The 2021/22 Dota 2 Pro Circuit has been dealt a blow as Valve has revealed it is cancelling the competition’s first Major. While a set date or location for this $500,000 Major was never officially announced, it would have likely taken place at some point in February.
In a statement, Valve says that “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.” This will come as a disappointment to fans and players alike, especially considering that Valve managed to host The International 10 as an international LAN event in October last year.
Valve had planned to host three Major events during the 2021/22 DPC, with each one following one of the three regional legs of the competition. These Majors, which would see the top teams from each region compete on LAN, not only offer up half a million dollars in prize money, but also DPC points, which are used to qualify for The International.
The DPC points that would have been on offer at the first Major have now been redistributed to the remaining two Majors, making the stakes at these tournaments even higher. The new breakdown of DPC points can be seen in Valve’s statement.
There was no word on what will happen to the $500,000 prize pot and whether it will be redistributed to the remaining Majors, or be added to the regional prize pools for the first stint of the DPC.
The tragedy of Dota 2 community pic.twitter.com/kH7I2nQ8w2
— NAVI (@natusvincere) January 12, 2022
For fans that have been competing in the DPC Fantasy league, rewards will be dished out before the start of DPC Tour 2.
With today’s news of the first Major being cancelled, fans will have to wait a while until the next opportunity for a LAN event comes around. Major 2 will more than likely take place at some point in May following the conclusion of Tour 2 on April 24.