Valve representatives said the company had cancelled the first Dota 2 major this year due to complications with the coronavirus on January 2. This is the official reason, but it is clear that it is not real. Everyone is well aware that in other eSports disciplines, international tournaments are in progress all the time. Nothing interferes with them. Dota 2 fans are constantly forced to bear such situations and wait for the top tournaments for six months (The International 10 took place in October, and the next big tournament will only take place in late spring). The first Major of the season wasn't even postponed. It was just removed from the schedule.
Moreover, DPC points that were supposed to be gained at this major were redistributed to the next two tournaments. How did Valve allow this failure, and what are the main disadvantages of such a decision? All that you will find in the article of Cybersport.Metaratings.ru below.
Contractor Refused To Carry Out Major In December Already
Valve published a set of rules and technical regulations stating that three majors will take place in 2022 before the Dota Pro Circuit 2021/2022 season. However, the exact dates of these tournaments were not mentioned. It was clear from the schedule that the first matches of the regional leagues will be finished on January 23, and the next stage of the competition system will start on March 14. It turns out that the first major was supposed to take place in the second half of February. Unfortunately, there was no announcement for this tournament.
In the late December of 2021, there were rumours that some problems with the majors would take place. Such conversations were among the "informed" people, while ordinary people did not suspect anything. The streamer Yaroslav NS Kuznetsov revealed the upcoming problems to the public. On December 24, he informed us that the organiser of the season's first major in Dota 2 has refused to host the championship. According to his announcement, he learned about it a few days earlier.
It turns out that no one is hosting the Major. There is no Major organiser. There was a company - I won't name them, to be on the safe side. There was an agreement with them two or maybe a month and a half ago, and they did not say anything for a month and a half. Then, a couple of days ago they said: "Okay, we will not host it. It is scary, coronavirus is there, "omicron" appeared, all that stuff". In this regard, now Valve has real questions: the major is in two months, and there is no organiser. It's not easy to organise the whole thing in a couple of months. It would help if you had a stadium. It might be on rent. It must be resolved urgently. The situation is super funny, weird and meme-like, as it's Christmas and New Year's Eve. No one will negotiate about anything right now.
Valve faced a serious problem: it must find a contractor as quickly as possible—the one who would agree to host the Dota 2 majors in two months. At least, they could go to Epic Esports Events, WePlay Esports, or PGL, who had been organising The International 10. It seems like all of these companies would have hosted the majors with pleasure. However, Valve has chosen a very different path. A spoiler: they decided not to bother and cancel the tournament, blaming the coronavirus pandemic.
The Whole Point Of Dota 2 Is Six Months Without International Tournaments
On January 12, Valve showed up out of the blue and announced that the first Dota 2 majors would not take place this year. They won't reschedule it either. They will redistribute DPC points to other majors and cancel the tournament. But fans will not enjoy high-level, spectacular games in the international arena. That's ok. They are used to sitting around for half a year waiting for tournaments. Nobody cares about them. However, Valve could not afford such rhetoric, so the company published the following statement.
The winter round of the Dota Pro Circuit 2021-2022 season is coming to an end, and we have made the difficult decision to cancel the first major. There was a lot of hope that we would host an international LAN tournament. But, the discovery and spread of the new COVID-19 types and the associated increase in travel restrictions made it impossible to get all qualified teams to participate in the LAN tournament. DPC teams earn points by playing in their regional leagues and competing internationally at major tournaments. Since the first major will not take place, we have decided to redistribute its points to the second and third majors. Thus, the balance of points between regional and inter-regional competition remains the same. As the second round progresses, we will continue to assess the international travel situation for future major tournaments.
In the end, Valve hinted that this year's second major could also be cancelled if the coronavirus situation did not change. However, as of now, DPC points in the second and third majors will be distributed as follows:
Major 2
- 1st Place — 520 Points;
- 2nd Place — 310 Points;
- 3rd Place — 210 Points;
- 4th Place — 105 Points;
- 5th Place — 52 Points.
Major 3
- 1st Place — 680 Points;
- 2nd Place — 410 Points;
- 3rd Place — 270 Points;
- 4th Place — 135 Points;
- 5th Place — 68 Points.
Tournaments In Other eSports Disciplines Run Smoothly
Valve talks about a new type of coronavirus that makes it impossible to run a tournament in its announcement. Indeed, at the end of November, scientists identified a new type called "omicron". The WHO now believes it will dramatically increase the number of infected people. They estimate it will occur in late January or early February. So partly, Valve's actions do make sense. After all, people's lives and health are far too high a price to pay for hosting a Dota 2 tournament.
So, there is a reason to shake hands with the Valve representatives and express gratitude for their concern for people's health. Nevertheless, there is one "but". In other eSports disciplines, tournaments take place all the time. Everyone is used to the coronavirus and knows how to work during the pandemic. There is nothing super complicated about the process. You need to create a big sterile "bubble" and run Lan inside it. This plan worked out many times before. So we can see that it is not the restrictions caused by coronavirus but the irresponsibility and unprofessionalism of Valve employees, who do not want to bother at all. We don't know how long we'll have to live side by side with the coronavirus. You can't cancel tournaments for the rest of your life now. We have to adapt to the changed circumstances.
Who Suffered The Most From The Major's Cancellation?
Fans. As it was already said, the spectators are the ones who suffered the most from the major's cancellation. There aren't many interesting tournaments in Dota 2, so each is as valuable as gold. Here we're being told that the Major has been cancelled because of the coronavirus. At the same time, the version with the rejected contractor and Valve laziness looks much more convincing.
Teams. Also, the teams already qualified for the major suffered a lot as it was suddenly cancelled. It is the most frustrating for the young squads, betting on making a mark in their first DPC season and earning as many points as possible in the major. Such teams include HellRaisers and Team Tickles. At the moment, these teams are on the rise (against all odds). They honestly earned the right to attend their first major, and now they don't have this right. The opponents may start playing better in the next season, and the promising squads will get lost against them. Though right here and now, they could have won.
Unfortunately, this news did not come as a surprise to us. But we still hoped for a miracle until the announcement. For sure, it's frustrating and hits the motivation. At the same time, it increases the value of points awarded in the online season. Moreover, first place in the league became even more desirable. Hopefully, the TOs will take advantage of the forced break in the DPC, and we can play a couple of tournaments more.
The whole discipline. Dota 2, like any other discipline, lives through tournaments. The more they're cancelled, the worse it is: fewer people play it, fewer people watch it, and their interest slowly fades. To prevent such an outcome, you need vibrant and memorable tournaments. Dota 2 has very few of them. Valve has held only three tournaments in more than two years: The International 10, WePlay AniMajor 2021, and the ONE Esports Singapore Major. Quite a modest result for a discipline like Dota 2.
Who Benefited From The Major's Cancellation?
The answer to this question is quite simple: the one who didn't qualify for the first major. All the teams who failed in the first season of the DPC leagues are at an advantage. Virtus.pro and Natus Vincere, for example. They already earned a few points for their low ranking in the league, but at least their rivals won't get even more advantage for their successful performance in the majors. Of course, these teams aren't likely to be happy about the cancellation of the majors right now, but the bottom line is that this is a positive thing for them. For everyone else in this world, the cancellation of the majors is a tilt and a failure.
Social Media Reaction To The Major Cancellation
Major has been cancelled, and we can do nothing about it. We have to accept this decision. While we are burning from anger, we can see how other people have reacted to the news.
