Steam owner and operator, Valve, has announced the cancellation of its first Dota 2 Major of 2022, an event that was initially expected to conclude Dota Pro Circuit’s Winter Tour.
As a result of the sudden cancellation, the company has issued slight changes to the Dota Pro Circuit 2021 – 22. All DPC points that are usually garnered at the event will now be distributed to the second and third Major of the season.
Additionally, the Winter Tour will now officially conclude once every other regional league tournament has come to an end. The company cited COVID-19 concerns as the primary reason behind the event’s cancellation while elaborating that new dangerous and fast-spreading variants of the virus made hosting a LAN tournament unsafe at this time.
Valve stated in a release: “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 have made it unfeasible for all qualified teams to gather for a LAN tournament.”
While later Majors are still planned, Valve is yet to share any details so far. In traditional fashion, Dota 2’s first Major arrives early in the year and marks the conclusion of the Dota Pro Circuit winter season competitive calendar.
All competing teams will now look towards spring to experience the first Major of the 2021/22 season which has traditionally always been played in March.
The pandemic undoubtedly put a stop to a whole bunch of events and activities. Dota 2 and its competitive ecosystem were also hit hard by the pandemic, leading to the cancellation of three Major championships in 2020.
The two Majors that took place last year had their prize pools cut in half. And while the International Dota 2’s biggest event of the season took place last year, it was played without an audience.
Valve reiterated that it will continue to evaluate the situation regarding the international travel for all of its forthcoming Major tournaments.
Isa Muhammad is a writer and video game journalist covering many aspects of entertainment media including the film industry. He's steadily writing his way to the sharp end of journalism and enjoys staying informed. If he's not reading, playing video games or catching up on his favourite TV series, then he's probably writing about them.
