Dota 2’s Winter Major was supposed to be a triumphant return for Dota 2’s live crowds, but Valve has now canceled the event entirely.
Valve has canceled the Dota 2 Winter Major. An official blog post stated that rising health concerns and international travel restrictions contributed to the decision. The event was planned to be the first Dota 2 event with a live audience since early 2020. The season’s Dota Pro Circuit points, which will eventually determine which teams attend The International 11, will instead be distributed through the two majors coming later this year.
Valve cited international travel concerns as the primary motivator to cancel the Dota 2 major event. Several Dota 2 teams would have difficulty acquiring travel visas at this time. Multiple players, and in some cases entire teams, had a difficult time attending the DPC Majors in 2021. If the Winter Major continued as planned, several of the competing teams would likely be left unable to attend. The Singapore Major, which was the first DPC major of 2021, had several dropouts including beastcoast and Natus Vincere.
Even if the Dota Pro Circuit Winter Major were not canceled, it is unlikely that there would have been a live audience. Dota 2 events have gone private for two years now. Several live audiences have had to be canceled during that time, including the planned live audience for The International 10 in Bucharest.
Valve’s other major esport, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, has meanwhile had multiple live audiences including the Stockholm Major. The planned upcoming IEM Katowice 2022 was set to have another live CSGO audience. It’s possible that this event will now cancel its live audience in the wake of the latest announcement by Valve, but nothing has yet been announced.
Canceled Dota 2 Major DPC points added to later events
The current online regional leagues will continue to run as normal. The season would decide which teams from the six regions would compete for the planned $500,000 prize pool. It would also distribute a massive proportion of Dota Pro Circuit ranking points. To compensate, Valve will reallocate DPC points from the Winter Major to the Spring Major and Fall Major set to take place later this year. The first major of the year will now have 1,197 DPC points, while the second will have 1,563.
While the DPC points will still find a way to teams eventually, the prize money from the event has effectively disappeared from the pro scene.
Professional Dota 2 players should be worried about this decision. Pro teams and players have lost a massive amount of prize money to event cancellations over the past two years, especially in North America. If the later majors are also canceled, top Dota 2 teams will miss out on at least $1,500,000 in 2022.
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