Due to the escalating threat of COVID-19, Valve has cancelled the first Major of the 2022 Dota Pro Circuit. The main reasons were cited as the danger of worsening COVID-19 situation and the likely increase in travel restrictions.
Dota 2 community and professional players reproached that Valve did not inform them about this decision in advance.
Significance of the Major in DPC 2022 and Valve's solution
Dota Pro Circuit 2022 consists of three separate tours. At the end of each tour, teams qualify for the Major based on their performance in their region's DPC tournaments. The Winter Major was the Major of the first DPC tour.
Valve, on the other hand, cancelled the Winter Major due to circumstances and said that the DPC points distributed in this Major will be added to the second and third Major.
Considering the vital importance of DPC points on the road to The International, one of the most massive and prestigious tournament series in the esports world, this is seen as a injustice to teams currently doing well in their region in Tour 1. Points distributed in regional tournaments will remain the same, but points from the first Major will be distributed to the second and third Majors as follows:
Second Major
- 1st - 680 points
- 2nd - 610 points
- 3rd - 530 points
- 4th - 460 points
- 5th/6th - 385 points
- 7th/8th - 240 points
Third Major
- 1st - 820 points
- 2nd - 740 points
- 3rd - 670 points
- 4th - 590 points
- 5th/6th - 515 points
- 7th/8th - 360 points
Of course, the distribution of points like this has affected teams that are either way ahead in their regions at the moment or that show surprise performances. For example, teams such as the Quincy Crew, which secured first place in DPC NA, or Team Tickles, which placed second in front of the great teams in the DPC WEU, or Thunder Predator and BOOM Esports, which have not lost a single game yet, will not be able to make DPC points from the Major. They will only get DPC points based on their achievements in their region. In addition, Valve said that they will evaluate the second and third Majors according to the situation of COVID-19.
Valve made the following statement about the cancellation:
“As the Winter Tour of the Dota Pro Circuit 2021-2022 season draws to a close, we've made the difficult decision to cancel the first Major. While hopes were high that we could host an international LAN event, the discovery and spread of new strains of COVID-19 and the resulting increase of travel restrictions has made it unfeasible for all qualified teams to gather for a LAN tournament.”
Valve's decision created backlash
Teams and players don't seem to be too happy with Valve's decision. For example, the director and manager of Quincy Crew, Jack Chen tweeted:
NAVI also tweeted a meme about Valve's decision.
Quincy Crew player, Remus "ponlo" Goh Zhi Xian, tweeted:
Upon the reactions, Valve conveyed to the teams that they are working to produce another solution. Matthew Bailey shared this with Dota 2 fans:
For now, it is a matter of curiosity whether Valve will hold a tournament to replace the Major. We will be sharing it with you at Luckbox when the final decision is made.
If you are also a Dota 2 fan, you can watch the matches of your favourite teams and place bets on Luckbox.
