PGL allows B8 Esports to play DPC NA from Europe

The PGL continues to make controversial announcements that have not gone down well within the Dota 2 community. This time, we have the organizers of the DPC in NA announcing that, due to travel restrictions in Ukraine, B8 Esports will play the tournament from Europe.

It is worth noting that B8 Esports is a team made up entirely of European players, so there is no explanation why this team will not participate in the leagues in their region. In addition, it was recently announced that Fart Studios was disqualified from the tournament because three of their five players were out of NA. As a result, the community has erupted against PGL due to “regional eligibility within the DPC.”

PGL allow B8 Esports to play the DPC NA from Europe

Through a statement on its Twitter account, the PGL announced that B8 Esports would be playing the DPC NA Summer Tour from Europe due to travel restrictions in Ukraine.

This announcement has ignited an intense debate on Twitter due to the community’s failure to explain the regulations regarding “regional eligibility” for teams participating in the DPC.

To put everyone in context, one of the DPC NA regulations is that teams must have at least three players in their lineup who reside in NA. However, this time the PGL, organizers of the DPC in NA, announced that the team could play from Europe due to travel restrictions in Ukraine.

Recall that this law published in Ukraine explicitly states that no official Ukrainian team may participate in any international competition if athletes from Russia or Belarus will attend it.

The community reacts to this announcement

As expected, the community immediately reacted to this announcement by the PGL. Quinn “Quinn” Callahan, one of the most recognized Dota 2 players in the NA scene and the world, expressed himself about the situation and mentioned some events where PGL disqualified teams in the past for similar reasons.

This Tweet by Quinn is based solely on the “lack of judgment” that organizers have in dealing with one team or another. In addition, it raises many questions regarding the integrity of the PGL when applying regional restrictions to teams.

On the other hand, this announcement also leaves the PGL in a very bad light after the disqualification of Fart Studios in the DPC NA Tour 2 Division II. Remember that well-known personalities formed this team in the Dota 2 NA scene, but they were disqualified because three players were outside North America.

The discrepancy between the decision to allow B8 to play from Europe and the disqualification of Fart Studios has the community fueling the fire in this debate. As a result, many feel that the PGL is inconsistent in applying the rules.

As the debate continues to grow on social media, we are all still waiting for some response from PGL, if there will be any. The reality is that it is not very clear why there is a difference in the treatment of these two teams in a situation that is undoubtedly practically the same. On the other hand, this could call into question the future decisions of the organizers regarding the regional eligibility of the teams in the DPC.

Header: B8 Esports