has announced that it will be making changes to the 2026 Major League Spring.

According to a statement released online, teams Astar Esports, Alpha7 Esports, and Leviatán will not compete in the tournament due to “uncertainty around connecting flights.”

On social media, the official Honor of Kings esports account wrote: “Due to disruptions affecting international travel routes, including airspace closures that have resulted in increased uncertainty around connecting flights, the transit routes of several teams have been impacted.”

All three teams originally qualified for the event through regional events. Astar Esports won Honor of Kings Open Series 2026 Split 5 in the MENA region, Leviatán’s team (Los Pibes) won the same tournament in the LATAM South region, and Alpha7 Esports’ team (Rock Pirates) was the winner of the Major League Spring Qualifier.

The committee went on to state that the event schedule remains unchanged. Teams will still compete from March 12th to 22nd, fighting for the lion’s share of a $35,000 (~£26,120) prize pool.

In addition to this, the winner will secure a spot in the Honor of Kings World Cup 2026, the midseason tournament of the circuit taking place during the Esports World Cup in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

The prize pool will be distributed as follows:

The tournament features three invited teams, including KME defending champions Nongshim Redforce, returning team Virtus.pro, and Horaa Esports. The rest have qualified for the tournament through regional qualifiers, including Team MAX, CMF Esports, The Vicious and STMN Esports.

The Honor of Kings Major League Committee wrote: “We sincerely appreciate the understanding and support of all teams and fans and will share further updates should the situation evolve.

“We extend our sincere sympathies to the affected teams and will continue to monitor the situation closely.”