As per Valve’s instruction, the DPC EEU Spring Tour has been postponed indefinitely until further notice – an understandable decision during uncertain times.
Many have lauded Valve’s decision, and it seems quite reasonable one at that, but there’s also the lingering side effects one needs to pay heed to – one that has seemingly gone unnoticed.
Unemployment
The indefinite postponement of the DPC EEU Spring Tour has led to uncertainty, during uncertain times, in the scene. The most affected bunch is definitely the soul of the competitive scene; the on-air talents.
As a result, many on-air talents, specifically the Division II casters have suddenly found themselves without any work for the upcoming season. You heard it right! Six weeks of being without a job.
In the tweet above, a talented upcoming caster, T-Panda, expressed his position of being jobless and is in search of work.
Now imagine the plight of other casters on a similar level?
Unlike players being housed under team organisations and receiving steady salary amid the ongoing tensions, the broadcasters have been dealt with a rough hand as majority of them are freelance, i.e., non-contractual employees.
Even tier-2 players, or players from tier-2 sponsored orgs, will feel the heat as their salaries aren’t even remotely close to the tier-1 players. The majority of their income is derived from tournament winnings – and everyone knows that Dota 2 is a prizepool heavy game.
No steady income, and the frantic search for work begins.
Community indigence
The backbone of any esports – its passionate community – has also been affected. The regional leagues have been a source of entertainment for the Dota 2 community, and unfortunately, they’ll be deprived of that until things settle down.
Although there are other regions to watch, it still feels sad to witness one entire region going dark due to a war.
Most affected are the CIS fans, who are now entangled in a mess that’ll set their region back by a big margin in terms of life returning to normalcy, the psychological impact stabilising, and just dealing and accepting the gravity of what occurred.
Economical loss
As you may have guessed already, the indefinite postponement of the DPC EEU Spring Tour has already given rise to possible albeit temporary unemployment.
The effect is not restricted to the players or casters solely, but also to the tournament organisers and people working behind the scenes, i.e., production crew, etc.
A delay in pay indirectly results in an economical loss.
Many tournament organisers have contractual obligations with various sponsors and partners, but we’ve also witnessed popular TO’s cutting down ties with a few as a direct result of the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Indefinite postponement leads to TO’s unable to fulfil their contractual obligations, that leads to less inflow of money, that further leads to the damage in terms of economy, and ultimately the end user is affected.
Conclusion
Unfortunately, there are no winners in this situation. That’s the sad reality. Let’s pray and hope for the best.
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