Valve has canceled DOTA 2’s first Winter Major for the current competitive pro circuit.
In a statement on DOTA 2’s blog, Valve explains its reasoning for doing so is due to potential dangers that may arise from COVID-19 variants.
“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,” Valve said. “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.”
It’s not the first time Valve has made drastic, last-minute changes to a tournament. Last fall, the studio canceled ticket sales for The International mere days before the event was to take place. While it’s understandable that Valve wouldn’t want to hold an in-person event because of the pandemic, the DOTA 2 community is upset about it, and for fair reasons.
The common sentiment among pro players, esports organizations, and fans is that cancellation notice came far too late. That Valve isn’t respecting the pro scene’s time and money. Especially since the first Winter Major is not being rescheduled at all.
Take a look at the reactions below to see just a bit of the anger that’s swallowing up DOTA 2 diehards.
The tragedy of Dota 2 community pic.twitter.com/kH7I2nQ8w2
— NAVI (@natusvincere) January 12, 2022
Valve openly think that pro players/pro teams/orgs don't add any value to their product
That the reason people watch pro Dota is only because of their game & nothing else
Their actions reflects this way of thinking entirely.
They don't give a fuck about their alleged 'partners'— Maurice Gutmann (@KheZu) January 12, 2022
CSGO community seeing Dota 2 players mad and upset that Valve is mishandling its esport titles pic.twitter.com/V5M2MgkNHR
— Jack Langley (@Jack32X) January 12, 2022
Dota 2 community, I know the major is cancelled, and everyone is sad right now, but look on the bright side (1/x)
— Ken Chen (@Hot_Bid) January 12, 2022
Last week, the Entertainment Software Association canceled its annual Electronic Entertainment Expo for the same reasons.
Written by Kyle Campbell on behalf of GLHF.
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